The complete story of that lover who fled from the watchmen into an unknown garden, where he found his beloved, and in his joy, he prayed for the watchmen, saying, 'Perhaps you dislike a thing and it is good for you'

M4:40 اندر آن بودیم کان شخص از عسسراند اندر باغ از خوفی فرس We were at that point where the man, fleeing the patrol,spurred his horse into a garden out of sheer dread.The story begins with a lover, terrified of being caught by the night watch, desperately galloping into a random garden to hide.

M4:41 بود اندر باغ آن صاحب‌جمالکز غمش این در عنا بد هشت سال Within that garden was the Owner of All Beauty,for whom this man had suffered eight long years of grief.By a stroke of seeming misfortune, the lover stumbles into the very garden where his beloved—the source of his eight years of pining—happens to be.

M4:42 سایهٔ او را نبود امکان دیدهم‌چو عنقا وصف او را می‌شنید It was not possible to see even his shadow;like the ʿAnqā, he had only heard his description.The beloved was so elusive and unattainable that the lover had never even glimpsed him, knowing him only through descriptions, like a mythical creature.

M4:43 جز یکی لقیه که اول از قضابر وی افتاد و شد او را دلربا Save for a single glance that, at the start, by chance,Fell on him and became the thief of his heart.The lover's eight-year obsession began with a single, accidental glimpse of the beloved, which was enough to captivate him completely.

M4:44 بعد از آن چندان که می‌کوشید اوخود مجالش می‌نداد آن تندخو After that first glance, however much he strove,that fiery-tempered one gave him no opening.Following their initial chance encounter, the lover's every effort to see the beloved again was rebuffed by her fierce and unyielding nature.

M4:45 نه به لابه چاره بودش نه به مالچشم پر و بی‌طمع بود آن نهال Neither by pleading could he find a way, nor by wealth;that sapling's eye was full, and free of all desire.The beloved was completely unattainable through the lover's efforts because they were self-sufficient and had no need for his flattery or his money.

M4:46 عاشق هر پیشه‌ای و مطلبیحق بیالود اول کارش لبی For the lover of any craft or quest,God first anoints their lips with a taste.To draw a person into any pursuit—be it a craft, a spiritual path, or love—God first grants them a small, sweet taste of the goal to ignite their desire.

M4:47 چون بدان آسیب در جست آمدندپیش پاشان می‌نهد هر روز بند When that first taste has set them on the quest,He places obstacles before their feet each day.After God grants a seeker an initial taste of spiritual sweetness, He then deliberately introduces hardships and obstacles to test and strengthen their resolve.

M4:48 چون در افکندش بجست و جوی کاربعد از آن در بست که کابین بیار When God casts one into the quest for the Real,He then shuts the door, saying: 'Bring the bride-price.'God first gives a seeker a taste of the spiritual path to ignite their desire, but then immediately makes the way difficult, demanding effort and sacrifice as the price for union.

M4:49 هم بر آن بو می‌تنند و می‌روندهر دمی راجی و آیس می‌شوند On that same scent they weave and they proceed,At every breath, now hopeful, now in despair.Seekers of any goal are kept in motion by a single, initial taste of success, alternating constantly between hope of repeating it and despair of ever finding it again.

M4:50 هر کسی را هست اومید بریکه گشادندش در آن روزی دری Every person holds to a hope now severed,that once, on a certain day, a door was opened.This couplet describes the universal human experience of clinging to the memory of a past breakthrough, hoping it might happen again even after the way forward has been closed.

M4:51 باز در بستندش و آن درپرستبر همان اومید آتش پا شدست Again they shut the door on him, and that door-worshipper,fueled by that same hope, became a man with feet of fire.Despite repeated rejection, the memory of a single moment of grace makes the seeker even more ardent and restless in their quest.

M4:52 چون درآمد خوش در آن باغ آن جوانخود فرو شد پا به گنجش ناگهان As that young man, delighted, entered the garden,his foot sank suddenly, straight into its treasure.Having fled into the garden out of fear, the lover unexpectedly stumbles upon the very thing he most desires, which Rumi calls a hidden treasure.

