M6:1774 — ای تو جویای نوادر داستان / هم فسانهٔ عشق‌بازان را بخوان

Translation: O you who seek tales rare and strange, / Read also the fables of the lovers. Meaning: Rumi encourages the reader, who constantly seeks out unusual and rare narratives, to instead turn their attention to the stories and histories of lovers, thereby apprehending the truth of love and the meaning of existence.

In this verse, Rumi addresses those who are perpetually in pursuit of navādir-i dāstān — 'rare stories' that might offer novelty or strangeness but fail to resolve the soul's deeper questions. He immediately redirects this quest toward the fasāna-yi ʿishqbāzān — 'the fables of lovers.' This is an unequivocal invitation to enter a world where the truth of life resides not in the mere newness of a narrative, but in the profound, often bitter, yet ultimately sweet intensity of love.

I contend that this beyt is more than a literary recommendation; it is an epistemological directive. Rumi himself, as I have often described, 'was like the sea, and his very being was sea-like' (d1-s01), viewing his gnosis (ʿirfān) as identical with his love-madness (ʿāshiqī). For him, 'the zenith of gnosis lies in loving.' Thus, when he commands, 'Read also the fables of the lovers,' he is, in essence, calling us to the original and unmediated text of existential truth. He alludes to familiar narratives such as Khosrow and Shirin, Layli and Majnun, and Vāmiq and ʿAdhrā, but the purpose is not the stories themselves. Rather, it is to discern the 'bitterness of the lover' and the 'smiles of the beloved,' to comprehend how 'one grace compensates a hundred injustices.' This peculiar compensation and unexpected reparation are signs of that hidden world where the usual logic of 'give and take' yields to 'attraction and bestowal.' In my view, this is the very jalāʾ al-aḥzān (polishing of griefs) that the Masnavi promises (d1-s02); not the abolition of sorrow, but its transformation into a 'green sorrow' that is ultimately joyous and leads to dance (d1-s03).

That Rumi asks us to read the fables of lovers means we must expose ourselves to the 'character' (khūy) and 'state' (ḥāl) of those who love. This reading is not merely the acquisition of information; its effect 'passes from breast to breast' (d1-s02). This act of reading is a form of 'effacement' (maḥw), not merely 'grammar' (naḥw). As Rumi famously states elsewhere (M1:2849), 'Effacement is needed, not grammar, know this here.' The reader should not seek rules and structures but should cast themselves into the waters, swim in the sea of love, and be effaced within it. It is here that one finds oneself, for Rumi's gnosis is, 'the root of the root of the root of religion: self-knowledge' (d1-s02).

In other words, this beyt is an invitation to transcend superficiality and the pursuit of rare and exotic phenomena, moving instead towards the profound truth of love that permeates all existence. Rumi, in Fīhi mā Fīhi, remarks, 'The Beloved is a good thing,' and this concise statement itself attests that the Beloved resides at the core of being, and surrendering one's heart to Him is the ultimate wisdom. This is a departure from 'rootless stories' towards the true 'root-place' of existence's narrative; a turn from a false formlessness to the true 'formlessness' from which all forms emerge (s09).

Key takeaways

• Love is the essence and core of Rumi's gnosis; true understanding of existence flows through love.
• Seeking tales of lovers is a path to profound insight and self-knowledge, not mere entertainment.
• Despite its apparent bitterness and hardships, love is ultimately compensated and sweetened by a single grace from the Beloved.
• Rumi guides the reader from superficial curiosities towards the deep, true meaning of life, which is found in love.