The Masnavi, also written as Mathnavi, is a long narrative poem written in rhyming couplets (which is what Masnavi is) in Persian language by Rumi. It is a series of six books of poetry that together amount to around 25,000 verses or 50,000 lines. The collection contains Rumi’s teachings in his eloquent style, making use of multiple, short narratives. There are diverse stories and characters, but at the heart of each one of them, you would find a Sufi lesson.
One of the stories is called The Sufi and His Cheating Wife. Below is the English translation of the story, excerpted from the book The Book of Rumi by Maryam Mafi.
There was a Sufi who was a hard-working and honest shopkeeper and who loved his wife; he felt that he would go to the ends of the earth for her. For some time, though, he had grown suspicious of her but was feeling guilty about his suspicions at the same time. One day he decided to go home earlier than usual. On that day, however, his beautiful wife had arranged for her lover to pay her a quick visit. When the Sufi opened the front door of his house, she was in the arms of the local peddler, lost in love and lust.
He slammed the door shut as he entered, barring any way out for a possible intruder. The lovers froze on the spot, unable to think of a way out. The Sufi who possessed valuable foresight, decided not to make a scene and to maintain his wife’s good reputation in the neighbourhood, as he was still very much in love with her. While he was quickly thinking of an appropriate response, his cunning wife came up with a rescue plan. She quickly disguised the peddler under one of her veils, pretending that she was entertaining a visitor, in fact a woman inquiring on behalf of a suitor for their unmarried daughter.
The truth didn’t escape the Sufi, but he had already made up his mind and decided to play along with his wife. “What service can we do for the revered lady?” he asked shrewdly.
“She’s come to ask for our daughter’s hand and would like to see her, but she’s at school right now. The lady’s son is a competent businessman but is out of town at the moment; that’s why he’s not accompanying her,” the wife was quick to reply.
“It seems to me that this lady is grand and rich! Why would she want to marry her son to our poor daughter?” the man asked feigning his ignorance. “We are certainly not in the same class of society as her family! It’s like building a doorframe with wood on one side and ivory on the other. When couples are not on the same social level, their marriage will not last long!” asserted the Sufi.
“I told her exactly the same thing, but she says that they have enough wealth to last them a few lifetimes and that what they are searching for is honesty and virtue in a girl, which are treasures both in this life and after!”
“Well, she can see how destitute we are. Our daughter has no dowry, and her greatest asset is indeed her chastity and honesty, which is obvious to God and not dependent on my judgment!” the Sufi said, hoping that his words would be imprinted on the cheating partners’ consciences without him having to disgrace them publicly.
THE END.
Kalampedia 