In Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, olfactory imagery—specifically the contrast between sweet fragrances and foul odors—serves as a central metaphor for spiritual receptivity. In stories like the Tale of the Tanner, sweet scents (musk, ambergris) represent divine truth and moral guidance, while foul odors (tannery stench, dog's dung) represent worldly corruption and ego-driven desires. Conversely, in the Metaphor of Joseph's Scent, the sweet aroma represents the divine essence ($$Haqq$$) perceived only by the spiritually receptive heart. Together, these motifs illustrate that a soul's reaction to spiritual scents reflects its state of habituation: those entrenched in worldliness find divine truth repulsive, whereas those with a purified 'spiritual nose' detect and thrive on the fragrance of the Divine.

Comparison of Sweet and Foul Odors as Spiritual Motifs in the Masnavi

In Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the narrative of the Sufi master Bayazid Bastami foretelling the birth and characteristics of Abu al-Hasan al-Kharaqani decades before his actual birth illustrates the metaphysical concept of spiritual perception and transmission across temporal and spatial boundaries.

Rumi employs the metaphor of **spiritual scent** (*bu-ye khosh*) to represent the intuitive recognition of divine light and sanctity. This theme is structurally connected to the Hadith of *Nafas al-Rahman* (the Breath of the Merciful), wherein the Prophet Muhammad sensed the spiritual devotion of Uwais al-Qarani from Yemen. In the *Masnavi*, the spiritual essence of the future master is carried on the wind, intoxicating Bayazid with divine knowledge.

Key aspects of this concept include:

1. **Trans-temporal Connection (Owaysi Path):** Spiritual inheritance and initiation can bypass physical proximity and lifetime overlap, as Kharaqani is spiritually guided by the essence of Bayazid.
2...

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## Original content
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آن شنیدی داستان بایزید 
که ز حال بوالحسن پیشین چه دید
روزی آن سلطان تقوی می‌گذشت 
با مریدان جانب صحرا و دشت
بوی خوش آمد مر او را ناگهان 
در سواد ری ز سوی خارقان
هم بدانجا نالهٔ مشتاق کرد 
بوی را از باد استنشاق کرد
بوی خوش را عاشقانه می‌کشید 
جان او از باد باده می‌چشید
کوزه‌ای کو از یخابه پر بود 
چون عرق بر ظاهرش پیدا شود
آن ز سردی هوا آبی شدست 
از درون کوزه نم بیرون نجست
باد بوی‌آور مر او را آب گشت 
آب هم او را شراب ناب گشت
چون درو آثار مستی شد پدید 
یک مرید او را از آن دم بر رسید
پس بپرسیدش که این احوال خوش 
که برونست از حجاب پنج و شش
گاه سرخ و گاه زرد و گه سپید 
می‌شود رویت چه حالست و نوید
می‌کشی بوی و به ظاهر نیست گل 
بی‌شک از غیبست و از گلزار کل
ای تو کام جان هر خودکامه‌ای 
هر دم از غیبت پیام و نامه‌ای
هر دمی یعقوب‌وار از یوسفی 
می‌رسد اندر مشام تو شفا
قطره‌ای بر ریز بر ما زان سبو 
شمه‌ای زان گلستان با ما بگو
خو نداریم ای جمال مهتری 
که لب ما خشک و تو تنها خوری
ای فلک‌پیمای چست چست‌خیز 
زانچ خوردی جرعه‌ای بر ما بریز
میر مجلس نیست در دوران دگر 
جز تو ای شه در حریفان در نگر
کی توان نوشید این می زیردست 
می یقین مر مرد را رسواگرست
بوی را پوشیده و مکنون کند 
چشم مست خویشتن را چون کند
خود نه آن بویست این که اندر جهان 
صد هزاران پرده‌اش دارد نهان
پر شد از تیزی او صحرا و دشت 
دشت چه کز نه فلک هم در گذشت
این سر خم را به کهگل در مگیر 
کین برهنه نیست خود پوشش‌پذیر
لطف کن ای رازدان رازگو 
آنچ بازت صید کردش بازگو
گفت بوی بوالعجب آمد به من 
هم‌چنانک مر نبی را از یمن
که محمد گفت بر دست صبا 
از یمن می‌آیدم بوی خدا
بوی رامین می‌رسد از جان ویس 
بوی یزدان می‌رسد هم از اویس
از اویس و از قرن بوی عجب 
مر نبی را مست کرد و پر طرب
چون اویس از خویش فانی گشته بود 
آن زمینی آسمانی گشته بود
آن هلیلهٔ پروریده در شکر 
چاشنی تلخیش نبود دگر
آن هلیلهٔ رسته از ما و منی 
نقش دارد از هلیله طعم نی
این سخن پایان ندارد باز گرد 
تا چه گفت از وحی غیب آن شیرمرد

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## English translation
Have you heard the tale of Bayazid,
and what he foresaw of Abu al-Hasan's state?

