In the *Masnavi*, Rumi uses the metaphor of grapes (*angoor*) and sour, unripe grapes (*ghooreh*) to illustrate the process of spiritual maturation and the transition from egoistic multiplicity to divine unity.

### Key Concepts of the Metaphor:
1. **The Raw State vs. Ripeness:** Unripe, hard grapes represent individuals stuck in their egoistic, separate identities, which Rumi links to spiritual stagnation.
2. **The Catalyst of Maturation:** Just as warmth and time ripen the sour grape into sweetness, spiritual guidance and divine grace transform the raw soul into a mature believer.
3. **Dissolving into Unity:** Ripe grapes are like brothers; though they are distinct individuals outwardly, when pressed together, they lose their boundaries and become a single juice (*shireh-ye vahid*). This allegorizes the transition from individual division to mystical unity under the Prophet's blessing.

The Grape Metaphor for Spiritual Maturation and Unity in the Masnavi

In the *Masnavi*, Rumi uses the story of four men (a Persian, an Arab, a Turk, and a Greek) disputing over grapes to illustrate the conflict between superficial names (forms) and underlying reality (meaning).

### Key Themes of the Metaphor:
1. **Form vs. Meaning (Surah vs. Ma'na):** The four men fight because each knows the grape only by its name in his own language (*angoor*, *inab*, *uzum*, and *istafil*). They fail to realize that they all desire the exact same physical reality. This represents how people fight over theological and linguistic labels while seeking the same Divine Truth.
2. **The Role of the Spiritual Guide (The Master of Secrets):** Rumi notes that a 'man of secrets' (a spiritual guide or prophet) who knows 'a hundred languages' could easily resolve their conflict. This guide possesses universal wisdom and can translate sectarian differences into a unified understanding of the ultimate essence.
3. **Ignorance as the Root of Conflict:** The physical fight symboliz...

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## Original content
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چار کس را داد مردی یک درم 
آن یکی گفت این بانگوری دهم
آن یکی دیگر عرب بد گفت لا 
من عنب خواهم نه انگور ای دغا
آن یکی ترکی بد و گفت این بنم 
من نمی‌خواهم عنب خواهم ازم
آن یکی رومی بگفت این قیل را 
ترک کن خواهیم استافیل را
در تنازع آن نفر جنگی شدند 
که ز سر نامها غافل بدند
مشت بر هم می‌زدند از ابلهی 
پر بدند از جهل و از دانش تهی
صاحب سری عزیزی صد زبان 
گر بدی آنجا بدادی صلحشان
پس بگفتی او که من زین یک درم 
آرزوی جمله‌تان را می‌دهم
چونک بسپارید دل را بی دغل 
این درمتان می‌کند چندین عمل
یک درمتان می‌شود چار المراد 
چار دشمن می‌شود یک ز اتحاد
گفت هر یکتان دهد جنگ و فراق 
گفت من آرد شما را اتفاق
پس شما خاموش باشید انصتوا 
تا زبانتان من شوم در گفت و گو
گر سخنتان می‌نماید یک نمط 
در اثر مایهٔ نزاعست و سخط
گرمی عاریتی ندهد اثر 
گرمی خاصیتی دارد هنر
سرکه را گر گرم کردی ز آتش آن 
چون خوری سردی فزاید بی گمان
زانک آن گرمی او دهلیزیست 
طبع اصلش سردیست و تیزیست
ور بود یخ‌بسته دوشاب ای پسر 
چون خوری گرمی فزاید در جگر
پس ریای شیخ به ز اخلاص ماست 
کز بصیرت باشد آن وین از عماست
از حدیث شیخ جمعیت رسد 
تفرقه آرد دم اهل جسد
چون سلیمان کز سوی حضرت بتاخت 
کو زبان جمله مرغان را شناخت
در زمان عدلش آهو با پلنگ 
انس بگرفت و برون آمد ز جنگ
شد کبوتر آمن از چنگال باز 
گوسفند از گرگ ناورد احتراز
او میانجی شد میان دشمنان 
اتحادی شد میان پرزنان
تو چو موری بهر دانه می‌دوی 
هین سلیمان جو چه می‌باشی غوی
دانه‌جو را دانه‌اش دامی شود 
و آن سلیمان‌جوی را هر دو بود
مرغ جانها را درین آخر زمان 
نیستشان از همدگر یک دم امان
هم سلیمان هست اندر دور ما 
کو دهد صلح و نماند جور ما
قول ان من امة را یاد گیر 
تا به الا و خلا فیها نذیر
گفت خود خالی نبودست امتی 
از خلیفهٔ حق و صاحب‌همتی
مرغ جانها را چنان یکدل کند 
کز صفاشان بی غش و بی غل کند
مشفقان گردند همچون والده 
مسلمون را گفت نفس واحده
نفس واحد از رسول حق شدند 
ور نه هر یک دشمن مطلق بدند

