In Book 3 of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the tale of the lazy dervish who supplicates for lawful sustenance without labor serves as a profound exploration of prayer, effort, and divine grace. Rumi uses this story to illustrate that while the seeker's external motivation might seem flawed or lazy, his persistent and earnest supplication (*ilhah*) is what truly matters. In Sufi philosophy, the spiritual longing and the very act of calling upon the Divine are themselves the ultimate divine response and provision, far exceeding the material objects of prayer.

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آن یکی در عهد داوود نبی 
نزد هر دانا و پیش هر غبی
این دعا می کرد دایم کای خدا 
ثروتی بی رنج روزی کن مرا
چون مرا تو آفریدی کاهلی 
زخم خواری سست جنبی منبلی
بر خران پشت ریش بی مراد 
بار اسپان و استران نتوان نهاد
کاهلم چون آفریدی ای ملی 
روزیم ده هم ز راه کاهلی
کاهلم من سایه خسپم در وجود 
خفتم اندر سایهٔ این فضل و جود
کاهلان و سایه خسپان را مگر 
روزیی بنوشته ای نوعی دگر
هر که را پایست جوید روزیی 
هر که را پا نیست کن دلسوزیی
رزق را می ران به سوی آن حزین 
ابر را باران به سوی هر زمین
چون زمین را پا نباشد جود تو 
ابر را راند به سوی او دوتو
طفل را چون پا نباشد مادرش 
آید و ریزد وظیفه بر سرش
روزیی خواهم به ناگه بی تعب 
که ندارم من ز کوشش جز طلب
مدت بسیار می کرد این دعا 
روز تا شب، شب همه شب تا ضحی
خلق می خندید بر گفتار او 
بر طمع خامی و بر بیگار او
که چه می گوید عجب این سست ریش 
یا کسی دادست بنگ بیهشیش
راه روزی کسب و رنجست و تعب 
هر کسی را پیشه ای داد و طلب
اطلبوا الارزاق فی اسبابها 
ادخلو الاوطان من ابوابها
شاه و سلطان و رسول حق کنون 
هست داود نبی ذو فنون
با چنان عزی و نازی کاندروست 
که گزیدستش عنایتهای دوست
معجزاتش بی شمار و بی عدد 
موج بخشایش مدد اندر مدد
هیچ کس را خود ز آدم تا کنون 
کی بدست آواز صد چون ارغنون
که بهر وعظی بمیراند دویست 
آدمی را صوت خوبش کرد نیست
شیر و آهو جمع گردد آن زمان 
سوی تذکیرش مغفل این از آن
کوه و مرغان هم رسایل با دمش 
هردو اندر وقت دعوت محرمش
این و صد چندین مرورا معجزات 
نور رویش بی جهات و در جهات
با همه تمکین خدا روزی او 
کرده باشد بسته اندر جست و جو
بی زره بافی و رنجی روزیش 
می نیاید با همه پیروزیش
این چنین مخذول واپس مانده ای 
خانه کندهٔ دون و گردون رانده ای
این چنین مدبر همی خواهد که زود 
بی تجارت پر کند دامن ز سود
این چنین گیجی بیامد در میان 
که بر آیم بر فلک بی نردبان
این همی گفتش بتسخر رو بگیر 
که رسیدت روزی و آمد بشیر
و آن همی خندید ما را هم بده 
زانچ یابی هدیه ای سالار ده
او ازین تشنیع مردم وین فسوس 
کم نمی کرد از دعا و چاپلوس
تا که شد در شهر معروف و شهیر 
کو ز انبان تهی جوید پنیر
شد مثل در خام طبعی آن گدا 
او ازین خواهش نمی آمد جدا

