Lire› Livre 6› L'explication de la parole du Prophète (paix sur lui) : « Mourez avant de mourir. » Meurs, ami, avant la mort, si tu veux la vie, car Idris, par une telle mort, est devenu céleste avant nous.› Verset 773
M6:773 — سالها این مرگ طبلک میزند / گوش تو بیگاه جنبش میکند
M6:773
Sens · به زبانِ تو — Votre langue · AI
Death has been sending you constant, subtle warnings throughout your life, but you only start to pay attention when it's finally upon you.
This couplet is part of a larger reflection on the Prophetic saying, "Die before you die." Rumi is not speaking of physical death alone, but of the transformative 'death' of the ego that leads to spiritual life. He personifies Death as a drummer, beating a small, persistent drum (ṭablak). The image is not of a sudden, terrifying war drum, but of a constant, almost gentle rhythm that has been sounding for years.
The tragedy, Rumi points out, is our deafness. The drumbeat of mortality—present in every grey hair, every loss, every passing moment—is a constant call to awaken. Yet, the spiritual seeker, lost in worldly concerns (what the previous verse called remembering one's "craft"), ignores it. The ear only "stirs" (junbish mī-kunad) "at the wrong time" (bī-gāh), which the following verses clarify is the moment of agony (nazʿ), when it is too late for the voluntary death that leads to life.
The verse serves as a poignant critique of procrastination in the spiritual path. The signs of our finitude are everywhere, but we treat them as background noise until the final, unavoidable confrontation, at which point we have missed the opportunity to consciously transform.
- طبلک
- A small drum (diminutive of 'ṭabl'). The use of the diminutive suggests a sound that is persistent and noticeable, yet not overwhelmingly loud—a constant, subtle warning rather than a sudden, terrifying blast.
- بیگاه
- Literally 'at the wrong time' or 'inopportunely'. In this context, it means 'too late'—at the moment of death, when the opportunity for voluntary spiritual transformation has passed.
- جنبش میکند
- Literally 'it makes a movement' or 'it stirs'. Here it signifies the ear finally beginning to listen or pay attention, but only after a lifetime of ignoring the signal.
Discussion — Ask about this beyt — answered from the Masnavi, every verse cited
Your conversation stays on this device unless you share it.
What readers asked0
No questions shared yet — yours could be the first.