In Book 1, Section 92 of the Masnavi, Jalaluddin Rumi grounds his advocacy for perpetual spiritual effort in Islamic theology by citing Quran 55:29: 'Every day He is engaged in some affair' (*Kullu yawmin huwa fi sha'n*). Rumi employs this verse to illustrate that the Divine is constantly active and continuously manifesting new states in the universe. Because the Creator is never idle, Rumi argues that the spiritual seeker must mirror this dynamic divine nature through continuous inner restlessness and striving. This theological foundation justifies his assertion that even seemingly futile effort is superior to complacency, as spiritual passivity contradicts the ever-active nature of God.

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بس دراز است این حدیث خواجه گو 
تا چه شد احوال آن مرد نکو
خواجه اندر آتش و درد و حنین 
صد پراکنده همی‌گفت این چنین
گه تناقض گاه ناز و گه نیاز 
گاه سودای حقیقت گه مجاز
مرد غرقه گشته جانی می‌کند 
دست را در هر گیاهی می‌زند
تا کدامش دست گیرد در خطر 
دست و پایی می‌زند از بیم سر
دوست دارد یار این آشفتگی 
کوشش بیهوده به از خفتگی
آنک او شاهست او بی کار نیست 
ناله از وی طرفه کو بیمار نیست
بهر این فرمود رحمان ای پسر 
کل یوم هو فی شان ای پسر
اندرین ره می‌تراش و می‌خراش 
تا دم آخر دمی فارغ مباش
تا دم آخر دمی آخر بود 
که عنایت با تو صاحب‌سر بود
هر چه می‌کوشند اگر مرد و زنست 
گوش و چشم شاه جان بر روزنست

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## English translation
The discourse about the khwaja is very long; tell what became of the state of that good man. The khwaja, in fire and pain and longing, was saying a hundred scattered things like this: now contradiction, now coquetry, now need; now passion for Reality, now for metaphor/appearance. A drowning man struggles for his life, putting his hand toward every plant, so that perhaps one of them may take his hand in danger; he moves hand and foot from fear for his life. The Friend loves this agitation; futile striving is better than sleeping. He who is the King is not idle; lamentation from Him would be strange, for He is not sick. For this reason the All-Merciful said, O son: “Every day He is in an affair,” O son. On this path keep carving and scraping; until the last breath, do not be idle for a breath. Until the last breath there remains a last breath in which grace may be your intimate confidant. Whatever men and women strive at, the ear and eye of the King of the soul are at the window.

دفتر اول - بخش ۹۲ - رجوع به حکایت خواجهٔ تاجر / Book 1 - Section 92 - Return to the Tale of the Merchant Khwaja

In Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, during the merchant's lamentation in the Tale of the Merchant and the Parrot (Book 1, Section 92), Rumi delivers a profound discourse on the spiritual value of constant effort and inner agitation. He asserts that the Divine loves human restlessness and yearning (ashoftegi) on the spiritual path, famously stating that even seemingly useless striving is far better than passive sleep or complacency (koushesh-e bihoodeh beh az khoftegi). Rumi admonishes the seeker to keep scraping and carving (mitarash o mikharash) and never remain idle for a single moment until their final breath. This highlights the Sufi doctrine that the struggle itself, characterized by active yearning, is a form of spiritual purification and a prerequisite for receiving divine grace.

