---

Pharoah and Moses

Mathnawi I: 2447-2481

In explanation that Moses and Pharaoh are both subject to
the control of the (Divine) Will, just as (are) poison and
antidote, darkness and light.¹ And of the conversing of
Pharaoh (with God) in private that (his good) reputation
might not be destroyed.


2447 Moses and Pharaoh (were both) the slaves of Spiritual
Reality--² (even though) outwardly that one kept (the right)
way and this one (went) misguided.

Moses was lamenting (in prayer) before God during the
day. (But) Pharaoh was also weeping³ during the middle of
the night,

Saying, "O God, what is this iron collar on my neck?⁴
(For) no one can say 'I am I' if there is no (such) iron
collar.⁵

2450 "By means of that (Decree) by which You have made Moses
enlightened, by that same (Decree)⁶ You have made me gloomy
and darkened.

"(And) by that (Decree) by which You made Moses
moon-faced (like the beautiful radiant full moon), You have
made the moon of my soul to be dark-faced (as from an
eclipse).

"My (guiding) star⁷ was no better than a moon.⁸ Since it
has been eclipsed, what remedy is there for me?

"If they beat the drums for me (as their) Lord and
Sultan, (it is no better than when) the moon is seized
(during an eclipse) and they beat (their) bowls.⁹

"They are banging those bowls and making (such) a noisy
clamor, (that) they are disgracing the moon because of
those blows.

2455 "I, who am Pharaoh, sorrow for me for my reputation--
that I (am) 'the Most High Lord,'¹⁰ because of (the damage
from) those blows on the bowls.

"We are (Your) fellow-servants,¹¹ but Your ax is
splitting the branches¹² in Your forest.

"Again, it makes a particular tree shoot (to be) joined
and grafted,¹³ but makes another shoot (to be) abandoned.

"The branch hasn't any power over the ax. (And) no
branch has ever escaped from the ax's power.

"By right of the power which Your ax has, make these
crookednesses (of ours) straight by means of (Your)
Generosity!"

2460 Once again, Pharaoh said to himself, "Oh (how) amazing!
Am I not (spending) the whole night in (praying), "O our
Lord!"?

"In secret I am becoming (as humble as) dust and
balanced. How (is it that) I am [so insolent and
rebellious]¹⁴ when I come (to be) together with Moses?

"The color of counterfeit (gold) is (made with) ten
layers, (yet) it becomes like someone with a black face (and
disgraced)¹⁵ in the fire's presence.

"Are not my heart and body under His Command, (so that)
He makes me a kernel for a while, (and then) an outward skin
for a time?

"I become green (and flourishing) when He says, "Become
grain!" (And then) I become yellow (and dried-up) when He
says, "Become ugly!"

2465 "One moment He makes me (into) a (luminous) moon. (And)
one moment (He makes me) dark and black. How can the Action
of God be other than this?"

In the presence of the mallets of His Command of "Be!
And it was,"¹⁶ we are running (like polo balls)¹⁷ in (either
physical) place or placelessness.¹⁸

Since colorlessness became the captive of color,¹⁹ a
Moses went into battle with a Moses.²⁰

When you reach colorlessness--²¹ which you had
(originally), Moses and Pharaoh will maintain peace and
harmony (with each other).²²

(And) if comes to you (to ask) a question about this
subtle point, (consider that) color is never devoid of
dispute.²³

2470 It is amazing that this color has arisen from
colorlessness. How did color rise (up) into battle with
colorlessness?²⁴

(Since) the origin of oil is an increase (of quality)
from water, how did it finally become contrary to water?²⁵

Since the rose is from the thorn and the thorn from the
rose, why are both in battle and in dispute (with each
other)?²⁶

Or (perhaps) it is not conflict (and) it for the sake of
(Divine) Wisdom. Is it (an) artificial (appearance), like
the disputes of donkey-sellers?²⁷

Or (perhaps) it isn't this or that, (and) it is
bewilderment. The treasure must be searched for, and this is
the ruin²⁸ (where it is to be found).

2475 That which you are imagining is the treasure-- because
of that (false) supposition (of yours), you are losing the
(real) treasure.

