M1:164 — گفت چون بیرون شدی از شهرِ خویش / در کدامین شهر بودستی تو بیش؟

Translation: He asked: "Since you left your own city, / In which city did you dwell the longest?" Meaning: The divine physician, in his quest to uncover the slave girl's hidden ailment, questions her about her travels, seeking to pinpoint the location where her heart's 'thorn' might have taken root.

This verse is a crucial point in Mowlana’s psychoanalytic narrative of the slave girl and the divine physician. On the surface, it appears to be a simple question within a love story, but I tell you, Mowlana is here drawing a precise map for discovering the ‘thorn in the heart’ – a thorn far more difficult to locate than one in the foot. The divine physician, a symbol of guiding wisdom and the resourceful mystic, having discerned that the slave girl’s ailment is not physical, resorts to a method that is not merely medical but profoundly spiritual and archetypal.

As I have previously explained, ancient medicine believed in treating illnesses with plants indigenous to the patient’s homeland. This belief here transforms into a profound metaphor. The physician is not seeking to administer a physical remedy, but to uncover the emotional and spiritual root of her pain. Thus, the inquiry about her city and region is not merely geographical but psychological and spiritual. Her ‘own city’ (shahr-i khwēsh) can refer to her physical birthplace, but in deeper layers, I assert, it points to her ‘original self’ (asl-i khwēsh), the very reed-bed from which the reed (the soul) has been severed and now yearns to return. This quest, in essence, is for that point in her exile where her soul, estranged farthest from its origin, began to suffer.

Mowlana, with exquisite detail in preceding verses, describes the difficulty of extracting a ‘thorn from the foot’; one must place the foot on the knee, probe with a needle, and even moisten the skin to locate it. But, he asks, “How then, a thorn in the heart?” This is the fulcrum of the narrative. Mowlana states that if everyone could easily perceive the heart's thorn, grief would never master anyone. These hidden thorns, these inner wounds, are the very obstacles that keep us separated from our essence and, unbeknownst to us, profoundly affect our lives. This, without doubt, is one of Mowlana's most vital teachings: that ignorance of the roots of our inner pains perpetuates suffering.

To illustrate this difficulty, Mowlana offers a brilliant analogy: “One places a thorn beneath a donkey’s tail / The donkey, ignorant of how to dislodge it, bucks and leaps.” The poor donkey, in its desperate attempt to relieve itself, by kicking and flailing, only drives the thorn deeper into its flesh. This is an analogy for us humans. We too, when afflicted by a hidden thorn in the heart, and unaware of its nature, often worsen our condition through angry outbursts, aggression, or even misguided attempts at resolution. This is where Mowlana introduces the need for a ‘thorn-extractor sage’ (hakīm-i khārchīn) – a sage who can not only diagnose the pain but also know how to extract it without causing further harm. This is precisely what Socrates called ‘self-knowledge’ and what Mowlana deems the ‘root of the roots of the roots of religion’ (uṣūl-i uṣūl-i uṣūl al-dīn).

In this verse, the physician places his hand on the slave girl’s pulse, listening intently as she recounts her stories. He names cities and masters one by one, awaiting a sign – a change in her complexion, a surge in her pulse – anything to indicate where the ‘thorn’ of her past lies hidden. This patience, this meticulousness, and this profound connection between speech and physical response, is itself a mark of the physician’s unparalleled wisdom. He seeks to pinpoint that metaphorical ‘own city’ where the slave girl experienced her deepest attachment and, consequently, her greatest separation. We know that this quest ultimately leads to “Samarqand, sweet as sugar,” where her heart became entangled with the goldsmith, and the thorn of an unfulfilled love lodged itself within her. This verse is part of the methodical process of uncovering that hidden Samarqand within the depths of her soul.

Key takeaways

• The inquiry about the city is a metaphor for seeking the hidden root of pain and separation in the human soul.
• Spiritual pain is like a 'thorn in the heart,' harder to find and extract than a 'thorn in the foot.'
• Unconscious and instinctive behaviors (like a donkey's bucking) can drive internal thorns deeper.
• Uncovering and healing these hidden thorns requires a 'thorn-extractor sage' (a guide or self-knower).
• The physician's method (listening to stories while monitoring pulse) symbolizes meticulous psychoanalysis to find the emotional origin of suffering.
• This quest is a step towards self-knowledge and returning to one's 'original self'.