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## English translation
A man gave four people one dirham.
One said, “I will give this for grapes [angur].”
Another, who was an Arab, said, “No,
I want inab, not angur, you fraud.”
Another was a Turk and said, “This is mine;
I do not want inab; I want uzum.”
Another, a Roman, said, “Leave this wrangling;
we want istafil.”
In that dispute those people became combative,
for they were heedless of the secret behind the names.
They struck one another with fists out of foolishness,
full of ignorance and empty of knowledge.
Had a dear possessor of secrets, knowing a hundred languages,
been there, he would have made peace among them.
Then he would have said, “With this one dirham
I will give you all what you desire.
When you entrust your hearts without deceit,
this dirham of yours will do many things.
Your one dirham will become four aims fulfilled;
four enemies will become one through unity.
The speech of each of you produces war and separation;
my speech will bring you into accord.
So be silent: ansitu,
so that I may become your tongue in speaking.
If your speech seems to be of one sort,
in effect it is the substance of quarrel and wrath.
Borrowed heat has no effect;
heat that belongs to a thing’s nature has efficacy.
If you warm vinegar by fire,
when you drink it, it will surely increase coldness,
for that warmth in it is only an antechamber;
its original nature is coldness and sharpness.
But if grape syrup is frozen in ice, O son,
when you drink it, it will increase warmth in the liver.
Thus the Sheikh’s outward show is better than our sincerity,
for that comes from insight and this from blindness.
From the Sheikh’s discourse comes gatheredness;
the breath of bodily people brings dispersion.
Like Solomon, who hastened from the Divine Presence,
who knew the language of all birds.
In the time of his justice the gazelle and leopard
became intimate and came out of war.
The dove became safe from the falcon’s talons;
the sheep took no precaution against the wolf.
He became mediator between enemies;
unity arose among the winged ones.
You run like an ant for a grain;
come, seek Solomon; why remain deluded?
For the grain-seeker, his grain becomes a trap;
for the Solomon-seeker, both are his.
The birds of souls in this latter age
have not a single moment of safety from one another.
Yet there is a Solomon in our age too,
who gives peace and lets our tyranny not remain.
Learn the saying “in min ummatin”
through “illa khala fiha nadhir.”
He said: no community has ever been empty
of God’s deputy and a person of high resolve.
He makes the birds of souls so single-hearted
that through his purity he makes them free of deceit and rancor.
They become compassionate, like a mother;
he called the Muslims one soul.
They became one soul through the Messenger of Truth;
otherwise each was the absolute enemy of the other.

دفتر دوم - بخش ۱۱۲ - منازعت چهار کس جهت انگور کی هر یکی به نام دیگر فهم کرده بود آن را / Book Two - Section 112 - The Dispute of Four Persons Concerning Grapes, Which Each of Them Understood by Another Name

A central philosophical theme in Rumi's Masnavi is the dichotomy between outward form (Surat) and inner meaning (Ma'ni). In the tale of the hare's deceit, Rumi explicitly warns that words and names can act as traps ('لفظها و نامها چون دامهاست') that lead to a scarcity of true meaning ('قحط معنی'). This concept emphasizes that focusing solely on sweet words or superficial appearances is like sand soaking up the water of life. It serves as a prerequisite for understanding Rumi's subsequent assertions that physical forms are mere waves on the hidden ocean of the universal intellect (Aql).

