M6:2339 — چون نباشم ز اشک خون باریک‌ریس / من تهی‌دست قصور کاسه‌لیس

Translation: How should I not be a fine-spinner of bloody tears / I, empty-handed, deficient, a bowl-licker? Meaning: Rumi, in profound humility, questions how he, being destitute and flawed, could fail to weep intensely (blood-like tears), especially when even the Prophet, despite his exalted status, sought tears from God.

This verse continues Rumi's profound emphasis on the significance of genuine tears. I have often pointed out that Rumi, contrary to those who perceive weeping as weakness, considers tears a divine jewel—provided they flow for Truth and out of true gnosis, not for trivial worldly matters. He himself was a person given to tears, considering it a sign of a light soul. Here, Rumi draws an example from the exalted station of the Prophet, whom he calls the “paradise garden” and a figure of immense “fortune, glory, and precedence” (iqbāl-o-ijlal-o-sabaq). Even with such grace and leadership, the Prophet himself sought “tears” (āb-i dīde) from God’s presence. This “request for tears” from one who stood at the zenith of divine proximity constitutes an irrefutable argument for Rumi.

Now, if that “paradise garden” and the Prophet's eyes, enamored by weeping, were so earnestly seeking tears, how could I, who consider myself “ugly salty earth” (shūre khāk-i zisht) and explicitly state in this verse, “I, empty-handed, deficient, a bowl-licker” (man tahī-dast quṣūr kase-līs)—meaning, a destitute and flawed being who merely licks the remnants from bowls—be deprived of this immense grace? Here, Rumi expresses his profound mystical humility with utmost intensity. He sees himself as nothing compared to the Prophet. Since the Prophet himself sought tears, Rumi believes he, a fortiori, must be a seeker of these bloody tears. Such tears are not only a source of salvation for jinn and humans but also a symbol of passionate devotion and self-surrender. This weeping is born of a “green sorrow”—a sorrow that does not lead to despair but guides one towards ascent and purity. It is not a complaint against destiny, but a fervent longing for a light that flows from the eye's spring, purifying the heart. This is precisely the “tatyīb al-akhlāq” (refinement of character) that the Masnavi promises.

Key takeaways

• Genuine, even bloody, tears are a sign of gnosis and a light soul, not weakness.
• Rumi, with profound mystical humility, considers himself insignificant before the Prophet's station.
• If the Prophet, with all his grandeur, sought tears from God, then Rumi, being destitute, is even more in need of this grace.
• Valuable tears flow from ardent longing for Truth, not for trivial worldly matters.
• This plea for tears is not a complaint against destiny but a yearning for purification and light that streams from the eyes.