1Cademy - دفتر ششم - بخش ۲ - سؤال سایل از مرغی کی بر سر ربض شهری نشسته باشد سر او فاضل‌ترست و عزیزتر و شریف‌تر و مکرم‌تر یا دم او و جواب دادن واعظ سایل را به قدر فهم او / Book Six - Section 2 - A questioner asking about a bird sitting on the wall of a city, whether its head is more excellent, dearer, nobler, and more honored, or its tail, and the preacher answering the questioner according to his understanding

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مثنوی معنوی: دفتر ششم / Masnavi: Book Six

Poem

دفتر ششم - بخش ۲ - سؤال سایل از مرغی کی بر سر ربض شهری نشسته باشد سر او فاضل‌ترست و عزیزتر و شریف‌تر و مکرم‌تر یا دم او و جواب دادن واعظ سایل را به قدر فهم او / Book Six - Section 2 - A questioner asking about a bird sitting on the wall of a city, whether its head is more excellent, dearer, nobler, and more honored, or its tail, and the preacher answering the questioner according to his understanding

Original content

واعظی را گفت روزی سایلی
کای تو منبر را سنی تر قایلی

یک سؤالستم بگو ای ذو لباب
اندرین مجلس سؤالم را جواب

بر سر بارو یکی مرغی نشست
از سر و از دم کدامینش بهست ؟

گفت اگر رویش به شهر و دم به ده
روی او از دم او می دان که به

ور سوی شهرست دم ، رویش به ده
خاک آن دم باش و از رویش بجه

مرغ با پر می پرد تا آشیان
پر مردم همت است ای مردمان

عاشقی که آلوده شد در خیر و شر
خیر و شر منگر تو در همت نگر

باز اگر باشد سپید و بی نظیر
چونک صیدش موش باشد شد حقیر

ور بود جغدی و میل او به شاه
او سر بازست منگر در کلاه

آدمی بر قد یک طشت خمیر
بر فزود از آسمان و از اثیر

هیچ «کرمنا» شنید این آسمان ؟
که شنید این آدمی پر غمان

بر زمین و چرخ عرضه کرد کس ؟
خوبی و عقل و عبارات و هوس ؟

جلوه کردی هیچ تو بر آسمان ؟
خوبی روی و اصابت در گمان ؟

پیش صورت های حمام ای ولد
عرضه کردی هیچ سیم اندام خود ؟

بگذری زان نقش های هم چو حور
جلوه آری با عجوز نیم کور

در عجوزه چیست که ایشان را نبود ؟
که ترا زان نقش ها با خود ربود ؟

تو نگویی من بگویم در بیان
عقل و حس و درک و تدبیرست و جان

در عجوزه جان آمیزش کنیست
صورت گرمابه ها را روح نیست

صورت گرمابه گر جنبش کند
در زمان او از عجوزه بر کند

جان چه باشد با خبر از خیر و شر
شاد با احسان و گریان از ضرر

چون سر و ماهیت جان مخبرست
هر که او آگاه تر با جان ترست

روح را تاثیر آگاهی بود
هر که را این بیش ، اللهی بود

چون خبرها هست بیرون زین نهاد
باشد این جان ها در آن میدان جماد

جان اول مظهر درگاه شد
جان جان خود مظهر الله شد

آن ملایک جمله عقل و جان بدند
جان نو آمد که جسم آن بدند

از سعادت چون بر آن جان بر زدند
هم چو تن آن روح را خادم شدند

آن بلیس از جان از آن سر برده بود
یک نشد با جان که عضو مرده بود

چون نبودش آن فدای آن نشد
دست بشکسته مطیع جان نشد

جان نشد ناقص گر آن عضوش شکست
کان بدست اوست تواند کرد هست

سر دیگر هست کو گوش دگر
طوطیی کو مستعد آن شکر

طوطیان خاص را قندیست ژرف
طوطیان عام از آن خور بسته طرف

کی چشد درویش صورت زان زکات
معنیست آن نه فعولن فاعلات

از خر عیسی دریغش نیست قند
لیک خر آمد به خلقت که پسند

قند خر را گر طرب انگیختی
پیش خر قنطار شکر ریختی

معنی نختم علی افواههم
این شناس اینست ره رو را مهم

تا ز راه خاتم پیغامبران
بوک بر خیزد ز لب ختم گران

ختم هایی که انبیا بگذاشتند
آن به دین احمدی برداشتند

قفل های ناگشاده مانده بود
از کف انا فتحنا برگشود

او شفیع است این جهان و آن جهان
این جهان زی دین و آنجا زی جنان

این جهان گوید که تو رهشان نما
وآن جهان گوید که تو مهشان نما

پیشه اش اندر ظهور و در کمون
اهد قومی انهم لا یعلمون

باز گشته از دم او هر دو باب
در دو عالم دعوت او مستجاب

بهر این خاتم شدست او که به جود
مثل او نه بود و نه خواهند بود

چونک در صنعت برد استاد دست
نه تو گویی ختم صنعت بر تو است

در گشاد ختم ها تو خاتمی
در جهان روح بخشان حاتمی

هست اشارات محمدالمراد
کل گشاد اندر گشاد اندر گشاد

صد هزاران آفرین بر جان او
بر قدوم و دور فرزندان او

آن خلیفه زادگان مقبلش
زاده اند از عنصر جان و دلش

گر ز بغداد و هری یا از ری اند
بی مزاج آب و گل نسل وی اند

شاخ گل هر جا که روید هم گلست
خم مل هر جا که جوشد هم ملست

گر ز مغرب بر زند خورشید سر
عین خورشیدست نه چیز دگر

عیب چینان را ازین دم کور دار
هم به ستاری خود ای کردگار

گفت حق چشم خفاش بدخصال
بسته ام من ز آفتاب بی مثال

از نظرهای خفاش کم و کاست
انجم آن شمس نیز اندر خفاست

English translation

One day a questioner said to a preacher, 'O you who speak most excellently on the pulpit, I have a question, tell me, O man of understanding, Answer my question in this assembly: A bird sat upon the top of a city wall, Which is better, its head or its tail?' He said, 'If its face is towards the city and its tail towards the village, Know that its face is better than its tail. And if its tail is towards the city and its face towards the village, Be the dust of that tail and flee from its face.' A bird flies to its nest with its wings, The wings of people are their aspiration, O people! A lover who becomes stained in good and evil, Do not look at good and evil, look at his aspiration. Even if a falcon is white and