The Deception of Words and Forms (Surat vs. Ma'ni) in the Masnavi

In the conclusion to the tale of the tree of immortality in Book 2 of Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, a wise sheikh reveals to the despairing seeker that the miraculous tree he sought is not a physical plant, but a metaphor for divine knowledge. The sheikh explains that the seeker failed because he pursued the literal 'form' and the mere 'name' of the tree, remaining entirely ignorant of its spiritual 'meaning.' Rumi uses this revelation to articulate a profound epistemological principle: a single divine reality can manifest under countless names, such as a tree, the sun, a cloud, or the sea. Fixating on superficial labels creates division, confusion, and fruitless searching. To illustrate this, the sheikh notes that one man can be simultaneously called a father, a son, or an enemy depending on the observer's perspective. Rumi concludes that seekers must look past limiting names to perceive the underlying attributes, which ultimately guide the soul toward the divine Essence, asserting that 'the disagreement of creatures arose from the name; when they went to the meaning, peace arose.'

The Illusion of Names and the Unity of Meaning 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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دو قبیله کاوس و خزرج نام داشت 
یک ز دیگر جان خون‌آشام داشت
کینه‌های کهنه‌شان از مصطفی 
محو شد در نور اسلام و صفا
اولا اخوان شدند آن دشمنان 
همچو اعداد عنب در بوستان
وز دم المؤمنون اخوه بپند 
در شکستند و تن واحد شدند
صورت انگورها اخوان بود 
چون فشردی شیرهٔ واحد شود
غوره و انگور ضدانند لیک 
چونک غوره پخته شد شد یار نیک
غوره‌ای کو سنگ‌بست و خام ماند 
در ازل حق کافر اصلیش خواند
نه اخی نه نفس واحد باشد او 
در شقاوت نحس ملحد باشد او
گر بگویم آنچ او دارد نهان 
فتنهٔ افهام خیزد در جهان
سر گبر کور نامذکور به 
دود دوزخ از ارم مهجور به
غوره‌های نیک کایشان قابلند 
از دم اهل دل آخر یک دلند
سوی انگوری همی‌رانند تیز 
تا دوی بر خیزد و کین و ستیز
پس در انگوری همی‌درند پوست 
تا یکی گردند و وحدت وصف اوست
دوست دشمن گردد ایرا هم دواست 
هیچ یک با خویش جنگی در نبست
آفرین بر عشق کل اوستاد 
صد هزاران ذره را داد اتحاد
همچو خاک مفترق در ره‌گذر 
یک سبوشان کرد دست کوزه‌گر
که اتحاد جسمهای آب و طین 
هست ناقص جان نمی‌ماند بدین
گر نظایر گویم اینجا در مثال 
فهم را ترسم که آرد اختلال
هم سلیمان هست اکنون لیک ما 
از نشاط دوربینی در عمی
دوربینی کور دارد مرد را 
همچو خفته در سرا کور از سرا
مولعیم اندر سخنهای دقیق 
در گره ها باز کردن ما عشیق
تا گره بندیم و بگشاییم ما 
در شکال و در جواب آیین‌فزا
همچو مرغی کو گشاید بند دام 
گاه بندد تا شود در فن تمام
او بود محروم از صحرا و مرج 
عمر او اندر گره کاریست خرج
خود زبون او نگردد هیچ دام 
لیک پرش در شکست افتد مدام
با گره کم کوش تا بال و پرت 
نسکلد یک یک ازین کر و فرت
صد هزاران مرغ پرهاشان شکست 
و آن کمین‌گاه عوارض را نبست
حال ایشان از نبی خوان ای حریص 
نقبوا فیها ببین هل من محیص
از نزاع ترک و رومی و عرب 
حل نشد اشکال انگور و عنب
تا سلیمان لسین معنوی 
در نیاید بر نخیزد این دوی
جمله مرغان منازع بازوار 
بشنوید این طبل باز شهریار
ز اختلاف خویش سوی اتحاد 
هین ز هر جانب روان گردید شاد
حیث ما کنتم فولوا وجهکم 
نحوه هذا الذی لم ینهکم
کور مرغانیم و بس ناساختیم 
کان سلیمان را دمی نشناختیم
همچو جغدان دشمن بازان شدیم 
لاجرم وا ماندهٔ ویران شدیم
می‌کنیم از غایت جهل و عما 
قصد آزار عزیزان خدا
جمع مرغان کز سلیمان روشنند 
پر و بال بی گنه کی برکنند
بلک سوی عاجزان چینه کشند 
بی خلاف و کینه آن مرغان خوشند
هدهد ایشان پی تقدیس را 
می‌گشاید راه صد بلقیس را
زاغ ایشان گر بصورت زاغ بود 
باز همت آمد و مازاغ بود
لکلک ایشان که لک‌لک می‌زند 
آتش توحید در شک می‌زند
و آن کبوترشان ز بازان نشکهد 
باز سر پیش کبوترشان نهد
بلبل ایشان که حالت آرد او 
در درون خویش گلشن دارد او
طوطی ایشان ز قند آزاد بود 
کز درون قند ابد رویش نمود
پای طاووسان ایشان در نظر 
بهتر از طاووس‌پران دگر
منطق الطیر آن خاقانی صداست 
منطق الطیر سلیمانی کجاست
تو چه دانی بانگ مرغان را همی 
چون ندیدستی سلیمان را دمی
پر آن مرغی که بانگش مطربست 
از برون مشرقست و مغربست
هر یک آهنگش ز کرسی تا ثریست 
وز ثری تا عرش در کر و فریست
مرغ کو بی این سلیمان می‌رود 
عاشق ظلمت چو خفاشی بود
با سلیمان خو کن ای خفاش رد 
تا که در ظلمت نمانی تا ابد
یک گزی ره که بدان سو می‌روی 
همچو گز قطب مساحت می‌شوی
وانک لنگ و لوک آن سو می‌جهی 
از همه لنگی و لوکی می‌رهی

