M6:1697 — لابه کردش ترک کز بهر خدا / لاغ می‌گو که مرا شد مغتذا

Translation: The Turk pleaded with him: “For God’s sake, keep telling jokes, / for this has become my very sustenance!”

Meaning: This verse captures a Turk so enthralled by a tailor’s distracting jokes and tales that he begs for more, declaring these amusements to be the food of his soul, all while remaining oblivious to the tailor’s real intent.

This particular verse, M6:1697, functions as a complete dramatic scene, in which Rumi masterfully portrays the heedlessness of humanity. Here, we encounter a 'Turk' utterly vanquished by the 'Tailor' of the temporal world. The tailor symbolizes all the deceptions, distractions, and 'jokes' (lāgh) that the world plays upon us—the very 'how long will you seek the jests and deceits of the spheres?' that Rumi asks elsewhere in this very tale. This smooth-talking tailor, with his amusing anecdotes and trivial banter, has so thoroughly captivated the Turk that he is completely absorbed in this 'pressure' (fashār, meaning idle talk). His eyes are closed from excessive laughter, and his intellect has fled.

I always view this scene as a profound symbol of our own condition, we 'humans who have grown fat on amusement and jests.' Indeed, Rumi intends for this Turk to be the very image of each of us, lost in heedlessness. The Turk has entrusted his precious cloth—a metaphor for our 'life,' 'energy,' and 'existential capital'—to a tailor whose business is theft. But the Turk is so immersed in the fleeting pleasure of the jokes and laughter that not only is he unaware of the theft, but he actively, almost desperately, urges the tailor to continue: 'lāgh mīgō ke marā shod mughdazā' ('keep telling jokes, for this has become my very sustenance!'). Herein lies the tragedy: humanity mistakes the poison of heedlessness for the elixir of life, actively seeking it as the 'food of the soul.'

This 'sustenance' (mughdazā), this 'food for the soul,' is nothing other than being preoccupied with externals and alienated from one's inner reality. Rumi states elsewhere, 'When it exceeds its limit, He will expose it.' God is the Veiler of faults, and the tailor's theft initially remains hidden. But if these thefts and deceptions exceed their bounds, God Himself becomes the 'informant' (ghammāz), exposing the truth. This indicates that the Turk's heedlessness is not a mere mistake; rather, it is a deliberate choice of a false spiritual nourishment with irreparable consequences. This is precisely the situation Rumi emphasizes: 'No fable is more laughable than you, O standing at the edge of your ruined grave.' What could be more tragically ironic than a human at the brink of the grave, still embodying the most laughable fable, while their precious capital is plundered?

This narrative serves as a stark warning, reminding us that 'this common tailor tears and sews / the garment of hundred-year-old raw children.' Many of us, even with age and decrepitude, remain 'raw children' because, instead of seeking our 'original union,' we surrender ourselves to the world's 'jokes' and 'deceits.' This is the fundamental difference between one who is a true 'son of the moment' (ibn al-waqt), returning to their essence in every instant, and one who is a false ibn al-waqt, spending the present moment in heedlessness and illusion. This Turk has not only drifted far from his origin but, with utter willingness, demands 'sustenance' from the very means of further alienation.

Key takeaways

• The verse is an allegory of the world's deceptions and human heedlessness; the tailor is the deceptive world, the Turk is humanity.
• Human heedlessness reaches a point where trivial jokes and amusements are deemed 'sustenance for the soul,' actively sought out.
• One's existential capital (life, energy) is plundered, like the Turk's cloth, under the guise of distraction and jest.
• Rumi portrays the heedless human as the 'most laughable fable,' absurdly entertained even while suffering significant loss.
• The story serves as a profound warning that many 'old children' (elderly yet spiritually immature individuals) fall victim to the world's trickery.
• Unlike the true 'son of the moment' who lives in the present and connects to their origin, the Turk spends his present moment in heedlessness and self-alienation.