Know (that) imagination and opinion (are) like inhabited
(areas). (But) treasure is not (found) in inhabited places.

There is (human) existence and conflict in inhabited
(areas). For the non-existent (mystic) there is shame²⁹
because of existent things.

It is not that (self) existence has cried for help from
non-existence,³⁰ rather non-existence has abandoned (self)
existence.³¹

Don't say, "I'm escaping from non-existence." Rather, it
is escaping from you.³² (So) stop [believing as you do]!³³

Outwardly, it calls you to toward it. But inwardly, it
is driving you (away)³⁴ with the club of rejection.

2481 O (man) of healthy (mind), it is (a situation) of shoes
facing backwards.³⁵ Know that the aversion of Pharaoh³⁶ was
[in reality] from Moses.³⁷

--From "The Mathnawî-yé Ma`nawî" [Rhymed Couplets of
Deep Spiritual Meaning] of Jalaluddin Rumi.
Translated from the Persian by Ibrahim Gamard (with
gratitude for R. A. Nicholson's 1926 British translation)
© Ibrahim Gamard (translation, footnotes, & transliteration)
First published on "Sunlight" (yahoogroups.com), 1/18/01

Notes on the text, with line number:

¹(Heading) poison and antidote, darkness and light:
Nicholson later corrected his translation, based upon the
earliest manuscript of the Mathnawi, to "like poison and
antidote" (from, "like antidote and poison").

"On the monistic theory underlying this section of the
poem, see... notes on vv. 298 ["God, who has no like or
opposite, is the ultimate source of good and evil, faith and
infidelity, and all other opposites, since these are nothing
more than reflexions of the Divine attributes of Beauty and
Majesty, Mercy and Wrath, etc., i.e. aspects in which God
reveals Himself to human minds. Such contradictions, though
proper to the world of Appearance, are transcended and
unified in the mystic's vision of Reality... The mystic,
'seeing by the Light of God', knows that the infinite Divine
perfections include all that we describe as good or evil.
Rúmí bids his readers 'break through to the Oneness, abandon
their evil selves and the world in which evil is at war with
good, and seek union with the Absolute Good.]... supra. The
appearance of contrariety is necessary for the complete
manifestation of God in the world; hence in successive ages
His Beautiful and Terrible Attributes are personified and
displayed as antagonists contending for mastery (cf. VI 2153
sqq.), though essentially they are one as He is one
(al-sifát `aynu 'l-Dhát) [= The (Divine) Attribute is
identical to the (Divine) Essence]." (Nicholson, Commentary)

²(2447) Moses and Pharaoh (were both) the slaves of
Spiritual Reality: "Because Hazrat-i Moses-- peace be upon
him-- chose the path of guidance, for he is the
manifestation of the (Divine) Name "the Guide" [hâdî]. And
that path is the dominion of the guidance of the Ruler (of
the universe). And also, Pharaoh went misguided, for he was
the manifestation of the Name, "the One Who Leads Astray"
[muZill]." (Translated here into English from a Persian
translation of the famous 17th century Turkish commentary
on the Mathnawi/Masnavi by Anqaravi)

³(2448) Pharaoh was also weeping: "God is al-hádí [= the
Guide], he who lets men be guided to salvation, and also
al-Mudill, he who lets them be led to perdition [spiritual
ruin, Hell]: whether they appear to be saved or lost, in
reality they are doing His eternal will in the way decreed
by Him. Ibnu 'l-`Arabí [= famous sufi master, d. 1240]
(Fusús, 99-1-1) draws the logical conclusion that all souls
are ultimately saved, though the bliss of the ahlu 'l-nár [=
the people of the Fire] is less pure than that enjoyed by
the ahlu 'l-jannah [= the people of Paradise]." (Nicholson,
Commentary)

⁴(2449) what is this iron collar on my neck: "The ghull
[= shackle] is egoism." (Nicholson, Commentary) Refers to
the verse: "Truly, We have put iron collars [aghlâl] around
their necks reaching to their chins, so that their heads are
forced up (so that they cannot see)." (Qur'an 36:8) This
verse (in which the One God speaks in the "majestic plural")
expresses the blindness of arrogance (which looks down at
others as inferior), the deliberate denial of the truth, and
the consequences of being led astray because of egotism.

