In Book 3 of Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, the climactic reunion between the exiled servant and his master, Sadr-i Jahan, vividly illustrates the Sufi concept of spiritual annihilation ($$fana$$) in the divine presence. Rumi explains that while the lover's yearning is loud and visible, his journey is fundamentally driven by the hidden, silent attraction of the Beloved. When the servant finally gazes upon Sadr-i Jahan, the sheer spiritual intensity of the encounter overwhelms his mortal capacity. His soul seemingly flees his body, causing him to collapse like dry wood. He grows entirely cold and becomes utterly unresponsive to physical stimuli or worldly remedies, such as incense and rosewater. This profound paralysis represents the complete stripping away of the ego and individual consciousness. In this state of true encounter, the lover is reduced to nothingness, demonstrating that the ultimate presence of the Divine completely nullifies the self until the Beloved personally descends to revive the seeker.

The Lover's Annihilation upon Encountering Sadr-i Jahan in the Masnavi

In Book Three, Section 222 of the Masnavi, Rumi explores the concept of the Beloved's "hidden attraction" (جذب نهان). He contrasts the lover's loud and visible yearning (described as accompanied by "two hundred drums and horns") with the Beloved's concealed yet far more powerful pull. According to Rumi, without this hidden drawing from the Beloved, the lover could never endure the agonizing pain of separation or find the strength to return. 

Paradoxically, the section's title and verses explain that this divine attraction does not manifest in the lover as joyful anticipation or confidence. Instead, it is experienced as fear mingled with despair, coupled with an unceasing drive to continue seeking. This illustrates the core Sufi principle that divine grace and attraction (jazb) actively precede and sustain the human spiritual effort, even when the seeker feels entirely helpless, frightened, or unaware of the Beloved's invisible guidance.

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آمدیم اینجا که در صدر جهان 
گر نبودی جذب آن عاشق نهان
ناشکیبا کی بدی او از فراق 
کی دوان باز آمدی سوی وثاق
میل معشوقان نهانست و ستیر 
میل عاشق با دو صد طبل و نفیر
یک حکایت هست اینجا ز اعتبار 
لیک عاجز شد بخاری ز انتظار
ترک آن کردیم کو در جست و جوست 
تاکه پیش از مرگ بیند روی دوست
تا رهد از مرگ تا یابد نجات 
زانک دید دوستست آب حیات
هر که دید او نباشد دفع مرگ 
دوست نبود که نه میوه‌ستش نه برگ
کار آن کارست ای مشتاق مست 
کاندر آن کار ار رسد مرگت خوشست
شد نشان صدق ایمان ای جوان 
آنک آید خوش ترا مرگ اندر آن
گر نشد ایمان تو ای جان چنین 
نیست کامل رو بجو اکمال دین
هر که اندر کار تو شد مرگ‌دوست 
بر دل تو بی کراهت دوست اوست
چون کراهت رفت آن خود مرگ نیست 
صورت مرگست و نقلان کردنیست
چون کراهت رفت مردن نفع شد 
پس درست آید که مردن دفع شد
دوست حقست و کسی کش گفت او 
که توی آن من و من آن تو
گوش دار اکنون که عاشق می‌رسد 
بسته عشق او را به حبل من مسد
چون بدید او چهرهٔ صدر جهان 
گوییا پریدش از تن مرغ جان
همچو چوب خشک افتاد آن تنش 
سرد شد از فرق جان تا ناخنش
هرچه کردند از بخور و از گلاب 
نه بجنبید و نه آمد در خطاب
شاه چون دید آن مزعفر روی او 
پس فرود آمد ز مرکب سوی او
گفت عاشق دوست می‌جوید بتفت 
چونک معشوق آمد آن عاشق برفت
عاشق حقی و حق آنست کو 
چون بیاید نبود از تو تای مو
صد چو تو فانیست پیش آن نظر 
عاشقی بر نفی خود خواجه مگر
سایه‌ای و عاشقی بر آفتاب 
شمس آید سایه لا گردد شتاب

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## English translation
We have come to this point: regarding Sadr-i Jahan,
Had the hidden attraction of that lover not been,
How would he have been impatient from separation?
How would he have come running back to the dwelling?

The longing of Beloveds is hidden and veiled;
The longing of the lover is with two hundred drums and trumpets.

There is a tale here worthy of consideration,
But the Bukharan grew weary from waiting.
We have left him who is in search,
That before death he may see the face of the Friend.