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## English translation
Two tribes, named Aws and Khazraj, had each a soul thirsting for the blood of the other. Their old hatreds were erased by Mustafa in the light of Islam and purity. First those enemies became brothers, like grape-berries in the vineyard; and, taking counsel from the breath of 'the believers are brothers,' they broke their forms and became one body. The outward forms of grapes are brothers; when you press them, they become one juice. Sour unripe grape and grape are opposites, but when the sour grape ripens it becomes a good friend. The unripe grape that hardened and remained raw: God called it an original unbeliever from pre-eternity. It is neither brother nor a single soul; in wretchedness it is an unlucky heretic. If I tell what it has hidden, a turmoil of understandings will arise in the world. Better that the secret of the blind unbeliever remain unmentioned; better the smoke of hell be far from Iram. The good unripe grapes that are receptive finally become one heart through the breath of the people of the heart. They hasten toward grapehood, so that duality, rancor, and strife may depart. Then in grapehood they tear their skins, until they become one, for unity is its attribute. Friend would become enemy only because both are two; no one has ever made war with itself. Praise to Love, the master of all, who gave union to hundreds of thousands of particles. Like scattered dust on the road, the potter's hand made them one jug. For the union of bodies from water and clay is imperfect; the soul does not remain in this condition. If I give analogous examples here, I fear they will disturb understanding. Solomon exists now too, but we, through delight in seeing far away, are blind. Far-sightedness makes a man blind, like a sleeper in a house who is blind to the house. We are infatuated with subtle sayings; we are lovers of untying knots, so that we may tie and untie them and increase rules in objections and replies. Like a bird that unties the snare's knot and sometimes ties it again, so as to perfect itself in the craft: it is deprived of plain and meadow; its life is spent in knot-work. No snare can subdue it, yet its wings are continually broken. Labor less over knots, so that your wings and feathers are not torn out one by one by this repeated pomp and bustle. Hundreds of thousands of birds had their wings broken, and they did not close off that ambush of accidents. Read their condition from the Prophet, O greedy one: 'they searched through the lands'; see, 'is there any escape?' The difficulty of angur and inab was not solved by the dispute of Turk, Roman, and Arab. Until Solomon, the tongue-knower of meaning, arrives, this duality will not depart. All quarrelling birds, falcon-like, hear this drum of the royal falcon of the King. From your disagreement toward union, come, set out joyfully from every side. 'Wherever you are, turn your face toward Him, this One who has not forbidden you.' We are blind birds and very ill-made, for we did not recognize that Solomon for even a moment. Like owls we became enemies of falcons; inevitably we were left behind in ruin. From the extremity of ignorance and blindness we intend to harm God's dear ones. The company of birds illuminated by Solomon: how would they pluck the innocent wing and feather? Rather they draw grain toward the helpless; those birds are happy without discord and rancor. Their hoopoe, for sanctification, opens the way for a hundred Bilqises. Their crow, though in outward form a crow, became a falcon in aspiration and was 'the sight did not swerve.' Their stork, which cries lak-lak, casts the fire of tawhid into doubt. Their pigeon does not fear falcons; the falcon lays its head before their pigeon. Their nightingale, which brings spiritual state, has a rose garden within itself. Their parrot was free of sugar, for eternal sugar showed its face from within. The feet of their peacocks, in view, are better than the wing-feathers of other peacocks. That Manṭiq al-Ṭayr with Khāqānī-like sound is one thing; where is the Solomonic Manṭiq al-Ṭayr? What do you know of the birds' call, since you have not seen Solomon for a moment? The wing of the bird whose call is enchanting is outwardly beyond East and West. Each of its melodies reaches from the Footstool to the earth, and from the earth to the Throne is in splendor and movement. The bird that goes without this Solomon is a lover of darkness, like a bat. Become intimate with Solomon, O rejected bat, so that you do not remain in darkness forever. One gaz of the road that you travel in that direction makes you like the measuring gaz of the Pole; and you who limp and hobble as you leap that way are freed from every limping and hobbling.

