M6:1685 — که ببر این را قبای روز جنگ / زیر نافم واسع و بالاش تنگ

Translation: That you cut this qabā for the day of battle: Wide below my navel, and tight above it.

Meaning: This verse is spoken by the Turk in the story of the thieving tailor, detailing his precise instructions for cutting his battle-robe: tight above the navel and wide below it. It highlights his meticulous focus on the garment's aesthetic and practical details, while remaining utterly oblivious to the tailor's cunning intentions.

This beyt, spoken by the 'Turk' character in the 'Turk and the Tailor' story, illustrates a profound point for Mawlānā. The Turk, with meticulous precision, instructs the cunning tailor on how to cut his battle-robe: "Wide below my navel, and tight above it." He desires the upper part to be tight for aesthetic appeal and body contouring ("bahr-i jism-ārā-rā"), while the lower part should be wide to ensure ease of movement ("tā nagīrad pā-rā"). This careful attention to form and outward appearance marks the beginning of the heedlessness (غفلت) that Mawlānā wishes to expose.

I have consistently emphasized that the Mathnawī, beyond its seemingly simple tales, addresses the fundamental human condition. This narrative is not merely a story about a thieving tailor; rather, it is an allegory for the fate of humanity. This tailor symbolizes the "common tailor" (darzī-i ʿām), which is Time (rūzgār) or Fate (charkh-i falak). This tailor distracts us with "jokes and cunning" (lāgh u dastān)—worldly amusements and trickery—while our true "capital" (sarmāyeh) of life and existence is systematically cut away and stolen. The Turk focuses on the precise cut of the qabā but ignores the valuable fabric itself; similarly, we become engrossed in worldly trifles and external forms, oblivious to the essence of our being.

Mawlānā directly confronts us, stating: "O you who have become a tale and erased from existence / How many more tales will you test?" Meaning, you yourselves are the most ludicrous tale, while you chase after other tales and distractions. The Turk's laughter at the tailor's jokes renders him so intoxicated and heedless that his eyes close, his intellect (ʿaql) takes flight, and he becomes utterly unaware of his surroundings, including the tailor's scissors. This is the state of molahheh—being bewildered and lost—that results from heedlessness. "With eyes closed, intellect fled, bewildered / The Turk, in his claims, intoxicated by laughter." This is a vivid and poignant scene Mawlānā paints to show the depth of this heedlessness.

Another significant point in this story is the concept of "old children" (pīr-i tiflan) that Mawlānā mentions elsewhere. These are individuals who, despite their advanced age, remain immature like raw children, failing to learn from the experiences of time. They are perpetually seeking "jokes" and "amusements" to indulge in heedless laughter, failing to realize that "Time," like this tailor, is constantly cutting away and stealing from the "fabric" of their very existence. This "common tailor" "tears and stitches the garment of hundred-year-old raw children," referring to those who have reached old age but remain far from intellectual and spiritual maturity. Just as divine grace and wrath become "informers" (ghammāz) when limits are transgressed, so too does this world, by distracting us, expose our secrets and empty our existence. This seemingly simple verse, therefore, is a key to understanding the profound truth that our true thief is our own heedlessness, and the cunning of the world is its instrument.

Key takeaways

• Obsession with outward appearances and material details distracts individuals from the essential core of their being.
• Time, acting as the 'common tailor,' cunningly steals one's life's 'capital' by offering 'jokes' and deceptions.
• The Turk's heedlessness towards the valuable 'fabric' (the essence of existence) while meticulously focusing on the 'robe's' (outward form) details symbolizes our spiritual unawareness.
• The concept of 'old children' refers to those who, despite advanced age, remain in a state of childlike ignorance or spiritual immaturity.
• The Turk and the Tailor story serves as a profound warning about the necessity of spiritual vigilance and guarding one's life's capital against worldly cunning.