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## English translation
There was a man in the time of David the Prophet,
Known before every wise man and every fool—
He was constantly making this supplication: "O God,
Grant me abundant provision without toil.
Since You created me as idle,
Wound-bearing, slow-moving, and sluggish—
On sore-backed, hapless donkeys
One cannot place the loads of horses and mules—
Since You created me idle, O Wealthy One,
Grant me provision too through the path of idleness.
I am idle; I sleep in the shade in my existence;
I have slept in the shadow of Your grace and generosity.
Perhaps for the idle and the shade-sleepers
You have written a provision of a different kind.
Whoever has feet, let them seek provision;
Whoever has no feet, show compassion.
Drive provision toward that grief-stricken one;
Drive the rain-cloud toward every land.
Since the earth has no feet, Your generosity
Drives the cloud toward it, bowed double.
When a child has no feet, its mother
Comes and pours its allotted portion upon it.
I want provision that comes suddenly, without toil—
For from striving I have nothing but the asking itself."
For a long time he made this supplication,
From day to night, all through the night until the forenoon.
People were laughing at his words,
At his raw greed and at his futile effort:
"What is this feeble-bearded one saying—how strange!
Or has someone given him hemp to make him senseless?
The path of provision is earning, suffering, and toil;
Every person has been given a trade and the seeking.
Seek provisions through their means;
Enter homelands through their doors."
The king, sultan, and messenger of the Truth now
Is David the Prophet, master of many arts,
With such glory and grace as dwell in him,
For the favors of the Beloved have chosen him.
His miracles are innumerable and countless—
Waves of mercy, aid upon aid.
Has any person from Adam until now
Ever had a voice like a hundred organs,
That at each sermon two hundred would die?
His beautiful voice made people cease to exist.
Lion and deer would gather at that time
Toward his remembrance, heedless of each other.
Mountain and birds were co-participants with his breath,
Both his intimates at the time of his calling.
These and a hundredfold more were his miracles;
The light of his countenance beyond direction and in all directions.
With all this, God has bound his provision
To seeking and striving.
Without weaving chainmail and toil, his provision
Would not come, for all his triumph.
Such an abject, left-behind wretch,
A low cave-dweller, outcast by the wheel of fortune—
Such an ill-fated one wants quickly,
Without commerce, to fill his lap with profit.
Such a dizzied fool has come forward,
Saying: "I shall mount to the sky without a ladder."
One would mockingly say to him: "Go, take it—
Your provision has arrived; the herald has come!"
And another would laugh: "Give us some too—
Of what you find, give a gift, O chief!"
He, from the people's taunts and this mockery,
Would not diminish his supplication and fawning at all,
Until he became known and famous in the city
For seeking cheese from an empty bag.
That beggar became a proverb for raw-naturedness;
He would not separate himself from this desire.

دفتر سوم - بخش ۵۴ - حکایت آن شخص کی در عهد داود شب و روز دعا می‌کرد کی مرا روزی حلال ده بی رنج / Book Three - Section 54 - The Tale of the Man Who in the Time of David Prayed Night and Day, Saying 'Give Me Lawful Provision Without Toil'

In Book 3, Section 7 of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, a man continuously repeats "Allah" in his prayers until Satan mocks him for never receiving God's verbal reply of "Labbayk" (Here I am). Despondent, the man stops praying, but a divine messenger appears in a dream to explain that his very urge and ability to say "Allah" is itself God's response. Rumi uses this allegory to teach a foundational Sufi concept: earnest supplication, spiritual longing, and the pain of seeking the Divine are instilled by God's grace. The worshipper's prayer is the divine pull in action, meaning the act of calling upon God is already God's ultimate answer.

Saying 'Allah' as God's 'Labbayk' in the Masnavi

The Sufi doctrine of **Divine Sustenance (Rizq)** posits that God (Al-Razzaq) is the sole and absolute provider of all physical and spiritual nourishment, and that this provision is guaranteed. Mystics like Sanai and Rumi utilize the progression of human life—from embryonic nourishment in the womb to breastfeeding in infancy and active labor in adulthood—as empirical and spiritual proofs of God's continuous guardianship.

Key aspects of this doctrine in Sufi literature include:
1. **Stages of Provision:** Showing how the closing of one avenue of sustenance (e.g., embryonic blood supply) inevitably leads to the opening of superior ones (e.g., maternal milk, and later, physical limbs to seek food).
2. **Tawakkul (Trust):** Since sustenance is developmentally guaranteed by Divine Wisdom, anxiety, hoarding, and greed (حرص) are viewed as spiritual blindness or ignorance of the vastness of God's treasury.
3. **Spiritual Nourishment:** Transcending physical food to seek spiritual sustenanc...

The Sufi Doctrine of Divine Sustenance (Rizq)

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تا که روزی ناگهان در چاشتگاه 
این دعا می کرد با زاری و آه
ناگهان در خانه اش گاوی دوید 
شاخ زد بشکست دربند و کلید
گاو گستاخ اندر آن خانه بجست 
مرد در جست و قوائمهاش بست
پس گلوی گاو ببرید آن زمان 
بی توقف بی تامل بی امان
چون سرش ببرید شد سوی قصاب 
تا اهابش بر کند در دم شتاب

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## English translation
Until one day, suddenly, at mid-morning, he was making this supplication with wailing and sighs. Suddenly a cow/ox ran into his house; it butted with its horns and broke the door-bar and lock. The reckless cow/ox leapt into that house; the man sprang up and bound its legs. Then at once he slit the cow's throat, without stopping, without reflection, without mercy. When he had cut off its head, he went quickly to the butcher so that its hide might be stripped off at once.