⁵(2449) no one can say, 'I am I' if there is no iron
collar: "None but God has the right to say 'I'." (Nicholson,
Commentary) It also means that without the iron collar of
egotism and viewing others as inferior, no one would be able
to express the "I-ness" of ego.

⁶(2450) by that same (Decree): "[Moses was saying],
'Certainly, according to that same Wisdom and Will of Yours
[by which You blessed Moses], You have created me to be led
astray and lacking (guiding) light.'" (Anqaravi, Commentary)

⁷(2452) My (guiding) star: refers, astrologically, to the
"rising star," or the planet which rose on the day of his
birth. One's "lucky star" was believed to indicate good
fortune in life, depending on other simultaneous
astrological factors.

⁸(2452) was no better than a moon: Nicholson translated,
"was not better than a moon (so that it should be exempt
from eclipse)..."

⁹(2453) they beat (their) bowls: "I.e., 'all the marks of
my reverence shown by my subjects to their sovereign lord
are in effect a celebration of my spiritual downfall and
disgrace'. In this and the following verses there is an
allusion to the practice of beating copper or brazen bowls
during an eclipse, in order that the dragon, whose head or
tail [= the two places where eclipses can occur on the
moon's path on the ecliptic, called in astrology the
Dragon's Head and Tail] was supposed to cover the moon,
might be terrified by the din and driven away." (Nicholson,
Commentary) In Islam, a special congregational prayer is
prescribed to calm the people during an eclipse and to
discourage superstitious fears by increasing faith in God.

¹⁰(2455) 'I (am) the Most High Lord': a modification of
words from the Qur'an, for metrical purposes. Pharaoh
claimed to be God: "He said, 'I am your Lord, the Most High'
[ânâ rabbu-kumu 'l-a`là]" (Qur'an 79:24). And: "O chiefs, I
don't know any Divinity for you except myself." (Qur'an
28:38) Nicholson translated, "... because of (what is being
done by) the people: my (title of ) 'My supreme Lord' is
(like) the blows on the bowl (since it proclaims my
eclipse)."

¹¹(2456) We are (Your) fellow-servants: Nicholson
translated, "We (Moses and I) are fellow-servants (to Thee).

¹²(2456) splitting the branches: Nicholson later corrected
his translation, based on the earliest manuscript of the
Mathnawi/Masnavi, to "cleaving the boughs" (from "cleaving
the sappy boughs"). "We are both Your slaves and servants,
but You are the Gardener of Reality since You split and tear
off the branches of existence, in the forest of Your
Creation, with the ax of Your Will and Decree.... In regard
to another untalented and fruitless branch, a branch of
grace and guidance is grafted onto its existence, and it is
assisted and made complete.' 'And God will select for His
Mercy whoever He Wills, for God is the Possessor of
Magnificent Grace' [= Qur'an 2: 105].... And God Most High
said, 'And if God touches you with affliction, no one can
remove it except Him. And if He touches you with happiness--
truly He is Powerful over all things' [= Qur'an 6:17]."
(Anqaravi, Commentary)

¹³(2457) joined and grafted: Nicholson translated, "Then
it makes one bough to be firmly planted, another bough to be
left uncared for." He later changed his translation, based
on the earliest manuscript of the Mathnawi/Masnavi, to "Then
it makes one bough to be grafted..." He also said: "Perhaps
we should read 'muwaSSal' [= joined] with the oldest MSS. [=
manuscript] and translate: 'then it makes one bough to be
grafted (on to another)', i.e. causes a soul to be attached
to the prophets and saints and led in the path of salvation.
The same metaphor is used at II 1245 and II 2699, a verse
which favours the view that 'muwaSSal' is the correct
reading here. On the other hand 'mu'aSSal' [= firmly
planted] is a better antithesis to 'mu`aTTal' [= left
uncared for]: the axe may be employed either for breaking up
the earth in order to plant the twig or for cutting off the
latter and leaving it to perish." (Commentary)

¹⁴(2461) How (is it that) I am [so insolent and
rebellious]: Nicholson translated, "how am I becoming (so
different)." And he explained: "Gnostics [= mystic knowers]
perceive that what is manifested in actual existence is the
nature and character which existed potentially as an idea in
the Divine mind. The actions of Pharaoh were in perfect
agreement with God's fore-knowledge of him: from this point
of view there was no opposition between him and God; he only
became disobedient when confronted with Moses, who
represents the command (amr) of God as revealed to His
prophets and embodied in the religious law." (Commentary)

¹⁵(2462) (yet) it becomes like someone with a black face
(and disgraced): Nicholson translated, "how is it becoming
black-faced in the presence of the fire?"

