M6:1334 — چون زدش سیلی برآمد یک طراق / گفت صوفی هی هی ای قواد عاق

Translation: When he struck him a slap, a loud smack arose; / The Sufi cried, "Hey, hey, you pimp, you disobedient one!" Meaning: This verse depicts the moment the invalid man slaps the Sufi, and the Sufi's immediate, harsh verbal reaction, calling him by a deeply insulting term.

Here, Rumi lays before us a scene that springs from the deepest ethical and mystical teachings of the Masnavi. The Sufi, a symbol of self-restraint and wisdom, is slapped by an invalid man. This invalid man, as Rumi elaborates in subsequent verses (crucial for understanding this particular beyt, even if not presented here), symbolizes the wretched and misguided individuals who, due to the devil's deceit (khadʿ-i dīv), become 'slap-prone' (sīlī-bāra); that is, they readily inflict harm upon others.

In the first moment of this unexpected event, the Sufi is confronted. 'When he struck him a slap, a loud smack arose' — the sound of this slap reverberates, not just in that physical scene, but within the reader's soul. The Sufi’s initial reaction is profoundly human and entirely natural. He cannot tolerate this insult. 'The Sufi cried, "Hey, hey, you pimp, you disobedient one!"' The word qawwād is highly vulgar and offensive in Persian, and ʿāq denotes someone disowned or cursed, banished from God's presence or from their family. This outburst from the Sufi illustrates that even one who has embarked on the path of spiritual journey can, in sudden and startling moments, lose complete self-control and resort to protest and insult.

Yet, this is not the stopping point; rather, it is the beginning of reflection. Rumi immediately shows, in the verses that follow, how the Sufi quickly regains composure and returns to self-restraint. He ponders that if he were to strike this man, the invalid, already weakened by illness, would perish. This is where the Sufi's spiritual elevation and magnanimity are revealed. That initial moment of anger is fleeting, succeeded by compassion and deeper insight.

This beyt teaches us that when faced with the transgressions of others, our first instinctive reaction may be anger and retaliation. But the spiritual seeker's mission is to transcend this stage. Rumi reminds us that most people are themselves afflicted and, unaware that they are under the influence of the 'devil's deceit,' inflict harm upon others. 'The people are afflicted with consumption and helpless / Thus, from the devil's deceit, they are prone to slaps.' They are eager to find faults and gossip about each other, without looking at their own 'back of the neck,' that is, their own shortcomings. This is a lesson Imam Ali also imparted: 'Blessed is he whose own faults preoccupy him from the faults of others.' Thus, this slap and this insult are not merely the narration of an event, but an allegory of the human condition and an invitation to self-reflection and compassion.

Key takeaways

• The Sufi's initial reaction to the slap highlights the human potential for losing self-restraint, even for spiritual seekers.
• The use of the harsh insult 'pimp, disobedient one' reveals the depth of the Sufi's initial anger and offense.
• This verse sets the stage for the Sufi's ultimate display of transcendent self-restraint and compassion in subsequent lines.
• The incident serves as an allegory for ordinary people's propensity to harm others, often due to the devil's deception.
• Rumi invites the reader to self-reflection and examining one's own faults, rather than seeking out the defects of others.