The Value of Perpetual Spiritual Striving and Restlessness in the Masnavi

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Ganjoor

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بعد از آنش از قفس بیرون فکند 
طوطیک پرید تا شاخ بلند
طوطی مرده چنان پرواز کرد 
کآفتاب شرق ترکی‌تاز کرد
خواجه حیران گشت اندر کار مرغ 
بی‌خبر ناگه بدید اسرار مرغ
روی بالا کرد و گفت ای عندلیب 
از بیان حال خودمان ده نصیب
او چه کرد آنجا که تو آموختی 
ساختی مکری و ما را سوختی
گفت طوطی کو به فعلم پند داد 
که رها کن لطف آواز و وداد
زانک آوازت ترا در بند کرد 
خویشتن مرده پی این پند کرد
یعنی ای مطرب شده با عام و خاص 
مرده شو چون من که تا یابی خلاص
دانه باشی مرغکانت بر چنند 
غنچه باشی کودکانت بر کنند
دانه پنهان کن بکلی دام شو 
غنچه پنهان کن گیاه بام شو
هر که داد او حسن خود را در مزاد 
صد قضای بد سوی او رو نهاد
جشمها و خشمها و رشکها 
بر سرش ریزد چو آب از مشکها
دشمنان او را ز غیرت می‌درند 
دوستان هم روزگارش می‌برند
آنک غافل بود از کشت و بهار 
او چه داند قیمت این روزگار
در پناه لطف حق باید گریخت 
کو هزاران لطف بر ارواح ریخت
تا پناهی یابی آنگه چون پناه 
آب و آتش مر ترا گردد سپاه
نوح و موسی را نه دریا یار شد 
نه بر اعداشان بکین قهار شد
آتش ابراهیم را نه قلعه بود 
تا برآورد از دل نمرود دود
کوه یحیی را نه سوی خویش خواند 
قاصدانش را به زخم سنگ راند
گفت ای یحیی بیا در من گریز 
تا پناهت باشم از شمشیر تیز

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## English translation
After that he flung it out of the cage,
The little parrot flew up to a high branch.

The dead parrot flew in such a way
As the sun of the East makes its swift Turkish raid.

The master was astonished at the bird's affair;
Unawares, he suddenly beheld the bird's secrets.

He raised his face and said: "O nightingale,
Give us a share of the account of your state.

What did that one do there, that you learned it?
You devised a trick and burned us!"

The parrot said: "It counseled me by its deed—
'Abandon the sweetness of voice and affection,

For your voice has put you in bondage'—
It made itself dead in pursuit of this counsel.

That is: O you who have become a musician for high and low,
Die like me, so that you may find release.

If you are a seed, birds will peck you up;
If you are a bud, children will pluck you.

Hide the seed; become entirely a snare.
Hide the bud; become a rooftop weed.

Whoever offers his beauty up for auction,
A hundred evil fates will turn their face toward him.

Evil eyes and rages and envies
Pour down upon him like water from waterskins.

Enemies tear him apart out of jealousy,
And friends too consume his days.

One who is heedless of sowing and spring—
What does he know of the worth of this time?

One must flee to the shelter of God's grace,
He who has poured thousands of graces upon souls,

So that you may find shelter; then, once sheltered,
Water and fire become your army.

Was the sea not the ally of Noah and Moses?
Was it not a wrathful avenger upon their enemies?

Was not fire a fortress for Abraham,
So that it drew smoke from the heart of Nimrod?

Did the mountain not call Yaḥyā to itself,
And drive away those sent against him with blows of stone?

It said: 'O Yaḥyā, come, flee into me,
So that I may shelter you from the sharp sword.'"

دفتر اول - بخش ۹۳ - برون انداختن مرد تاجر طوطی را از قفس و پریدن طوطی مرده / Book One - Section 93 - The merchant throwing the parrot out of the cage and the dead parrot flying

The Integration of Quran 55:29 (Kullu Yawmin Huwa Fi Sha'n) in Rumi's Philosophy of Striving

In Book 3 of the *Masnavi*, Rumi expounds on the spiritual principle that persistent seeking inevitably leads to finding (expressed in the Persian proverb *juyandeh yabandeh ast*). Grounding this idea in the Quranic verse 'Whoever does an atom's weight of good shall see it' (Quran 99:7) and prophetic sayings, Rumi uses several earthly analogies to show the certainty of cause and effect in spiritual endeavors: knocking repeatedly on a door until it opens, waiting patiently on someone's street, digging a well daily until clean water is reached, and sowing seeds to eventually reap. Through these metaphors, Rumi reassures spiritual seekers that sincere, continuous effort is never wasted and will ultimately culminate in divine union.

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