In the Masnavi, Rumi uses the story of Adam looking down on the fallen Iblis to illustrate the danger of self-righteous pride (*'ujb* or *khwish-bini*). Although Adam is a chosen prophet and Iblis is cursed, Adam's brief moment of contempt and self-satisfaction triggers a rebuke from Divine Jealousy (*ghayrat*). Rumi warns that spiritual standing is entirely a gift of divine grace rather than personal merit; God possesses absolute sovereignty to reverse any state, potentially turning a hundred Adams into disbelievers or a hundred Iblises into believers. This teaches the seeker to maintain perpetual humility, avoid judging others, and constantly seek divine refuge rather than relying on their own knowledge or spiritual achievements.

Self-Righteousness and Divine Reversal in the Story of Adam and Iblis

In Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, Adam serves as a dual spiritual archetype for humanity. In Book One, Section 127, Rumi portrays Adam as the ultimate repository of divine wisdom, whose physical form contains all celestial realities and who teaches the angels through the 'Knowledge of the Names' (*ilm al-asma*). Conversely, in Book Four, Section 14, Adam represents the model of sincere repentance and self-correction (*istighfar*), choosing to admit his error ('Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves') rather than finding excuses. Together, these aspects show that in Rumi's philosophy, the journey of the perfect human (*Insan-i Kamil*) requires both supreme spiritual receptivity and profound personal humility.

Google

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

مرد گفت اکنون گذشتم از خلاف 
حکم داری تیغ برکش از غلاف
هرچه گویی من ترا فرمان برم 
در بد و نیک آمد آن ننگرم
در وجود تو شوم من منعدم 
چون محبم حب یعمی و یصم
گفت زن آهنگ برم می‌کنی 
یا بحیلت کشف سرم می‌کنی
گفت والله عالم السر الخفی 
کافرید از خاک آدم را صفی
در سه گز قالب که دادش وا نمود 
هر چه در الواح و در ارواح بود
تا ابد هرچه بود او پیش پیش 
درس کرد از علم الاسماء خویش
تا ملک بی‌خود شد از تدریس او 
قدس دیگر یافت از تقدیس او
آن گشادیشان کز آدم رو نمود 
در گشاد آسمانهاشان نبود
در فراخی عرصهٔ آن پاک جان 
تنگ آمد عرصهٔ هفت آسمان
گفت پیغامبر که حق فرموده است 
من نگنجم هیچ در بالا و پست
در زمین و آسمان و عرش نیز 
من نگنجم این یقین دان ای عزیز
در دل مؤمن بگنجم ای عجب 
گر مرا جویی در آن دلها طلب
گفت ادخل فی عبادی تلتقی 
جنة من رویتی یا متقی
عرش با آن نور با پهنای خویش 
چون بدید آن را برفت از جای خویش
خود بزرگی عرش باشد بس مدید 
لیک صورت کیست چون معنی رسید
هر ملک می‌گفت ما را پیش ازین 
الفتی می‌بود بر روی زمین
تخم خدمت بر زمین می‌کاشتیم 
زان تعلق ما عجب می‌داشتیم
کین تعلق چیست با این خاکمان 
چون سرشت ما بدست از آسمان
الف ما انوار با ظلمات چیست 
چون تواند نور با ظلمات زیست
آدما آن الف از بوی تو بود 
زانک جسمت را زمین بد تار و پود
جسم خاکت را ازینجا بافتند 
نور پاکت را درینجا یافتند
این که جان ما ز روحت یافتست 
پیش پیش از خاک آن می‌تافتست
در زمین بودیم و غافل از زمین 
غافل از گنجی که در وی بد دفین
چون سفر فرمود ما را زان مقام 
تلخ شد ما را از آن تحویل کام
تا که حجتها همی گفتیم ما 
که به جای ما کی آید ای خدا
نور این تسبیح و این تهلیل را 
می‌فروشی بهر قال و قیل را
حکم حق گسترد بهر ما بساط 
که بگویید ازطریق انبساط
هرچه آید بر زبانتان بی‌حذر 
همچو طفلان یگانه با پدر
زانک این دمها چه گر نالایقست 
رحمت من بر غضب هم سابقست
از پی اظهار این سبق ای ملک 
در تو بنهم داعیهٔ اشکال و شک
تا بگویی و نگیرم بر تو من 
منکر حلمم نیارد دم زدن
صد پدر صد مادر اندر حلم ما 
هر نفس زاید در افتد در فنا
حلم ایشان کف بحر حلم ماست 
کف رود آید ولی دریا بجاست
خود چه گویم پیش آن در این صدف 
نیست الا کف کف کف کف
حق آن کف حق آن دریای صاف 
کامتحانی نیست این گفت و نه لاف
از سر مهر و صفا است و خضوع 
حق آنکس که بدو دارم رجوع
گر بپیشت امتحانست این هوس 
امتحان را امتحان کن یک نفس
سر مپوشان تا پدید آید سرم 
امر کن تو هر چه بر وی قادرم
دل مپوشان تا پدید آید دلم 
تا قبول آرم هر آنچ قابلم
چون کنم در دست من چه چاره است 
درنگر تا جان من چه کاره است

