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.

Adam as the Archetype of Divine Knowledge and Humility in the Masnavi

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.

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کرد حق و کرد ما هر دو ببین 
کرد ما را هست دان پیداست این
گر نباشد فعل خلق اندر میان 
پس مگو کس را چرا کردی چنان
خلق حق افعال ما را موجدست 
فعل ما آثار خلق ایزدست
ناطقی یا حرف بیند یا غرض 
کی شود یک دم محیط دو عرض
گر به معنی رفت شد غافل ز حرف 
پیش و پس یک دم نبیند هیچ طرف
آن زمان که پیش‌بینی آن زمان 
تو پس خود کی ببینی این بدان
چون محیط حرف و معنی نیست جان 
چون بود جان خالق این هر دوان
حق محیط جمله آمد ای پسر 
وا ندارد کارش از کار دگر
گفت شیطان که بما اغویتنی 
کرد فعل خود نهان دیو دنی
گفت آدم که ظلمنا نفسنا 
او ز فعل حق نبد غافل چو ما
در گنه او از ادب پنهانش کرد 
زان گنه بر خود زدن او بر بخورد
بعد توبه گفتش ای آدم نه من 
آفریدم در تو آن جرم و محن
نه که تقدیر و قضای من بد آن 
چون به وقت عذر کردی آن نهان
گفت ترسیدم ادب نگذاشتم 
گفت هم من پاس آنت داشتم
هر که آرد حرمت او حرمت برد 
هر که آرد قند لوزینه خورد
طیبات از بهر کی للطیبین 
یار را خوش کن برنجان و ببین
یک مثال ای دل پی فرقی بیار 
تا بدانی جبر را از اختیار
دست کان لرزان بود از ارتعاش 
وانک دستی تو بلرزانی ز جاش
هر دو جنبش آفریدهٔ حق شناس 
لیک نتوان کرد این با آن قیاس
زان پشیمانی که لرزانیدیش 
مرتعش را کی پشیمان دیدیش
بحث عقلست این چه عقل آن حیله‌گر 
تا ضعیفی ره برد آنجا مگر
بحث عقلی گر در و مرجان بود 
آن دگر باشد که بحث جان بود
بحث جان اندر مقامی دیگرست 
بادهٔ جان را قوامی دیگرست
آن زمان که بحث عقلی ساز بود 
این عمر با بوالحکم همراز بود
چون عمر از عقل آمد سوی جان 
بوالحکم بوجهل شد در حکم آن
سوی حس و سوی عقل او کاملست 
گرچه خود نسبت به جان او جاهلست
بحث عقل و حس اثر دان یا سبب 
بحث جانی یا عجب یا بوالعجب
ضؤ جان آمد نماند ای مستضی 
لازم و ملزوم و نافی مقتضی
زانک بینایی که نورش بازغست 
از دلیل چون عصا بس فارغست

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## English translation
See both God’s doing and our doing; know that our doing exists, for this is plain. If the act of creatures were not involved, then do not say to anyone, Why did you do that? God’s creating is the producer of our actions; our actions are effects of God’s creating. A speaker attends either to the word or to the intent; how can one instant encompass two attributes? If he turns to meaning, he becomes heedless of the word; in one instant he cannot see both before and behind, in any direction. At the moment when you see what is before you, how can you see behind yourself? Know this. Since the soul does not encompass word and meaning, how could the soul be creator of both? God encompasses all, O son; one of His works does not keep Him from another. Satan said, Because You led me astray; that vile demon hid his own act. Adam said, We have wronged ourselves; he was not heedless of God’s act as we are. In the sin, out of courtesy, he hid it; by charging the sin to himself he gained benefit. After the repentance, He said to him: O Adam, did I not create in you that offense and those trials? Was it not My predestination and decree? Why did you hide that when making your excuse? He said: I was afraid; I did not abandon courtesy. He said: I too guarded that for you. Whoever brings reverence receives reverence; whoever brings sugar eats lauzina. Good things are for whom? For the good. Please the Friend; grieve Him and see what follows. Bring one example, O heart, for the sake of distinction, so that you may know compulsion from choice: the hand that trembles from tremor, and the hand that you yourself shake from its place. Know both movements to be created by God, yet one cannot compare this with that. You repent over the hand that you made shake; when have you seen the tremor-stricken repent? This is the inquiry of reason: what reason? that trickster, unless perhaps a weak one finds a way there. If rational inquiry were pearls and coral, it is still other than the inquiry of the soul. The inquiry of the soul is in another station; the wine of the soul has another consistency. When rational inquiry was in tune, this Umar was intimate with Abu al-Hakam. When Umar came from reason toward the soul, Abu al-Hakam became Abu Jahl in that judgment. Toward sense and toward reason he is complete, though in relation to the soul he is ignorant. Know the inquiry of reason and sense as effect or cause; the inquiry of the soul is: O wonder, O marvel of wonders. When the light of the soul has come, O illuminated one, there no longer remain necessary and necessitated, negating and entailing terms. For the one whose sight has a rising light is quite free of proof, as of a staff.