¹⁶(2466) "Be! And it was" [kun fa-kân]: based on a verse
from the Qur'an, modified here for metrical purposes.
"Truly, His Command when He wills something, He says to it,
'Be!' and it is [kun fa-yakûn]." (Qur'an 36:82; see also
2:117; 16:40; 40:68)

¹⁷(2466) running (like polo) balls): a frequent image used
by Rumi to express the Almighty Power of God: we are like
polo balls struck by His mallet.

¹⁸(2466) in (either physical) place or placelessness:
Nicholson translated, "(like balls) in Space and beyond."
And he explained, "Literally, 'in space and non-space.'"
(Footnote)

¹⁹(2467) Since colorlessness became the captive of color:
Nicholson translated, "Since colourlessness (pure Unity)
became the captive of colour (manifestation in the
phenomenal world)..." And he explained: "i.e. the realm of
pure being and absolute unity, in which there is no
'colour', i.e. individualisation (ta`ayyun) or limitation of
any kind. 'Colour' suggests the dyeing-vat of destiny and
the characters of good or evil that emerge from it. See
notes on vv. 764-766" [= "Qur. II 132: 'God's dyeing', i.e.
God has imbued us, the true believers, with faith and
knowledge of His Unity, in which our hearts are steeped like
garments in the vat of the dyer." (Commentary)

"The world of colorlessness is the level of the saying
[attributed to the Prophet], 'God was, and there was nothing
beside Him.' And it is the world of [the Divine saying], "I
was a hidden treasure, and I loved to be known, so I created
the universe so that I might be known.'" (Anqaravi,
Commentary)

²⁰(2467) a Moses went into battle with a Moses: "None of
the commentators refers to VI 45-63, where the poet brings
out the meaning of this hemistich very clearly [= which
Nicholson translated: "Our war and our peace is in the light
of the Essence: 'tis not from us, 'tis between the two
fingers (of God). War of nature, war of action, war of
speech-- there is a terrible conflict among the parts (of
the universe). This world is maintained by means of this
war: consider the elements, in order that it (the
difficulty) may be solved. The four elements are four strong
pillars by which the roof of the present world is (kept)
upright. Each pillar is a destroyer of the other: the pillar
(known as) water is destroyer of the flames (of fire).
Hence the edifice of creation is (based) upon contraries;
consequently we are at war for weal and woe. My states (of
mind and body) are mutually opposed: each one is mutually
opposite in its effect. Since I am incessantly waylaying
(struggling with) myself, how should I act in harmony with
another? Behold the surging armies of my 'states,' each at
war and strife with another. Contemplate the same grievous
war in thyself: why, then, art thou engaged in warring with
others?"-- VI: 45-54]. The essence of Man is Divine and
therefore one; conflict between spirit and flesh, mind and
body, arises from creation, which involves plurality and
difference. 'Our war and our peace is in the light of the
Essence: 'tis not from us, 'tis between the two fingers of
God', i.e. all this opposition has its source in the Divine
attributes objectified in the world and in Man; for the
'edifice of creation is based on contraries.' In order that
God may be known, the One appears as the Many, and His names
and attributes are distinguished from His Essence, though in
truth they are nothing but the Essence viewed under the form
of 'otherness' and, like water and ice, are ultimately
identical. This apparent difference-in-identity is described
by the poet as war between a Moses and a Moses." (Nicholson,
Commentary)

"If a (quality of Divine) Reality, such as that which
manifested in Hazrat-i Moses, attends to the commanding ego
[nafsu 'l-amr], the opposite of Moses will come into
manifestation facing that one, with opposite qualities-- and
will be at war with Moses. In spite what is shown by these
two (opposite) manifestations, (Divine) Reality is One."
(Anqaravi, Commentary) Anqaravi here appears to mean that
the very existence of egotistical qualities-- even in a
great Prophet such as Moses-- were sufficient to cause the
manifestation of an opponent to Moses.

