M1:1569 — ای عجب آن عهد و آن سوگند کو / وعده‌های آن لب چون قند کو

Translation: Oh wonder, where is that covenant and that oath? Where are the promises of that sugar-like lip? Meaning: This verse is a lament, steeped in regret, questioning a forgotten covenant of reunion and bewailing the promises of the Beloved, whose sweet words now seem lost to memory.

This verse, undoubtedly, is one of those instances where Mowlana, amidst the tale of the "Parrot and the Merchant," suddenly becomes beside himself, entering "his own spiritual realms." Here, neither the parrot nor the merchant is the central figure; it is Mowlana, who, through the parrot's tongue, gives voice to the profound and pervasive pains of his own human soul. This beyt is an explicit manifestation of the "grief of separation" (gham-e firāq) which, although the Masnavi appears to be a book of joy and dance, harbors a deep and boundless sorrow that occasionally surfaces, coloring the entire fabric of the work.

In this moment, Mowlana, in his own words, transforms from a serene nightingale into a "fiery whale." This whale is the fire of love and longing that suddenly erupts, tearing through all veils. The question, "Oh wonder, where is that covenant and that oath?" is not a conventional complaint to an earthly beloved, but a cry from the depths of the soul, recalling the primordial covenant (mīthāq-e azalī) struck between the soul and the Origin of existence. This covenant is a promise of return and reunion that, amidst the clamor of the world, seems to have been forgotten. The "promises of that sugar-like lip" refer to the sweet and reassuring words of God, which bring solace to loving souls; yet, now that separation predominates, those promises seem to have been veiled.

What Mowlana expresses here is "separation" (judāyī), not "loneliness" (tanhāyī). Loneliness is the feeling of abandonment in a world without purpose or companion, of which existentialist philosophers speak. But separation recalls a companion who was present and has departed, and who will return; a covenant that was made and must be fulfilled. This verse is the cry of a soul on a journey, one that knows its destination and remembers its companion, lamenting only the length of the road and the delay of reunion. This "lament," though seemingly a "complaint" (shikāyat), is in truth a "narration" (ḥikāyat) of the pain of longing, as Mowlana himself hinted in the preface of the Masnavi. This is a sorrow that leads one not to depression, but to seeking and movement; a "green" sorrow that culminates in dance, not a black sorrow that leads to stagnation.

Key takeaways

• This verse marks a moment where Mowlana shifts from narrative to an explicit articulation of his own "grief of separation."
• The questioning of the "covenant and oath" and "promises of the sugar-like lip" points to the soul's primordial pact with its Divine Origin, now veiled.
• Here, Mowlana becomes a "fiery whale," an eruption of love's burning passion that tears through all veils.
• The grief of separation is a deep, enduring sorrow that underlies the Masnavi's apparent joyous surface.
• Mowlana's "separation" (judāyī) differs from existentialist "loneliness" (tanhāyī); here, the Beloved is real, and the promise of return exists.
• Mowlana's lament is a "narration" (ḥikāyat) of the pain of longing, not a "complaint" (shikāyat) against the world or the Beloved.