M1:3015 — خار جمله لطف چون گل می‌شود / پیش جزوی کو سوی کل می‌رود

This beyt appears in the midst of a story about a Qazvini man who wants a lion tattooed on his shoulder but keeps stopping the barber because of the pain of the needle. He wants the lion without its tail, head, or belly, making the barber exasperated.

Rumi uses this anecdote to pivot into a profound Sufi teaching. The pain of the needle ('nīsh') is likened to the pain of disciplining one's lower self (the 'nafs'). Just as one must endure the tattoo's sting to get the desired image, one must endure spiritual hardship to achieve inner transformation. The master (Rumi, or the barber in the story) then explains that those who overcome their ego attain a state where even the celestial bodies obey them.

This couplet, M1:3015, functions as a powerful summary of this spiritual alchemy. The 'part' (جزوی) refers to the individual human soul, which is inherently a fragment of the Divine. The 'Whole' (کل) is God, the ultimate reality. When the individual consciously directs their being towards God, the 'thorns' – representing life's adversities, the struggles of self-purification, or the ego's resistance – are not merely removed but are transformed into 'roses of grace' (لطف چون گل). This isn't about escaping pain, but about pain becoming a vehicle for divine favor and inner beauty. It underscores the Sufi belief that suffering, when embraced on the path to God, becomes a source of profound spiritual benefit.