That he may be freed from death, that he may find salvation —
For the sight of the Friend is the Water of Life.
Whoever's sight of Him does not repel death,
He was no Friend, for He has neither fruit nor leaf.

That work is the work, O intoxicated yearner,
That if in that work death comes to you, it is sweet.
The sign of the sincerity of faith, O youth,
Is that death comes sweetly to you within it.

If your faith, O soul, has not become thus,
It is not complete — go and seek the perfection of religion.
Whoever, in your work, becomes a lover of death,
He is a friend upon your heart without aversion.

When aversion is gone, that itself is not death —
It is the form of death, and a migration to be made.
When aversion is gone, dying becomes a gain;
Thus it comes true that dying has repelled death.

The Friend is the Truth, and one to whom He said:
"You are that I, and I am that you."
Now listen: the lover is arriving,
Love has bound him with a rope of palm-fiber (ḥabl min masad).

When he saw the face of Sadr-i Jahan,
It was as if the bird of the soul flew from his body.
Like dry wood his body fell;
Cold he grew from crown to fingernail.

Whatever they did with incense and rosewater,
He neither stirred nor came to speech.
When the king saw that saffron-hued face of his,
He descended from his mount toward him.

He said: "The lover seeks the Friend in haste —
When the Beloved came, that lover departed.
You are a true lover, and the Truth is such that
When It comes, not a hair of you remains.

A hundred like you are annihilated before that Gaze —
Are you not in love with your own negation, master?
You are a shadow, and in love with the Sun —
When the Sun comes, the shadow swiftly becomes naught."

دفتر سوم - بخش ۲۲۲ - جذب معشوق عاشق را من حیث لا یعمله العاشق و لا یرجوه و لا یخطر بباله و لا یظهر من ذلک الجذب اثر فی العاشق الا الخوف الممزوج بالیاس مع دوام الطلب / Book Three — Section 222 — The Beloved's Drawing of the Lover from a Direction the Lover Neither Knows Nor Hopes For, Nor Does It Cross His Mind, and from That Drawing No Effect Appears in the Lover Save Fear Mingled with Despair, Together with the Continuance of Seeking

In Book $$3$$ of Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, within the tale of the servant of Sadr-i Jahan, the narrative explores the metaphysical principle that all entities are drawn toward their ultimate origins. Rumi explains that the physical body, being of the earth, is instinctively drawn to earthly pleasures, physical sustenance, and material wealth. Conversely, the soul, originating from the divine 'Placeless' (la-makan), yearns for spiritual ascent, wisdom, and eternal life. This innate attraction extends to the bond between the lover and the beloved, which Rumi illustrates using the metaphor of amber and straw. Just as amber effortlessly draws straw, the intense longing of the exiled servant acts as an invisible magnetic force that penetrates the heart of his master, Sadr-i Jahan, awakening a deep, reciprocal compassion. Rumi concludes that this mutual spiritual magnetism—where the beloved is also irresistibly drawn to the seeker—is orchestrated by an unseen divine 'Drawer' whose pulling transcends rational comprehension.

Dual Origins and the Metaphor of Amber and Straw 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.