M4:53 مر عسس را ساخته یزدان سببتا ز بیم او دود در باغ شب God made the night-watchman the very causeSo that, in fear of him, he runs into the garden at night.This couplet states that God used the terrifying night-watchman as an instrument to drive the fleeing lover into the garden where he would unexpectedly find his beloved.

M4:54 بیند آن معشوقه را او با چراغطالب انگشتری در جوی باغ He sees his beloved there, holding a lamp,searching for a ring in the garden stream.The lover, having fled into a dark garden out of fear, unexpectedly finds his beloved, who is herself searching for a lost ring with a lamp.

M4:55 پس قرین می‌کرد از ذوق آن نفسبا ثنای حق دعای آن عسس So in the ecstasy of that one breath, he paireda prayer for the watchman with his praise for God.Overcome with ecstatic joy at finding his beloved, the lover began to praise God and, at the same time, pray for the very watchman whose pursuit had led him to this happiness.

M4:56 که زیان کردم عسس را از گریزبیست چندان سیم و زر بر وی بریز Saying, “I wronged the watchman by my flight;Pour twenty times that much in gold and silver on him!The lover prays that God should reward the night-watchman who chased him, realizing that the man's threatening pursuit was the very cause of his blissful union with his beloved.

M4:57 از عوانی مر ورا آزاد کنآنچنان که شادم او را شاد کن From his brutal post, I pray you set him free;Make him as happy now as you have made me.The lover, overwhelmed with joy at finding his beloved, prays that God will release the night watchman from his cruel profession and grant him the same profound happiness he himself is experiencing.

M4:58 سعد دارش این جهان و آن جهاناز عوانی و سگی‌اش وا رهان Keep him fortunate in this world and the next;release him from his cruelty and his brutishness.The lover prays that the night watchman who chased him will be blessed in both worlds and, more importantly, be freed from the cruel and demeaning nature of his job.

M4:59 گرچه خوی آن عوان هست ای خداکه هماره خلق را خواهد بلا Though the nature of that functionary, O God,is to always wish calamity upon the people.The lover acknowledges in his prayer that the watchman is a malicious person by nature, whose job and disposition lead him to desire misfortune for others.

M4:60 گر خبر آید که شه جرمی نهادبر مسلمانان شود او زفت و شاد If news arrives the king has levied a fine,upon the Muslims, he grows stout and glad.This couplet describes the cruel nature of the state official (*ʿavān*), who takes pleasure in the suffering of the general public.

M4:61 ور خبر آید که شه رحمت نموداز مسلمانان فکند آن را به جود And if news comes that the king has shown mercy,he casts it away from the Muslims with a grand gesture.In contrast, if the king offers clemency to the people, the cruel policeman is so committed to his own malevolence that he sarcastically dismisses the good news.

M4:62 ماتمی در جان او افتد از آنصد چنین ادبارها دارد عوان A mourning falls upon his soul because of it;the cruel official has a hundred such misfortunes.The cruel official, by nature, grieves when others find happiness and rejoices at their misfortune, which is itself a profound spiritual affliction.

M4:63 او عوان را در دعا در می‌کشیدکز عوان او را چنان راحت رسید He drew the watchman into his every prayer,for through that watchman such comfort had reached him there.The lover prayed for the very watchman who had pursued him, because that chase led him directly to the joy of finding his beloved.

M4:64 بر همه زهر و برو تریاق بودآن عوان پیوند آن مشتاق بود For all others he was poison, but for him, an antidote;that guard was the very link for that man filled with longing.The night watchman, whose job was to bring misery to others, became the unexpected cause of the lover's union with his beloved, acting as a remedy for his yearning.

M4:65 پس بد مطلق نباشد در جهانبد به نسبت باشد این را هم بدان So nothing in the world is evil in itself;know this: a thing is evil only by relation.This couplet states that absolute evil does not exist; things are only perceived as 'evil' or 'good' relative to the person or situation they affect.

M4:66 در زمانه هیچ زهر و قند نیستکه یکی را پا دگر را بند نیست In this world, there is no poison and no sweetThat is not a foot for one, and for another, shackles for their feet.Nothing in existence is absolutely good or bad; what empowers one person may be a hindrance to another, and vice versa.