دفتر سوم - بخش ۵۵ - دویدن گاو در خانهٔ آن دعا کننده بالحاح قال النبی صلی الله علیه وسلم ان الله یحب الملحین فی الدعا زیرا عین خواست از حق تعالی و الحاح خواهنده را به است از آنچ می‌خواهد آن را ازو / Book Three - Section 55 - The running of the cow into the house of that earnest supplicant. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 'Verily, Allah loves those who are earnest in supplication,' because the very essence of seeking from God Almighty and the earnestness of the seeker is better than that which he seeks from Him

The Allegory of the Seeker of Effortless Provision in the Masnavi

In Book 3 of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, witnessing the impending doom of a ship in a storm, the mystic Daquqi is overcome with profound compassion and pleads for divine mercy upon the passengers. Rumi uses this pivotal moment to elucidate the Sufi concept of the 'prayer of the selfless.' When a spiritually realized saint like Daquqi achieves a state of absolute annihilation (*fana*) in the Divine, his ego is entirely erased, meaning the prayer that flows from his lips is fundamentally God's own speech. Because God is both the petitioner and the responder, the prayer is instantly answered, and the ship is miraculously saved. However, Rumi highlights human ignorance through the metaphor of a hunted fox. Just as a fleeing fox is saved by its swift feet but mistakenly credits its wagging tail, the worldly passengers attribute their salvation to their own efforts and cunning, entirely unaware of the invisible, intercessory grace of the saint that truly rescued them.

Daquqi's Intercession and the Prayer of the Selfless in the Masnavi

In Section 33 of the *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sanai develops the concept of Divine Sustenance through the metaphor of an 'unlocked storehouse' (anbarkhaneh). He argues that God's provision is not hidden or gated, but 'placed before' all living beings (janavar) before they even seek it. A key theological point in this section is the universal nature of this provision: Sanai explicitly states that the infidel (kafar), the believer (mu'min), the wretched (shaqi), and the blessed (sa'id) all receive their daily bread and 'new life' (hayat-e jadid) from the same divine source, emphasizing God's attribute of Al-Razzaq as independent of human merit or faith.

The Metaphor of the Open Treasury of Sustenance in Hadiqat al-Haqiqah

In Section 34 of the *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sanai uses the parable of an old woman and her dry field to illustrate absolute trust (tawakkul) in God's provision. Despite her dry crops, she addresses God with certainty, declaring that His sustenance is independent of secondary causes like rain (the cloud's weeping) or cultivation (the crop's laughter). Sanai emphasizes that divine provision is causeless (bi-sabab) and absolute, criticizing individuals who worry about their livelihood as having less faith and certainty than this old woman.

The Parable of the Old Woman and Trust in Divine Sustenance in Hadiqat al-Haqiqah

In Section 60 of the *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sanai addresses the theological concept of divine predetermination (*qadar*) regarding human creation, character, lifespan, and sustenance (*rizq*). Drawing upon the prophetic Hadith stating that God has already concluded these matters, and referencing the Quranic concept of divine allotment ('We have apportioned' from Quran 43:32), Sanai argues that human anxiety over material sustenance is futile. Since the divine decree is immutable and subject to neither change (*tabdil*) nor alteration (*tahwil*), a seeker must renounce greedy pursuits and trust in the predetermined division established by God.

The Concept of Divine Apportionment and Predestination in Hadiqat al-Haqiqah

In the prologue to the third book of the Masnavi, Rumi introduces the concept of divine or spiritual sustenance, contrasting it with physical nourishment. He illustrates this through powerful metaphors: the sun's light, which shines without needing a physical wick or oil, and the strength of the Angel Gabriel, which is derived directly from witnessing the Creator rather than from a physical kitchen. This establishes a foundational theme for the book, emphasizing that true spiritual power, enlightenment, and the strength of the saints (Abdal) are directly sustained by God, completely transcending material dependencies.

The Concept of Divine Sustenance in the Prologue of Masnavi Book Three

In Book 1 of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the dialogue between an impoverished Arab and his wife explores the Sufi concept of absolute trust in divine providence (*tawakkul*). In response to his wife's complaints about their lack of wealth, the husband uses the natural world to illustrate how anxiety over sustenance is a uniquely human failing. He points out that thousands of creatures—such as the turtledove, nightingale, and falcon—live happily without hoarding provisions, relying entirely on God as an "excellent provider." The husband explains that human grief and "root-cutting" obsessions over worldly gains and losses stem from the ego and an attachment to material existence. Through this discourse, Rumi presents the animals' innate reliance on the Divine as a model for spiritual contentment, contrasting the needless suffering caused by human greed with the peaceful acceptance of one's divinely apportioned lot.

The Arab's Discourse on Divine Sustenance and Animal Trust in the Masnavi

In Book 4 of Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, the tale of the returning poet serves as an allegory for humanity's absolute dependence on divine sustenance. A destitute poet returns to a generous king, having previously experienced his immense bounty. Rumi elevates this narrative to a metaphysical principle, asserting that all of creation—from the fish in the sea and birds in the sky to the very earth and heavens—relies constantly on God for their survival and provision. The poet's return illustrates that one must bring their needs to the proven source of generosity rather than begging from a miser. Rumi emphasizes this spiritual pragmatism with the metaphor: 'Seek water in the sea, seek it not in the dry riverbed,' urging seekers to turn directly to the Divine—the ultimate provider—rather than relying on the flawed and limited resources of the material world.

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