M6:2012 — محرم مردی‌ت را کو رستمی‌‌؟ / تا ز صد خرمن یکی جو گفتمی

Translation: Where is a Rostam to be the confidant of your manliness? So that from a hundred harvests, I might speak but a single grain of barley. Meaning: This verse expresses Rumi's profound admiration for Husam al-Din Chalabi, viewing his virtues and character as so immense that Rumi feels incapable of describing even a tiny fraction of them.

In this verse, Rumi, with words of passionate reverence and humility, celebrates the character of Husam al-Din Chalabi, his cherished scribe and companion. I see this, without any doubt, as an expression of Rumi's utmost spiritual attachment to Husam al-Din. Rumi perceives Husam al-Din's manliness and perfections as so boundless that, it seems, even an archetypal figure like 'Rostam' would be required to be his confidant and intimate, someone capable of grasping his depth and grandeur, standing alongside his virtues. This reference to 'Rostam' is symbolic of the strength, insight, and courage needed to truly companion Husam al-Din's excellences.

Rumi then, with a humility befitting his stature, admits that even if such a confidant were found, he himself, with all his expressive and poetic power, would only be able to articulate a mere fraction of Husam al-Din's perfections. The phrase 'so that of a hundred harvests, I might speak but a single grain of barley' signifies the poet's ultimate modesty before the grandeur of the one being praised. 'A hundred harvests' is a metaphor for infinite virtues and perfections, while 'a single grain of barley' denotes an infinitesimally small portion. This implies that Husam al-Din Chalabi possesses such profound wisdom and qualities that Rumi's language, in all its breadth and wonder, falls short of fully expressing it, capable only of portraying a minute part.

As I have stated before, the Masnavi is the product of a reciprocal relationship: one between Rumi as a surging sea of meanings, and Husam al-Din Chalabi as the channel that gives order to and preserves these meanings. Without Husam al-Din, the Masnavi as we know it would not exist. This verse, which contrary to some editions, actually appears in Book One of the Masnavi, demonstrates that Rumi's love and devotion for Husam al-Din existed from the very beginning and was not confined to his later years. These grand and deeply affectionate descriptions not only illuminate Husam al-Din's stature in Rumi's view but also reveal the profound spiritual bond that forms the backbone of the Masnavi's creation.

Key takeaways

• Rumi's profound praise for Husam al-Din Chalabi, his scribe and companion.
• An acknowledgment of Husam al-Din's immense virtues, so vast that their comprehension requires another Rostam.
• Rumi's admission of his inability to fully articulate Husam al-Din's perfections, despite his unparalleled poetic prowess.
• This verse highlights Rumi's deep spiritual bond and devotion to Husam al-Din from the very inception of the Masnavi.
• It signifies Husam al-Din's pivotal role in the formation and existence of the Masnavi as a trusted scribe and channel of inspiration.