M4:67 مر یکی را پا دگر را پای‌بندمر یکی را زهر و بر دیگر چو قند For one it is a foot, for another a fetter;for one it is poison, and for another, like sugar.The same event or thing can be a means of liberation for one person and an obstacle for another; what is poison to one can be sweetness to someone else.

M4:68 زهر مار آن مار را باشد حیاتنسبتش با آدمی باشد ممات A serpent's venom is the serpent's own life;In relation to a human, it is death.This couplet states that nothing is inherently good or evil in itself; its quality depends entirely on who or what it relates to.

M4:69 خلق آبی را بود دریا چو باغخلق خاکی را بود آن مرگ و داغ For creatures of the water, the sea is like a garden;for creatures of the earth, it is death and a searing brand.The same thing—in this case, the sea—can be a source of life and joy for one being, but a cause of death and sorrow for another, depending on their intrinsic nature.

M4:70 همچنین بر می‌شمر ای مرد کارنسبت این از یکی کس تا هزار So too, O man of action, keep on counting:this relativity, from one person up to a thousand.This principle of relativity—that nothing is absolutely good or evil—applies universally, so you must learn to recognize it in every situation and with every person.

M4:71 زید اندر حق آن شیطان بوددر حق شخصی دگر سلطان بود To one person, Zayd was a devil;to another person, he was a king.This couplet states that no person is absolutely good or evil; their character is judged relative to who is experiencing them.

M4:72 آن بگوید زید صدیق سنیستوین بگوید زید گبر کشتنیست One man says, ‘Zayd is a true and faithful Sunni,’while another says, ‘Zayd is an infidel who must be killed.’This couplet illustrates the principle of relativity by showing how the same person, Zayd, can be judged in two completely opposite ways depending on the observer's perspective and relationship to him.

M4:73 گر تو خواهی کو ترا باشد شکرپس ورا از چشم عشاقش نگر If you wish for that one to be sugar to you,then look upon him through his lovers' eyes.To truly appreciate the sweetness and beauty of the Beloved, you must stop looking with your own limited, critical eyes and instead see through the eyes of those who are already deeply in love.

M4:74 منگر از چشم خودت آن خوب رابین به چشم طالبان مطلوب را Do not look upon that beautiful one with your own eye;see the desired one through the eyes of those who seek.To perceive the true worth of a person or thing, you must stop relying on your own limited perspective and instead learn to see it through the eyes of those who truly love and desire it.

M4:75 چشم خود بر بند زان خوش‌چشم توعاریت کن چشم از عشاق او Close your own eyes to that which your eyes find pleasing;borrow, instead, the eyes of His lovers.To see the true beauty of the Beloved, you must stop looking with your own subjective, limited vision and learn to see through the eyes of those who are already captivated by love.

M4:76 بلک ازو کن عاریت چشم و نظرپس ز چشم او بروی او نگر Nay, borrow from the lover his eye and his sight,Then with his eye, gaze upon that beautiful one's light.To truly see the beloved's beauty, you must stop looking with your own eyes and instead borrow the perspective of a true lover.

M4:77 تا شوی آمن ز سیری و ملالگفت کان الله له زین ذوالجلال So you may be safe from satiety and tedium,The Majestic One said: *Who is for God, God is for him*.To avoid growing tired of the Beloved, you must see them through God's eyes, an act which fulfills the divine promise that God belongs to those who belong to Him.

M4:78 چشم او من باشم و دست و دلشتا رهد از مدبریها مقبلش I become his eye, his hand, and his heart,so that My favored one escapes his own designs.When a person surrenders their own perception and will to God, God becomes their faculties, freeing them from the anxieties of their own limited planning.

M4:79 هر چه مکروه ست چون شد او دلیلسوی محبوبت حبیبست و خلیل Whatever you detest, when it becomes your guideTo the one you love, is a friend and intimate beside.Anything you find hateful becomes a beloved friend if it ends up leading you to your ultimate goal, the Beloved.