²¹(2468) colorlessness: a major teaching of Rumi is that
this world of contraries is like various colors, but the
origin is Unity beyond distinct forms. Continuing the quote
(translated by Nicholson) in the previous note: "Or (is it
because thou hast no means of escape) unless God shall
redeem thee from this war and bring thee into the
unicoloured world of peace? That world is naught but
everlasting and flourishing, because it is not composed of
contraries. This reciprocal destruction is inflicted by
(every) contrary on its contrary: when there is no contrary,
there is naught but everlastingness. He (God) who hath no
like banished contraries from paradise, saying, 'Neither sun
nor its contrary, intense cold, shall be there.'
Colourlessness is the origin of colours, peaces are the
origins of wars. That world is the origin of this dolorous
[= sorrowful] abode, union is the origin of every parting
and separation. Wherefore, sire, are we thus in opposition,
and wherefore does unity give birth to these numbers?
Because we are the branch and the four elements are the
stock: in the branch the stock has brought its own nature
into existence. (But) since the substance, (which is) the
spirit, is beyond ramifications, its nature is not this
(plurality); it is the nature of (the Divine) Majesty." --
VI: 55-63

²²(2468) Moses and Pharaoh will maintain peace and harmony
(with each other): "When you are freed from
self-consciousness and absorbed in God, you regain your
original unity." (Nicholson, Commentary)

²³(2469) color is never devoid of dispute: Nicholson
translated, "(I reply), how should (the world of) colour be
devoid of contradiction?"

²⁴(2470) How did color rise (up) into battle with
colorlessness?: "Strife and discord are characteristic of
phenomenal forms. But how shall we explain the mystery that
these forms proceed from the formless Reality to which their
phenomenal nature is opposed?" (Nicholson, Commentary)

²⁵(2471) how did it finally become contrary to water: This
is the verse in the earliest manuscript. Written opposite it
is a variant, which was used instead by Nicholson: "Inasmuch
as oil has been formed (by God) from water, why have oil and
water become opposites?" [chûn-ke rawghan-râ z-âb
esreshta-and/ âb bâ rawghan che-râ Zid gashta-and] In an
appendix, Nicholson added: "Substitute for this verse 'The
original source of oil (the oil-producing tree) is made to
grow by means of water: how (then) does it (oil) finally
become opposed to water?"

"The analogy of the origin of oil, since the root of the
olive tree and vegetables are oily. In the sense of, 'And
[We made] from water all living things (Qur'an 21:30), it
finds growth and increase from water and develops."
(Anqaravi, Commentary)

²⁶(2472) why are both in battle and in dispute (with each
other): "Analogies by way of answer. That which is dark and
gross may be derived from that which is pure and subtle, and
vice versa." (Nicholson, Commentary)

²⁷(4273) like the disputes of donkey-sellers: Or shall we
say that the show of discord mass a deep design and
harmonious purpose? Wrangling ass-dealers are really engaged
in a conspiracy to deceive the customer and incite him to
buy (cf. IV 3014)" [= translated by Nicholson: "(Similarly)
the ass-sellers became rivals to one another in order that
they might open the way to the contract (of sale)."]
(Nicholson, Commentary)

²⁸(2474) and this is the ruin: Nicholson translated, "and
this (bewilderment) is the ruin (where it is hidden)." And
he explained: "Or, again, is the creation of the world a
riddle insoluble by the intellect? May not the key to it be
found in mystical bewilderment? Treasures are buried in
ruined places. The treasure of Divine Unity is discovered by
the man of true self-abandonment..." (Commentary) "Desire
the treasure of Unity, since the treasure of Oneness is in
the ruin of opposites and contraries." (Anqaravi,
Commentary)

