M6:3892 — ما همی‌گفتیم کم نال از حرج / صبر کن کالصبر مفتاح الفرج

Translation: We used to say: lament less about the distress, / Be patient, for patience is the key to relief. Meaning: Spoken by one of the princes in a tale, this verse reflects on their past advice to others to be patient in hardship, seeing patience as the key to freedom. Now, entangled in love's predicament, the prince marvels at his own inability to practice the very counsel he once dispensed.

This verse, M6:3892, is uttered by the eldest of three princes, ensnared in the predicament of love. The prince, now himself confused and helpless, wistfully recalls a time when he and his brothers, with authority and strength, would offer counsel to others. He recollects how their subordinates, complaining of poverty, fear, or any calamity, would be met with their firm dictum: "Lament less about the distress, be patient, for patience is the key to relief." What is crucial here is not an endorsement of lamentation, but a critique of an existential contradiction: a prince who once considered himself 'masculine' (نر), capable of advising others, now finds himself impotent in the face of a real trial. This is a profound irony aimed at 'scholars without practice' (علماء بی‌عمل) and 'preachers who fail to take heed' (واعظان غیرمتعظ); those whose words do not spring from the heart or find root in their own being will falter in times of tribulation. Rumi explicitly criticizes unpracticed sermons, stating they are not only ineffective but lead to hypocrisy and a darkening of the heart, as the Quran also warns: "It is most hateful in the sight of God that you say what you do not do." Rumi employs the word 'qānūn' (law) here, a rare usage in classical Persian poetry, underscoring the principled nature of the advice they once dispensed. Yet, for them, this 'law' has now become abrogated. Patience, in Rumi's view, is not passivity or abstention from effort, but rather 'resistance' (مقاومت) and 'perseverance' (پایمردی). It means not giving up in the face of hardships and struggles, not succumbing to fatigue, but persistently pursuing one's path until the goal is achieved. It is the philosopher's stone that Rumi elsewhere describes: "God created hundreds of thousands of alchemies, but humankind has never seen an alchemy like patience." This patience is not a physical key but an inner resilience that saves one from despair and opens the way for divine relief. This verse serves as a reminder that self-knowledge and the alignment of word and deed are essential conditions for spiritual journeying and attaining true liberation.

Key takeaways

• True patience is not passivity, but steadfastness and resilience in the face of suffering.
• The ineffectiveness of scholars and preachers is exposed in times of trial, revealing unrooted counsel.
• Self-critique, when leading to self-correction, can open the door to relief.
• Through the prince's critique, Rumi emphasizes the crucial alignment of word and deed in spiritual journeying.