دفتر اول - بخش ۸۰ - اضافت کردن آدم علیه‌السلام آن زلت را به خویشتن کی ربنا ظلمنا و اضافت کردن ابلیس گناه خود را به خدای تعالی کی بما اغویتنی / Book One - Section 80 - Adam, Peace Be Upon Him, Attributing That Fault to Himself, Saying, 'Our Lord, We Have Wronged Ourselves,' and Iblis Attributing His Own Sin to God Almighty, Saying, 'Because You Led Me Astray'

In Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the delicate balance between divine determinism (*jabr*) and human free will (*ikhtiyar*) is a profound philosophical theme. Rumi illustrates this distinction using the metaphor of two shaking hands: a hand that trembles from an involuntary medical condition and a hand shaken intentionally. While both movements are ultimately sustained by God's creative power, they are fundamentally different in nature. Rumi argues that the undeniable proof of human free will lies in the experience of regret; a person repents for an intentional action, but never feels moral remorse for an involuntary tremor. This theological dynamic is further explored through the contrast between Adam and Satan. After sinning, Satan used determinism as an excuse, blaming God's decree by saying, 'Because You led me astray.' Conversely, Adam exhibited profound spiritual courtesy (*adab*) by taking personal responsibility and confessing, 'We have wronged ourselves.' By acknowledging his moral agency rather than hiding behind divine predestination, Adam earned God's forgiveness, demonstrating that spiritual maturity requires embracing personal accountability.

Free Will, Determinism, and the Trembling Hand Metaphor in the Masnavi

In Book 1, Section 4 of the Masnavi, Rumi introduces the foundational concept of *Adab* (spiritual courtesy, respect, or proper conduct). He illustrates its absolute necessity on the spiritual path by asserting that disrespect (*bi-adabi*) deprives a person of divine grace and brings destruction not just to the individual, but to the entire world. To exemplify this, Rumi references the stories of the Israelites who ungratefully demanded worldly food instead of divine sustenance, and the followers of Jesus who hoarded the heavenly banquet (Ma'idah) out of greed and a lack of trust. Through these examples, Rumi teaches that abandoning *Adab* severs the seeker from God's continuous blessings.

The Concept of Adab (Spiritual Courtesy) in the Masnavi

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Adamic Responsibility vs. Satanic Determinism in the Masnavi

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گفت یزدان تو بده بایست او 
برگشا در اختیار آن دست او
اختیار آمد عبادت را نمک 
ورنه می‌گردد بناخواه این فلک
گردش او را نه اجر و نه عقاب 
که اختیار آمد هنر وقت حساب
جمله عالم خود مسبح آمدند 
نیست آن تسبیح جبری مزدمند
تیغ در دستش نه از عجزش بکن 
تا که غازی گردد او یا راه‌زن
زانک کرمنا شد آدم ز اختیار 
نیم زنبور عسل شد نیم مار
مومنان کان عسل زنبوروار 
کافران خود کان زهری همچو مار
زانک مؤمن خورد بگزیده نبات 
تا چو نحلی گشت ریق او حیات
باز کافر خورد شربت از صدید 
هم ز قوتش زهر شد در وی پدید
اهل الهام خدا عین الحیات 
اهل تسویل هوا سم الممات
در جهان این مدح و شاباش و زهی 
ز اختیارست و حفاظ آگهی
جمله رندان چونک در زندان بوند 
متقی و زاهد و حق‌خوان شوند
چونک قدرت رفت کاسد شد عمل 
هین که تا سرمایه نستاند اجل
قدرتت سرمایهٔ سودست هین 
وقت قدرت را نگه دار و ببین
آدمی بر خنگ کرمنا سوار 
در کف درکش عنان اختیار
باز موسی داد پند او را بمهر 
که مرادت زرد خواهد کرد چهر
ترک این سودا بگو وز حق بترس 
دیو دادستت برای مکر درس

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## English translation
God said: "Give him what he needs,
Open to free-will the hand of that one."
Free-will is the salt of worship;
Otherwise this celestial sphere turns involuntarily.
Its turning earns neither reward nor punishment,
For free-will is the virtue at the time of reckoning.
The entire world is itself in glorification,
Yet that compelled glorification earns no wage.
Place the sword in his hand — do not take it away out of his weakness —
So that he may become either a holy warrior or a highway robber.
For by karramna, Adam was honored through free-will:
Half became the honey-bee, half the serpent.
Believers — that mine of honey, bee-like;
Unbelievers — that very mine of venom, like the serpent.
For the believer ate choice plants,
Until, like a bee, his saliva became life.
The unbeliever drank a draught of ṣadīd,
And from its nourishment, poison appeared within him.
The people of divine inspiration are the very spring of life,
The people of vain desire's delusion are the poison of death.
In this world, all this praise and "bravo!" and "well done!"
Come from free-will and the safeguarding of awareness.
All the rogues, when they are in prison,
Become God-fearing, ascetic, and reciters of Truth.
When power is gone, the deed becomes devalued —
Beware, lest death take away the capital.
Your power is the capital of profit — beware!
Guard the time of power and look!
Man rides upon the white horse of karramna,
Pull in the reins of free-will in your palm.
Then Moses counseled him with tenderness:
"Your desire will make your face yellow with grief."
"Abandon this obsession and fear God —
The devil has given you lessons for the sake of deceit."

دفتر سوم - بخش ۱۵۶ - وحی آمدن از حق تعالی به موسی کی بیاموزش چیزی کی استدعا کند یا بعضی از آن / Book Three - Section 156 - Revelation Coming from God Almighty to Moses to Teach Him What He Requests or a Part of It

In Book Three of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, a central didactic theme is the proper etiquette (adab) and receptivity required of disciples when receiving wisdom from a spiritual guide or Sheikh. Rumi emphasizes that spiritual teachers and divine messengers need attentive, humble, and eager listeners to effectively impart their knowledge. He asserts that without genuine respect, humility, and an enthusiastic readiness to receive, the outpouring of divine wisdom is obstructed. The success of spiritual transmission, therefore, depends heavily on the disciple's sincere state of need and respectful demeanor.

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