²⁹(2477) for the non-existent (mystic) there is shame:
"'Níst' [= non-existent one] in this passage denotes the
prophet or saint who has died to self; 'hast' the egoist and
all that constitutes self-existence." (Nicholson,
Commentary) See also Mathnawi I: 517-518 (translated by
Nicholson), "This uttering of praise (to Him) is (really)
the omission of praise on my part for this (praise) is a
proof of (my) being [ = hastî], and being is a sin. It
behoves (us) to be not-being in the presence of His
Being..." Nicholson commented: "Cf. the verse quoted by
Junayd... 'When I say, 'What sin have I committed?' she says
in reply, 'Thy life [= Hayâtu-ka] is a sin with which no sin
can be compared." (Commentary)

³⁰(2478) non-existence [nêstî]: refers to "mystical death"
of egoic self-existence, as well as to the spiritual realm
which transcends material existence and ego-identity.

³¹(2478) non-existence has abandoned (self) existence:
Nicholson translated, " It is not the case that the existent
implored help against (sought to escape from) non-existence;
nay, ('twas) the non-existent (that) repelled the existent."
And he explained: "Wá-dád kardan = radd kardan, also at III
751. The unbelievers falsely imagine that they reject the
holy man who calls them to God. In truth it is he who
rejects them, for it is the nature of reality to reject
illusion. Had there been any spiritual affinity between him
and them, he would have accepted them, and then they would
have responded to his call. Faith is a gift of Divine grace:
there can be no question of refusing it. Cf. Qur. VI 125" [=
"The one whom God Wills to guide, He opens his chest to
surrender (to His Will) [islâm]). The one whom He Wills to
let stray, He makes his chest narrow and tight, as if he was
ascending [dangerously] to the sky. Thus does God make those
who refuse to believe (to be) repellant."]

³²(2479) it is escaping from you: "O possessor of
(self-existence), don't say, 'I am fleeing from
non-existence and the people of annihilation [fanâ] [= the
sufi saints].' But that world of non-existence and its
people, and twenty more levels, have aversion toward you. If
you say that, 'The people of annihilation are always
inviting me near to them, and their connection to me is (one
of) desire and yearning, then how can they have dislike of
me?' The answer (is in the next line)." (Anqaravi,
Commentary)

³³(2479) (So) stop [believing as you do]: Nicholson
translated, "Stop! (Do not fancy yourself to be fleeing."

³⁴(2480) inwardly, it is driving you (away): "The aversion
and dislike which is within your own existence was brought
into manifestation." (Anqaravi, Commentary)

³⁵(2481) it is (a situation) of shoes facing backwards:
"I.e. a case in which the appearance is contrary to the
reality." (Nicholson, Footnote) "The metaphor is taken from
one who reverses the shoes of his horse in order to confuse
the trail and mislead his pursuers." (Nicholson, Commentary)

³⁶(2481) the aversion of Pharaoh: Nicholson later
corrected his translation, based on the earliest manuscript
of the Mathnawi/Masnavi, to "know that Pharoah's abhorrence
(of Moses) (from, "know that the rebelliousness of
Pharaoh..."

³⁷(2481) was [in reality] from Moses: Nicholson
translated, "... was (really) from (caused by) Moses." And
he explained: "I.e. it was the effect of the inward
repudiation of Pharaoh by Moses, who was his opposite."
(Nicholson, Footnote) "Outwardly, Moses-- peace be upon
him-- was inviting Pharaoh (to God), but inwardly he had
dislike of him. Then the inward aversion (within) Hazrat-i
Moses-- peace be upon him-- had an effect upon Pharaoh's
existence. He also outwardly had hatred of Moses-- peace be
upon him." (Anqaravi, Commentary)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

dar bayân-é ân-ke mûsà wa fir`awn har dô musakhkhar-é
mashiyyat-and chon-ân-ke zahr wa pâzahr wa Zulmât wa nûr wa
munâjât kardan-é fir`awn ba-khalwat tâ nâmûs na-shek-and


2447 mûsà-wo fir`awn ma`nî-râ rahî
Zâhir ân rah dâr-ad-o în bê-rahî

rôz mûsà pêsh-é Haq nâlân shoda
nêm-shab fir`awn ham geryân boda

k-în che ghull-ast ay khodâ bar gardan-am
w-ar-na ghul bâsh-ad ke gôy-ad man man-am?