</div>

## English translation
The man said, “Now I have passed beyond opposition; you hold command: draw the sword from its sheath. Whatever you say, I will obey you; whether bad or good comes, I will not look to that. I will become nonexistent in your being, for I am a lover: love blinds and deafens.” The woman said, “Are you intending to cut me off, or are you using a trick to uncover my secret?” He said, “By God, knower of the hidden secret, who created chosen Adam from clay; in the three-cubit frame He gave him, He disclosed all that was in the Tablets and in the spirits. Whatever would be until eternity, He had already taught him from His knowledge of the names, until the angel became beside himself from his teaching and found another holiness from his sanctification. The opening that appeared to them through Adam was not in the opening of their heavens. In the spacious expanse of that pure soul, the expanse of the seven heavens became narrow. The Prophet said that God has declared: I am not contained at all in high or low; in earth and heaven and even the Throne I am not contained. Know this for certain, dear one. I am contained in the believer’s heart; how wondrous. If you seek Me, seek Me in those hearts. He said, ‘Enter among My servants and you will meet a paradise from seeing Me, O God-fearing one.’ The Throne, with that light and its own breadth, when it saw that, moved from its place. The greatness of the Throne is indeed very extensive, but what is form when meaning arrives? Every angel said, ‘Before this we had an intimacy upon the face of the earth. We were sowing the seed of service on the earth, and we wondered at that attachment: what is this attachment we have to this clay, when our nature is from heaven? What is our intimacy, we lights, with darkness? How can light live with darkness?’ ‘Adam, that intimacy came from your scent, for the earth was the warp and woof of your body. They wove your earthen body from here; they found your pure light here. What our soul has received from your spirit had been shining beforehand from the clay. We were in the earth and unaware of the earth, unaware of a treasure buried in it. When He commanded us to travel from that station, our palate became bitter from that transfer, so that we kept offering arguments: Who will come in our place, O God? Are You selling the light of this glorification and declaration of unity for mere talk and dispute?’ God’s decree spread a carpet for us: ‘Speak by way of expansive intimacy. Whatever comes to your tongues, without caution, like children intimate with their father. For even if these breaths are unworthy, My mercy precedes My wrath. To show this precedence, O angel, I will place in you the impulse toward objection and doubt, so that you may speak and I will not take you to task. One who denies My forbearance cannot breathe. A hundred fathers and a hundred mothers are born in Our forbearance at every breath and fall into annihilation. Their forbearance is foam from the sea of Our forbearance: foam goes and comes, but the sea remains. What can I say before that, in this shell? There is nothing but foam, foam, foam, foam. By the truth of that foam, by the truth of that clear sea, this speech is no test and no boast. It is from pure affection, sincerity, and humility, by the truth of the One to whom I return. If in your sight this desire is a test, test the test for one breath. Do not hide your secret, so that my secret may appear; command whatever I am able to do. Do not hide your heart, so that my heart may appear, so that I may accept whatever I am capable of. What can I do? What remedy is in my hand? Look and see what my soul is fit for.”

دفتر اول - بخش ۱۲۷ - دل نهادن عرب بر التماس دلبر خویش و سوگند خوردن کی درین تسلیم مرا حیلتی و امتحانی نیست / Book One - Section 127 - The Arab Yielding to the Entreaty of His Beloved and Swearing That in This Submission He Has No Trick or Test

In the *Masnavi* (Book One, Section 80), Rumi explores the theological tension between divine destiny (*qada*) and human free will (*ikhtiyar*) through the contrasting responses of Adam and Iblis to their transgressions. Although Rumi asserts that God is the ultimate creator of all actions, he argues that humans must assume moral responsibility for their errors. Iblis embodies blind determinism (*jabr*), insolently blaming God for his fall ('Because You led me astray') to mask his own ego. Conversely, Adam models spiritual courtesy (*adab*) and free will by taking ownership of his mistake ('Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves'). Rumi teaches that acknowledging personal agency and demonstrating humility are essential prerequisites for repentance and divine grace.

Adamic Responsibility vs. Satanic Determinism 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

Learn After