One day that sultan of piety was passing
with his disciples toward the open plain and field.

Suddenly a sweet fragrance came to him
in the region of Ray, from the direction of Kharaqan.

There and then he gave the moan of the yearning one,
inhaling the fragrance from the wind.

He was drawing in the sweet fragrance lovingly;
his soul was tasting wine from the breeze.

A jug that is full of ice-water —
when sweat appears on its outer surface,

That has become water from the coldness of the air;
no moisture has seeped out from within the jug.

The fragrance-bearing wind became water to him,
and the water too became pure wine for him.

When signs of intoxication became manifest in him,
a disciple approached him in that moment.

Then he asked him: "These pleasant states
that are beyond the veil of five and six —

Sometimes your face turns red, sometimes yellow, sometimes white —
what is this state, and what is the good news?

You are inhaling a fragrance, yet outwardly there is no rose —
without doubt it is from the Unseen, from the universal rose-garden.

O you who are the soul's desire of every self-willed soul,
every moment a message and letter from your Unseen arrives.

Every moment, Jacob-like from a Joseph,
healing reaches your nostrils.

Pour a drop upon us from that jug,
tell us a breath of that rose-garden.

We are not accustomed, O beauty of lordship,
that our lips be dry while you drink alone.

O you who traverse the heavens, nimble, quick to rise,
pour a draught upon us from what you have drunk.

There is no lord of the assembly in any other age
but you, O king — look upon your companions.

How can one drink this wine in hiding?
Wine of certainty truly disgraces a man.

It may conceal and hide the scent,
but how can it conceal his own drunken eyes?

Indeed, this is not the kind of fragrance that in the world
a hundred thousand veils can keep hidden.

With its sharpness the plain and field have been filled —
what plain? For it has passed beyond the nine heavens as well.

Do not seal the mouth of this jar with mud and straw,
for this naked thing is not in itself capable of being veiled.

Be gracious, O knower of secrets, teller of secrets —
tell of what has seized you anew like a falcon."

He said: "A wondrous fragrance has come to me,
just as it came to the Prophet from Yemen —

For Muhammad said: on the hand of the east wind,
the fragrance of God comes to me from Yemen.

The fragrance of Ramin comes from the soul of Vis;
the fragrance of God likewise comes from Uways.

From Uways, from Qarn, a wondrous fragrance
made the Prophet intoxicated and full of joy.

For Uways had become annihilated from himself;
that earthly one had become heavenly.

That myrobalan nurtured in sugar
had lost all trace of its bitter taste.

That myrobalan freed from 'I' and 'we'
bears the form of myrobalan but not the taste.

This speech has no end — return,
to hear what that lion-man said from the inspiration of the Unseen."

دفتر چهارم - بخش ۶۸ - مژده دادن ابویزید از زادن ابوالحسن خرقانی قدس الله روحهما پیش از سالها و نشان صورت او سیرت او یک به یک و نوشتن تاریخ‌نویسان آن در جهت رصد / Book Four — Section 68 — Bayazid's Glad Tidings of the Birth of Abu al-Hasan Kharaqani, May God Sanctify Both Their Spirits, Years Before, and the Description of His Appearance and Character One by One, and the Recording of That by Historians for the Purpose of Observation

## Original content
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گفت زین سو بوی یاری می‌رسد 
کاندرین ده شهریاری می‌رسد
بعد چندین سال می‌زاید شهی 
می‌زند بر آسمانها خرگهی
رویش از گلزار حق گلگون بود 
از من او اندر مقام افزون بود
چیست نامش گفت نامش بوالحسن 
حلیه‌اش وا گفت ز ابرو و ذقن
قد او و رنگ او و شکل او 
یک به یک واگفت از گیسو و رو
حلیه‌های روح او را هم نمود 
از صفات و از طریقه و جا و بود
حلیهٔ تن هم‌چو تن عاریتیست 
دل بر آن کم نه که آن یک ساعتیست
حلیهٔ روح طبیعی هم فناست 
حلیهٔ آن جان طلب کان بر سماست
جسم او هم‌چون چراغی بر زمین 
نور او بالای سقف هفتمین
آن شعاع آفتاب اندر وثاق 
قرص او اندر چهارم چارطاق
نقش گل در زیربینی بهر لاغ 
بوی گل بر سقف و ایوان دماغ
مرد خفته در عدن دیده فرق 
عکس آن بر جسم افتاده عرق
پیرهن در مصر رهن یک حریص 
پر شده کنعان ز بوی آن قمیص
بر نبشتند آن زمان تاریخ را 
از کباب آراستند آن سیخ را
چون رسید آن وقت و آن تاریخ راست 
زاده شد آن شاه و نرد ملک باخت
از پس آن سالها آمد پدید 
بوالحسن بعد وفات بایزید
جملهٔ خوهای او ز امساک وجود 
آن‌چنان آمد که آن شه گفته بود
لوح محفوظ است او را پیشوا 
از چه محفوظست محفوظ از خطا
نه نجومست و نه رملست و نه خواب 
وحی حق والله اعلم بالصواب
از پی روپوش عامه در بیان 
وحی دل گویند آن را صوفیان
وحی دل گیرش که منظرگاه اوست 
چون خطا باشد چو دل آگاه اوست
مؤمنا ینظر به نور الله شدی 
از خطا و سهو آمن آمدی