Ganjoor

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می‌کشید از بیهشی‌اش در بیان 
اندک اندک از کرم صدر جهان
بانگ زد در گوش او شه کای گدا 
زر نثار آوردمت دامن گشا
جان تو کاندر فراقم می‌طپید 
چونک زنهارش رسیدم چون رمید
ای بدیده در فراقم گرم و سرد 
با خود آ از بی‌خودی و باز گرد
مرغ خانه اشتری را بی خرد 
رسم مهمانش به خانه می‌برد
چون به خانه مرغ اشتر پا نهاد 
خانه ویران گشت و سقف اندر فتاد
خانهٔ مرغست هوش و عقل ما 
هوش صالح طالب ناقهٔ خدا
ناقه چون سر کرد در آب و گلش 
نه گل آنجا ماند نه جان و دلش
کرد فضل عشق انسان را فضول 
زین فزون‌جویی ظلومست و جهول
جاهلست و اندرین مشکل شکار 
می‌کشد خرگوش شیری در کنار
کی کنار اندر کشیدی شیر را 
گر بدانستی و دیدی شیر را
ظالمست او بر خود و بر جان خود 
ظلم بین کز عدلها گو می‌برد
جهل او مر علمها را اوستاد 
ظلم او مر عدلها را شد رشاد
دست او بگرفت کین رفته دمش 
آنگهی آید که من دم بخشمش
چون به من زنده شود این مرده‌تن 
جان من باشد که رو آرد به من
من کنم او را ازین جان محتشم 
جان که من بخشم ببیند بخششم
جان نامحرم نبیند روی دوست 
جز همان جان کاصل او از کوی اوست
در دمم قصاب‌وار این دوست را 
تا هلد آن مغز نغزش پوست را
گفت ای جان رمیده از بلا 
وصل ما را در گشادیم الصلا
ای خود ما بی‌خودی و مستی‌ات 
ای ز هست ما هماره هستی‌ات
با تو بی لب این زمان من نو بنو 
رازهای کهنه گویم می‌شنو
زانک آن لبها ازین دم می‌رمد 
بر لب جوی نهان بر می‌دمد
گوش بی‌گوشی درین دم بر گشا 
بهر راز یفعل الله ما یشا
چون صلای وصل بشنیدن گرفت 
اندک اندک مرده جنبیدن گرفت
نه کم از خاکست کز عشوهٔ صبا 
سبز پوشد سر بر آرد از فنا
کم ز آب نطفه نبود کز خطاب 
یوسفان زایند رخ چون آفتاب
کم ز بادی نیست شد از امر کن 
در رحم طاوس و مرغ خوش‌سخن
کم ز کوه سنگ نبود کز ولاد 
ناقه‌ای کان ناقه ناقه زاد زاد
زین همه بگذر نه آن مایهٔ عدم 
عالمی زاد و بزاید دم بدم
بر جهید و بر طپید و شاد شاد 
یک دو چرخی زد سجود اندر فتاد

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## English translation
He was drawing him from his unconsciousness into speech,
little by little, through the grace of the Sovereign of the world.
The king cried into his ear: "O beggar,
I have brought you scattered gold — open your lap!
Your soul, which was trembling in separation from me —
now that I have come to its rescue, why has it fled?
O you who have known heat and cold in my separation,
come back to yourself from selflessness, and return!"
A foolish house-bird
leads a camel as a guest, by custom, into its home.
When the camel set foot in the bird's house,
the house was ruined and the roof caved in.
Our consciousness and reason are the bird's house;
a wholesome consciousness seeks the nāqa of God.
When the nāqa plunged its head into the mud and water,
neither the mud remained there, nor its soul and heart.
The grace of love has made man presumptuous;
through this excess-seeking he is ẓalūm and jahūl.
He is ignorant, and caught in this snare,
he draws a lion to his breast like a rabbit.
When would he have drawn the lion to his breast
had he known and truly seen the lion?
He is ẓālim to himself and to his own soul —
behold this injustice: it takes the prize from all the just!
His ignorance has become the master of all knowledges;
his injustice has become the right guidance of all justices.
He took him by the hand, saying: "This one, whose breath has gone —
he will come back only when I breathe breath into him.
When this dead body comes alive through me,
it will be my soul that turns its face toward me.
I will make him great through this soul;
the soul I bestow will behold my bestowal.
The nā-maḥram soul does not see the face of the Friend —
only that soul whose very origin is from His quarter.
I breathe into this friend butcher-fashion,
so that his fine marrow may shed its skin."
He said: "O soul that has fled from affliction,
we have opened the summons — al-ṣalā — to union with us!
O you who are ourselves — your selflessness and your intoxication!
O you whose being is always from our Being!
With you, without lips, now fresh and ever fresh,
I speak ancient secrets — listen!
For those lips flee from this breath;
it breathes secretly on the lip of the stream.
Open the ear of ear-lessness to this breath,
for the sake of the mystery of yaf'alu'llāhu mā yashā'.
When the dead one began to hear the call of union,
little by little the dead one began to stir.
Is he less than earth, which, by the coquetry of the morning breeze,
dresses in green and lifts its head from annihilation?
Is the seed-drop less than this, which, by the divine address,
gives birth to Josephs with faces like the sun?
Is it less than a wind that, by the command Kun,
passed into the womb of the peacock and the sweet-voiced bird?
Is a mountain of stone less than this, which, by a miraculous birth,
brought forth a she-camel — that nāqa that gave birth, and gave birth again?
Go beyond all this: is not that very substance of nothingness
giving birth to a world, and giving birth, breath by breath?
He leaped up and throbbed with joy, rejoiced and rejoiced,
turned a circle or two, then fell into prostration.

دفتر سوم - بخش ۲۲۵ - نواختن معشوق عاشق بیهوش را تا به هوش باز آید / Book Three - Section 225 - The Beloved Caressing the Unconscious Lover Until He Returns to Consciousness

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