In Book Three of the Masnavi, Rumi concludes the tale of the blind man reading the Qur'an with a profound lesson on divine grace. In Section 82, the blind ascetic reveals that because he harbored an intense, sincere yearning to read the sacred text, he prayed to God for the ability to see the words. God answers this prayer by granting him physical sight exclusively during his recitation. Rumi uses this miracle to illustrate that when a spiritual seeker demonstrates absolute devotion and pure need (niyaz), God transcends natural physical limitations to provide spiritual illumination, emphasizing that true vision stems from the heart's connection to the Divine rather than the physical eyes.

Google

## Original content
<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right; line-height: 2; margin-top: 0.5rem;">

مرد مهمان صبرکرد و ناگهان 
کشف گشتش حال مشکل در زمان
نیم‌شب آواز قرآن را شنید 
جست از خواب آن عجایب را بدید
که ز مصحف کور می‌خواندی درست 
گشت بی‌صبر و ازو آن حال جست
گفت آیا ای عجب با چشم کور 
چون همی‌خوانی همی‌بینی سطور
آنچ می‌خوانی بر آن افتاده‌ای 
دست را بر حرف آن بنهاده‌ای
اصبعت در سیر پیدا می‌کند 
که نظر بر حرف داری مستند
گفت ای گشته ز جهل تن جدا 
این عجب می‌داری از صنع خدا
من ز حق در خواستم کای مستعان 
بر قرائت من حریصم همچو جان
نیستم حافظ مرا نوری بده 
در دو دیده وقت خواندن بی‌گره
باز ده دو دیده‌ام را آن زمان 
که بگیرم مصحف و خوانم عیان
آمد از حضرت ندا کای مرد کار 
ای بهر رنجی به ما اومیدوار
حسن ظنست و امیدی خوش ترا 
که ترا گوید بهر دم برتر آ
هر زمان که قصد خواندن باشدت 
یا ز مصحفها قرائت بایدت
من در آن دم وا دهم چشم ترا 
تا فرو خوانی معظم جوهرا
همچنان کرد و هر آنگاهی که من 
وا گشایم مصحف اندر خواندن
آن خبیری که نشد غافل ز کار 
آن گرامی پادشاه و کردگار
باز بخشد بینشم آن شاه فرد 
در زمان همچون چراغ شب‌نورد
زین سبب نبود ولی را اعتراض 
هرچه بستاند فرستد اعتیاض
گر بسوزد باغت انگورت دهد 
در میان ماتمی سورت دهد
آن شل بی‌دست را دستی دهد 
کان غمها را دل مستی دهد
لا نسلم و اعتراض از ما برفت 
چون عوض می‌آید از مفقود زفت
چونک بی آتش مرا گرمی رسد 
راضیم گر آتشش ما را کشد
بی چراغی چون دهد او روشنی 
گر چراغت شد چه افغان می‌کنی

</div>

## English translation
The guest waited patiently, and suddenly the difficult matter was disclosed to him at once. At midnight he heard Qur'an recitation; he sprang from sleep and saw that wonder: the blind man was reading correctly from the muṣḥaf. He lost patience and asked him about that state. He said, “Ah, wonder! With blind eyes, how are you reading, how are you seeing the lines? You have come upon exactly what you are reading; you have placed your hand upon its letters. Your finger, as it moves, makes plain that your gaze rests firmly on the letters.” He said, “O you whom bodily ignorance has separated from insight, do you marvel at the work of God? I asked the Real: ‘O One from whom aid is sought, I am eager for recitation as for life itself. I have not memorized it; give me a light in both eyes at the time of reading, unobstructed. Give back my two eyes to me at that moment, so that I may take up the muṣḥaf and read plainly.’ A call came from the Divine Presence: ‘O man of work, O you who hope in Us in every hardship, you have fair trust and sweet hope, which says to you at every breath: come higher. Whenever you intend to read, or need recitation from the written copies, I will at that moment restore your eyes, so that you may read the revered jewel.’ He did so; and whenever I open the muṣḥaf to read, that All-Aware One who is never heedless of the matter, that noble King and Creator, that peerless King restores my sight at once, like a lamp for a night-traveler. For this reason the saint has no objection: whatever He takes away, He sends compensation. If He burns your garden, He gives you grapes; in the midst of mourning He gives you a wedding feast. To the paralyzed, handless one He gives a hand; for those griefs He gives the heart an intoxication. ‘We do not concede’ and objection have left us, since compensation comes for the great thing lost. Since warmth reaches me without fire, I am content if His fire consumes us. Since He gives light without a lamp, if your lamp is gone, why do you cry out?”

دفتر سوم - بخش ۸۲ - بقیهٔ حکایت نابینا و مصحف / Book Three - Section 82 - The Rest of the Tale of the Blind Man and the Muṣḥaf

In Book 3 of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the story of the blind dervish reading the Qur'an introduces a profound lesson on the spiritual virtue of patience ($$sabr$$). A visiting sheikh notices a Qur'an hanging in the house of a blind ascetic and becomes deeply perplexed, wondering why a sightless man would need a written text. However, rather than prying or demanding an immediate explanation, the visitor restrains his curiosity and chooses to remain silent. He embraces patience, trusting that his inner agitation will eventually be resolved. Rumi uses this introductory scenario to embody the renowned Arabic proverb, 'Patience is the key to relief' ($$al-sabr miftah al-faraj$$). The narrative suggests that spiritual mysteries and miraculous realities are not unraveled through intrusive questioning, but are organically revealed to those who exhibit enduring patience and silent contemplation.

The Tale of the Blind Dervish and the Virtue of Patience in the Masnavi

Root URL: https://ganjoor.net/
Source URL: https://ganjoor.net/

This Reference node represents the source used by the Literature-to-1Cademy migration agent.

Learn Before

Related