Notes on the text:

¹Ghazal 2142: Compare to the translation from Persian by A. J. Arberry, "Mystical Poems of Rumi," 2009, no. 270, pp. 272-73.

²I have water, fire: means tears and burning passion and yearning.

³line four: expresses complete union with the beloved master.

⁶the Farthest Mosque [masjid-é aqSâ]: refers to the place of the (former) Temple in Jerusalem, visited by the Prophet Muhammad during his visionary Night Journey [mi`râj]: "Glory be (to God) who took His servant on a night journey from the Sacred Mosque (in Mecca) to the Farthest Mosque (in Jerusalem)." (Qu'rân 17:1)

⁷the Garden of Rest [jannat-é mâ'wâ]: "For those who believe and do righteous deeds are Gardens of rest" [jannatu 'l-mâ'wà]--meaning, in Paradise (Qur'ân 32:19; 53:15;.

⁸heavenly maidens [Hûr]: the beautiful maidens in Paradise (Qur'ân 44:54; 52:20; 55:72; 56:22).

⁹magician and pickpocket [sâHir-o Tarâr]: the meaning of these terms implies that Love enjoys playing tricks on the lover.

¹⁰without taste and turban [bê-del-o dastâr]: the first word [bê-del] literally means "without heart" and can usually be translated as "love-sick" in Mawlana's poems. Here, it has another meaning of "without taste" [bê-Zawq]. See Masnavi 2:1513.

¹¹revealed through him: In this ghazal, the ending rhyme of each verse may be translated as "from him I am"-- or "through him," "by him," "because of him," or "for him" [-am az ô]. Sometimes the meaning of "him" is the human beloved (the mystic master, Shams), sometimes it means "Him," the divine Beloved (God), and other times it can have both meanings (an ambiguity that is a common feature in Persian poetry). Ultimately, all gifts, knowledge, and blessings originate from God. This is an ecstatic ghazal that expresses annihilation of self in the master [fanâ fî 'sh-shaykh]--as in the words, "my face is his"--changing to annihilation of self in God [fanâ fî 'llâh]--as in the words, "all my signs and traces became heavenly maidens and light from Him." The poem expresses how complete submision [taslîm] to the mystic master and to the Will of God leads to ecstatic harmony and transcendent oneness. In the beginning of the poem, the lover respectfully suppresses his ecstatic laughter in the presence of a serious and sober master--and more so, he strives to harmonize with the master by being tearful. And he says: "With his sour (moods) I am sour (and) with his sugary (moods) I am sugary." Later in the poem, the lover cannot prevent laughter, for, "Anyone to whom God gives laughter, laughter jumps from his mouth..." The last verses of the ghazal are especially ecstatic in that they express the joy of states and faculties (such as patience and the intellect) in being in the divine Presence and glimpsing the fulfilment of the "heart's desire" of each one, in accordance with its essential nature.