matchless, When its prey is a mouse, it becomes despicable. And if it is an owl, and its inclination is towards the king, It is the head of falcons, do not look at the hat. Man, though in stature equal to a kneading-trough of dough, Surpassed the heavens and the ether. Did this sky ever hear 'We have honored [the children of Adam]'? Which this sorrowful man heard. Did anyone offer to the earth and the heavens? Beauty and intellect and expressions and desire? Did you ever display yourself to the heavens? The beauty of face and hitting the mark in conjecture? Before the pictures of the bathhouse, O son, Did you ever display your silver-like body? You pass by those figures, like houris, To show yourself off to a half-blind old woman. What is in the old woman that they did not have? That snatched you away from those figures? You don't say it, I will state it in explanation: It is intellect and sense and perception and management and soul. In the old woman, there is a soul with which one can mingle, The pictures of the bathhouses have no spirit. If the picture in the bathhouse were to move, In an instant it would tear him away from the old woman. What is the soul? That which is aware of good and evil, Joyful at kindness and weeping from harm. Since the secret and essence of the soul is being aware, Whoever is more aware is more soulful. The spirit's effect is awareness, Whoever has more of this, is more of God. Since there is awareness outside of this nature, These souls are inanimate in that arena. The first soul became the manifestation of the Divine Court, The soul of the soul itself became the manifestation of God. Those angels were entirely intellect and soul, A new soul came, to which they were a body. Because of felicity, when they attached themselves to that soul, Like a body they became servants to that spirit. That Iblis was carried away by the secret of the soul, He did not become one with the soul, for he was a dead limb. Since he was not of it, he did not sacrifice himself for it, The broken hand does not obey the soul. The soul did not become deficient if that limb broke off, For by His hand He can bring into existence. There is another head, where is the other ear? A parrot that is ready for that sugar! For the special parrots, there is profound sugar, The common parrots have turned their eyes away from it. How can the dervish of form taste of that alms? It is meaning, not 'fa'ulun fa'ilat' [poetic meter]. From Jesus's donkey, sugar is not withheld, But it came into creation as a donkey, what a choice! If sugar aroused joy in the donkey, You would pour a quintal of sugar before the donkey. The meaning of 'We seal their mouths' (Khatamna 'ala afwahihim), Recognize this: this is important for the traveler of the path. So that from the path of the Seal of the Prophets, Perhaps the heavy seal may be lifted from the lip. The seals that the prophets left, They removed them by the Ahmadi religion. Unopened locks had remained, He opened them from the palm of 'We have given a manifest victory' (Inna Fatahna). He is the intercessor of this world and the next world, This world towards religion and that world towards Paradise. This world says, 'Show them the way,' And that world says, 'Show them the moon.' His profession, in manifestation and in latency, is: 'Guide my people, for they do not know.' Both doors are opened by his breath, In both worlds his invitation is answered. For this reason he became the Seal, because in generosity, There was no one like him, nor will there be. When a master carries his hand into art, Do you not say, 'The seal of art is upon you'? In the opening of seals, you are the Seal, In the world of spirit-givers, you are a Hatim. The indications of Muhammad-al-Murad are A total opening within opening within opening. A hundred thousand blessings be upon his soul, Upon the arrival and the cycle of his descendants. Those felicitous sons of his Caliphs, Are born from the element of his soul and heart. Whether they are from Baghdad and Herat or from Rayy, Without the mixture of water and clay, they are his progeny. The branch of the rose, wherever it grows, is still a rose, The vat of wine, wherever it ferments, is still wine. If the sun raises its head from the West, It is the very essence of the sun, not anything else. Keep the fault-finders blind to this breath, Also by your own covering of faults, O Creator. God said, 'The eye of the bat of evil disposition, I have closed it to the matchless sun.' Because of the shortcomings of the bats' sight, The stars of that Sun are also in concealment.

Updated 2026-07-04

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