M6:1673 — گفت من ضامن که با صد اضطراب / او نیارد برد پیشم رشته‌تاب

Translation: The Turk said: "I guarantee that with a hundred anxieties, That string-twister cannot take anything from me or get ahead of me." Meaning: This verse conveys the Turk's boastful claim that no tailor, however cunning or crafty, could ever steal a piece of fabric from him or outsmart him.

Here, Rumi continues the tale of the Turk and the cunning tailor. The term reshte-tāb (string-twister) is used to denote a cunning or crafty individual, echoing common Persian idioms like 'no one can twist my string,' meaning no one can outwit or deceive me. The Turk, with immense pride and self-assurance, declares that no tailor, no matter how intricate their schemes or how great their anxious efforts, could ever steal a piece of fabric from him or gain the upper hand. He sees himself as too sharp to be tricked by any artifice.

This declaration by the Turk serves as a pivotal moment in the narrative, and more profoundly, in Rumi's philosophical gaze. Immediately following his boast, the other characters caution him, urging him, 'Do not be so deluded by your own intellect' (ro be aql-e khod chenin ghorre mabāsh), as even those smarter than him have been ensnared by this tailor. It is here that Rumi elevates a simple anecdote into a universal teaching. The cunning tailor, in this deeper reading, becomes an allegory for the world and its seductive deceptions; he is a symbol of the 'accursed companion-wheel' (charkh-e nadim-e kerd-mard) that, through its 'jokes' (lāgh) and trivialities, distracts humanity and, in doing so, pilfers its true 'capital' (sarmāye), which is life itself.

We, as human beings, often resemble this arrogant Turk, inflated by our own intelligence and cleverness, believing ourselves immune to the 'feshār' (vain talk) and 'lāgh' (distracting jests) of the world. Yet, in Rumi's discerning eye, we are merely 'aged children' (pir-e teflān) who sit begging for the 'jokes' and 'tricks' of fate, squandering our precious lifespan on these 'tales' (afsānehā) and 'mockery' (mazhakehā). The tailor is the 'common tailor' (darzi-ye amm) who 'cuts and sews' (medarrad, miduzad) the 'garment of a hundred-year-old raw child' (jāme-ye sad-sālegān-e tefl-e khām); that is, he steals their life's capital while they are engrossed in fleeting pleasures. This story is a poignant warning: let us not become 'mind-flung' (aql-jaste) and 'bewildered' (moulehe) by the world's 'jokes' and 'tales,' lest we lose the invaluable 'satin' (atlas) of our lives in this 'commotion' (maʿrake).

Key takeaways

• Arrogance and misplaced self-confidence set the stage for deception.
• The one most confident in their cleverness is often the first to be tricked.
• The world's deceptions, like a cunning tailor, continuously steal from our existential 'capital'.
• Preoccupation with 'jokes' (lāgh) and 'tales' (afsāneh) acts as a veil for our heedlessness.
• The story of the Turk and the Tailor illustrates divine muvāsāt (accompaniment/providence) in exposing human pride.