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## English translation
He said: "From this direction comes the fragrance of a friend,
For into this village a sovereign is coming.
After many years a king shall be born,
Who will pitch his tent upon the heavens.
His face will be rose-flushed from the rose-garden of the Real,
And in station he will surpass me."
"What is his name?" He said: "His name is Abū'l-Ḥasan."
He described his features — from eyebrow to chin —
His stature, his complexion, his form —
One by one he described them, from his hair to his face.
The qualities of his soul he also revealed —
His attributes, his path, his station, and his being.
The description of the body, like the body itself, is borrowed;
Set not your heart upon it, for it lasts but an hour.
The description of the natural soul is also perishable;
Seek the description of that Soul which abides above the heavens.
His body is like a lamp upon the earth,
But his light is above the seventh vault.
The sunbeam is within the chamber,
But the sun's disk is in the fourth sky's fourfold arch.
The image of the rose is in the nostril, as a trifle,
But the fragrance of the rose fills the vault and portico of the brain.
The sleeping man in Eden saw the parting;
The reflection of that fell upon the body as sweat.
The shirt was in Egypt, pledged to a covetous one,
Yet Canaan was filled with the fragrance of that garment.
They inscribed the date at that time,
They adorned the skewer with kebab.
When that time arrived and that recorded date proved exact,
That king was born and played the game of sovereignty.
After those years he came into the world:
Abū'l-Ḥasan, after the death of Bāyazīd.
All his traits, from the restraint of his being,
Came exactly as that sage had foretold.
The Preserved Tablet is his guide;
From what is it preserved? Preserved from error.
It is neither astrology, nor geomancy, nor dream-vision —
It is the revelation of God; and God knows best what is right.
To veil it from the common folk in discourse,
The Sufis call it the revelation of the heart.
Take it as the revelation of the heart, for it is his vantage point —
How can there be error, when the heart itself is his witness?
"The believer sees by the light of God" — you have become such —
You are safe from error and lapse.

دفتر چهارم - بخش ۶۹ - قول رسول صلی الله علیه و سلم انی لاجد نفس الرحمن من قبل الیمن / Book Four - Section 69 - The Saying of the Prophet, Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him, 'Verily I Find the Breath of the Merciful from the Direction of Yemen'

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

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

Ganjoor

The Metaphor of Spiritual Scent and Foreknowledge in the Story of Bayazid and Kharaqani

## Original content
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هم‌چنان آمد که او فرموده بود 
بوالحسن از مردمان آن را شنود
که حسن باشد مرید و امتم 
درس گیرد هر صباح از تربتم
گفت من هم نیز خوابش دیده‌ام 
وز روان شیخ این بشنیده‌ام
هر صباحی رو نهادی سوی گور 
ایستادی تا ضحی اندر حضور
یا مثال شیخ پیشش آمدی 
یا که بی‌گفتی شکالش حل شدی
تا یکی روزی بیامد با سعود 
گورها را برف نو پوشیده بود
توی بر تو برفها هم‌چون علم 
قبه قبه دیده و شد جانش به غم
بانگش آمد از حظیرهٔ شیخ حی 
ها انا ادعوک کی تسعی الی
هین بیا این سو بر آوازم شتاب 
عالم ار برفست روی از من متاب
حال او زان روز شد خوب و بدید 
آن عجایب را که اول می‌شنید

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## English translation
Just as he had foretold, it came to pass —
Abū'l-Ḥasan heard this from the people:
That Ḥasan would be my disciple and my follower,
Taking lessons every morning from my tomb.
He said: "I too have seen this in a dream,
And heard this from the spirit of the Shaykh."
Every morning he would turn his face toward the grave,
Standing in attendance until the forenoon (ḍuḥā).
Either the form of the Shaykh would appear before him,
Or without a word his difficulty would be resolved —
Until one day he came in auspicious hour,
And the graves were covered with fresh snow.
Layer upon layer of snow like a banner,
Dome upon dome he saw, and his soul sank into grief.
A voice came to him from the enclosure of the living Shaykh:
"Here am I — I call to you that you may hasten to me.
Come, hasten to this side at my call!
Though the world be all snow, turn not your face from me."
His state from that day became well, and he witnessed
Those wonders which at first he had only heard of.

دفتر چهارم - بخش ۷۳ - شنیدن شیخ ابوالحسن رضی الله عنه خبر دادن ابویزید را و بود او و احوال او / Book Four — Section 73 — Shaykh Abū'l-Ḥasan (may God be pleased with him) Hearing the News Foretold by Bāyazīd, of His Existence and His States

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