2450 z-ân-ke mûsà-râ munawwar karda-î
mar ma-râ z-ân ham mukaddar karda-î

z-ân-ke mûsà-râ tô mah-rô karda-î
mâh-é jân-am-râ seyah-rô karda-î

behtar az mâhê na-bûd istâra-am
chûn khusûf âmad, che bâsh-ad châra-am?

nawbat-am gar rabb-o sulTân mê-zan-and
mah gereft-o khalq pangân mê-zan-ad

mê-zan-and ân Tâs-o ghawghâ mê-kon-and
mâh-râ z-ân zakhma ruswâ mê-kon-and

2455 man ke fir`awn-am ze-shuhrat wây-é man
zakhm-é Tâs ân rabbiya 'l-a`lây-é man

khwâja-tâsh-ân-ém ammâ têsha-at
mê shekâf-ad shâkh-râ dar bêsha-at

bâz shâkhê-râ mûwaSSal mé-kon-ad
shâkh-é dêgar-râ mu`aTTal mê-kon-ad

shâkh-râ bar têsha dastê hast? ney
hêch shâkh az dast-é têsha jast? ney

Haqq-é ân qudrat ke ân têsha to-râ-st
az karam kon în kazhî-hâ-râ tô râst

2460 bâz bâ khwad gofta fir`awn ay `ajab
man na dar yâ rabba-nâ-am jumla shab?

dar nehân khâkî-wo mawzûn mê-shaw-am
chûn ba-mûsà mê-ras-am, chûn mê-shaw-am?

rang-é zarr-é qalb dah-tô mê-shaw-ad
pêsh-é âtesh chûn seyah-rô mê-shaw-ad

ne ke qalb-o qâlib-am dar Hukm-é ô-st
laHZa'yé maghz-am kon-ad yak laHZa pôst

sabz gard-am chûn-ke gôy-ad kesht bâsh
zard gard-am chûn-ke gôy-ad zesht bâsh

2465 laHZa'yé mâh-am kon-ad yak dam seyâh
khwad che bâsh-ad ghayr-é în kâr-é ilâh?

pêsh-é chawgân-hây-é Hukm-é kun fa-kân
mê-daw-êm andar makân-o lâ-makân

chûn-ke bê-rangî asîr-é rang shod
mûsiyê bâ mûsiyê dar jang shod

chûn ba-bê-rangî ras-î k-ân dâsht-î
mûsà-wo fir`awn dâr-and âshtî

gar to-râ ây-ad bar-în nukta sû'âl
rang kay khâlî bow-ad az qîl-o qâl?

2470 în `ajab k-în rang az bê-rang khâst
rang bâ bê-rang chûn dar jang khâst?

aSl-é rawghan z-âb afzûn mê-shaw-ad
`âqibat bâ âb Zid chûn mê-shaw-ad?

chûn gol az khâr-ast-o khâr az gol che-râ
har dô dar jang-and-o andar mâjarâ?

yâ na jang-ast în barây-é Hikmat-ast
ham-chô jang-é khar-ferôsh-ân San`at-ast?

yâ na în-ast-o na ân Hayrâniy-ast
ganj bây-ad jost în wîrâniy-ast

2475 ân-che tô ganj-ash tawahhum mê-kon-î
z-ân tawahhum ganj-râ gom mê-kon-î

chûn `imârât dân tô wahm-o rây-hâ
ganj na-b'w-ad dar `imârat jây-hâ

dar `imârat hastî-wo jangî bow-ad
nêst-râ az hast-hâ nangî bow-ad

na ke hast az nêstî feryâd kard
bal-ke nêst ân hast-râ wâ dâd kard

tô ma-gô ke man gorêz-ân-am ze-nêst
bal-ke ô az tô gorêzân-ast be-îst.

2480 Zâhirâ mê-khwân-ad-at ô sôy-é khwad
w-az darûn mê-rân-ad-at bâ chûb-é rad

2481 na`l-hây-é bâz-gûna-ast ay salîm
nafrat-é fir`awn mê-dân az kalîm

(mathnawi meter: XoXX XoXX XoX)