M6:2580 — گفت دلقک ای ملک آهسته باش / روی حلم و مغفرت را کم‌خراش

Translation: The jester said, "O King, be gentle! Do not so scratch the face of clemency and forgiveness."

Meaning: The jester implores the hasty king to exercise patience and mercy, urging him not to mar his own character with impulsive retribution.

I tell you, this verse is the jester's cry, echoing forbearance and moderation from within the king's rage. A king, consumed by the desire for vengeance and prone to haste, is met with the jester's counsel: "Be gentle! Do not mar the very face of your clemency and forgiveness!" This is no mere plea for his own life; it is a profound gnostic lesson that Rumi, through the jester's voice, imparts to us.

The core of the message lies in the injunction not to "scratch the face of ḥilm (forbearance) and maghfirat (forgiveness)." It is as if patience and forgiveness possess a beautiful countenance that haste in retribution would disfigure. This is a subtle yet potent reminder that severity and violence, more than harming the condemned, tarnish the spiritual and moral visage of the oppressor himself.

Rumi here highlights a crucial distinction, one that demands our full attention. He states: "That discipline which is for God's sake / In it, haste is not permissible." Even if a punishment or correction were divinely ordained or religiously sanctioned, impetuosity is not allowed; for in divine matters, deliberation and wisdom are always at play. However, "That which is temperamental, wrathful, and incidental / It hastens, lest it become agreeable." Anger and severity rooted in human temperament and ego, rather than divine wisdom, are invariably impatient.

Why this impatience in ego-driven anger? Rumi answers: "It fears if contentment arrives, its wrath will depart / And the joy of revenge will be lost." The angry ego fears that if it delays even for a moment, the flame of its fury will subside, and it will no longer taste the "pleasure of revenge." This very hastiness is, in fact, a hidden confession of the egoistic nature of the retribution, not an act of divine justice. From this, the jester deduces: "I will not fly, I am in your hand." Since I am captive in your grasp, why such urgency in torment and vengeance? This imprudent haste reveals that this anger is not for God, but for yourself, and this punishment, instead of being for correction, stems from the ego's pleasure-seeking. Thus, from this haste and impetuosity, one can discern the true nature of wrath.

Key takeaways

• Forbearance and forgiveness are the adornments of rulers and individuals, which should never be marred by hasty retribution.
• Haste in punishment signifies personal wrath and the pursuit of the "pleasure of revenge," not divine justice.
• Divine anger is accompanied by deliberation and wisdom, whereas egoistic anger is hasty, fearing its flame might subside.
• The true harm of impulsive vengeance is the disfigurement of the avenger's own spiritual character.
• The jester in Masnavi often acts as a truth-teller, who, from a position of apparent weakness, calls the powerful to temperance and wisdom.