Concept

The Tale of the People of Saba and the Ingratitude of the Nafs in the Masnavi

In Book 3 of Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, the story of the people of Saba illustrates the profound ingratitude and destructive tendencies of the human lower self (nafs). Despite being blessed with immense wealth, beautiful gardens, and security, the people of Saba actively reject these divine gifts. They foolishly pray for their own ruin, asking God to replace their comfort with hardship and their flourishing cities with perilous wilderness. Rumi parallels this absurd rejection of blessings with human nature, observing that humanity often complains regardless of its circumstances, metaphorically seeking winter during summer and denying guidance when it arrives. Ultimately, Rumi equates the people of Saba with the nafs, stating that this base aspect of the self is 'fit to be killed' through spiritual discipline. Just as the people of Saba violently rejected the wisdom of their counselors and embraced vice until divine decree blinded them, the undisciplined nafs persistently chooses suffering over divine grace, necessitating its total subjugation.

0

1

Updated 2026-06-13

Contributors are:

Who are from:

References


Tags

Humanities

Literature

Islam

Religion

Science

Philosophy

Social Science

Persian Literature Prerequisite Course

Related