M6:1392 — پس پدر مر مادرم را در جواب / جنگ کردی کین چه خشمست و عذاب

Translation: Then my father, in response to my mother, / Fought, saying, 'What wrath and torment is this?' Meaning: This verse captures the father's shocked reaction to his wife's curse upon their child, invoking Sultan Mahmud's fearsome name. It forms part of the allegorical tale of the Hindu boy and Sultan Mahmud, which Rumi employs to illustrate humanity's 'inverted perception' of blessings and curses.

This verse is uttered by the young Hindu slave in the story of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, a narrative Mawlana borrows from Attar's Musibatnama and employs to illustrate humanity's 'inverted perception.' The boy recounts his childhood fears, specifically how his mother would curse him with the direst of threats: 'May I see you in the grasp of Mahmud Arsalan (the lion-like Mahmud).' This particular verse captures his father's vehement reaction to the mother's curse, arguing, 'What sort of wrath and torment is this [that you wish upon our child]? Don't you find any other imprecation, one less deadly than this fatal one?' The father reprimands the mother for such an extreme malediction, likening it to killing the child with a hundred sword-wounds. The boy then reflects on how this parental quarrel amplified his terror, making him constantly wonder about Mahmud's true nature, perceiving him as a 'hellish' and 'tormenting' figure, a byword for misfortune and suffering. He admits that he used to tremble in fear of Mahmud, utterly unaware of the potential honor and grace that actually resided with him. Mawlana's profound message here is that the child's initial terror of Mahmud, instigated by the mother and confirmed by the father's reaction, symbolizes our own human Tabʿ (ego or carnal nature) that consistently misrepresents the spiritual reality of Fiqr (spiritual poverty or indigence) as something dreadful and to be avoided. The perceived wrath and torment are, in fact, an illusion created by our own Tabʿ.

Key takeaways

• This verse is part of the allegorical tale of the Hindu boy and Sultan Mahmud, depicting a father's alarm at his wife's dire curse upon their child.
• In Mawlana's allegorical reading, Sultan Mahmud represents Fiqr (spiritual indigence), and the mother symbolizes Tabʿ (human nature or ego).
• The father's protest embodies a higher spiritual insight or reason that challenges the ego's fear-mongering and distorted perceptions.
• The story illustrates 'inverted perception' (vāruna-bīnī), showing how the ego portrays spiritual poverty as a dreadful curse, when it is, in fact, a source of growth.
• The child's terror of Mahmud (Fiqr) reflects our own aversion to what the ego perceives as hardship and deprivation.
• The verse ultimately signifies how the ego can present the greatest good as the worst evil, thus deterring us from our true spiritual path.