دفتر دوم - بخش ۱۱۳ - برخاستن مخالفت و عداوت از میان انصار به برکات رسول علیه السلام / Book Two - Section 113 - How the Enmity and Hatred of the Ansar was Abolished by the Blessings of the Prophet, Peace Be Upon Him

The Metaphor of the Dispute Over Grapes: Form vs. Meaning in the Masnavi

In Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the distinction between outward form (*surat*) and inner spiritual meaning (*ma'na*) is a foundational hermeneutical concept. In Book 2, Section 7, Rumi warns the listener against getting lost in the literal narrative or external appearance of a tale. He uses the metaphors of walnuts and raisins (*jowz o maviz*) to represent the transient physical body or outward form, urging the spiritual seeker to pass beyond these surface level details. Similarly, he likens the literal plot of a story to chaff (*kah*) and the hidden spiritual truth to the grain (*daneh*), instructing readers to 'separate the grain from the chaff' (*az kah joda kon daneh ra*). Through these metaphors, Rumi argues that attachment to the literal form of stories, religious rituals, or the physical world hinders intellectual and spiritual progression toward divine reality.

The Metaphor of Grain and Chaff, Walnut and Raisin (Form vs. Meaning) in the Masnavi

In the *Masnavi*, Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi frequently employs the dichotomy of the **kernel** or **pulp** (*maghz*) and the **shell** or **peel** (*pust*) to illustrate the relationship between inner spiritual meaning (*ma'na*) and outer form (*surat*).

### The Core Metaphor
* **The Shell (*Pust*):** Represents external forms, ritualistic observance, literal interpretations of scripture, and superficial knowledge.
* **The Kernel (*Maghz*):** Represents spiritual realization, divine love, inner truth, and direct experience of the Divine.

### Application to Quranic Memorization
In Book Three (Section 52), Rumi explains why few of the Prophet's companions (*Sahaba*) were full memorizers (*hafiz*) of the literal words of the Quran. He asserts that as their inner being became filled with the 'kernel' of divine meaning, their attachment to the outer 'shell' of form decreased. Just as a ripening walnut or almond grows its kernel and sheds or thins its shell, the spiritually mature individ...

The Metaphor of Kernel and Shell in Rumi's Masnavi

In the Masnavi, the 'Language of State' (Zaban-e Hal) refers to the non-verbal communication of an entity's inner reality or condition, which conveys truth more profoundly than spoken words. In Book 2, Section 108, Rumi illustrates this concept using analogies such as the silent, expressive interaction between a candle and a moth, the existential meaning of pieces on a chessboard, and a grammarian's standard sentence structure ('Zayd struck Amr'). Through these examples, Rumi demonstrates that outward forms and grammatical rules are merely vessels for deeper meaning (Ma'ni). Learners are urged to 'take the wheat and reject the measure'—meaning one should perceive the spiritual state and extract the true essence directly, rather than being confined by literal expressions and surface-level forms.

Learn Before

Key Themes of the Metaphor:

Related

Learn After