In Book 3 of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the poet recounts the story of a maimed (handless) sheikh who miraculously weaves baskets with both hands. When a visitor discovers him working in his hut and asks how this is possible, the sheikh explains it is through excessive love and longing for God, but asks the visitor to keep the miracle a secret until his death. This narrative serves as a profound allegory for divine grace and spiritual empowerment, illustrating how God provides for and empowers those who truly rely on Him, transcending physical limitations.

The Tale of the Maimed Sheikh Weaving Baskets in the Masnavi

The story of the Sheikh who was mistakenly accused of theft and had his hand severed is a key narrative in Book Three of Rumi's Masnavi. It illustrates the theme of patience, divine protection, and the hidden spiritual status of God's saints (Abdal).

### Key Narrative Elements
- **False Accusation:** The Sheikh is found among a band of thieves and is arrested and punished alongside them due to a lack of discernment by the city guard (Shahna).
- **The Severed Hand:** His right hand is severed before a rider intervenes, recognizing the Sheikh as a saint.
- **Divine Vindication and Apology:** The guard, realizing the holy status of the Sheikh, rushes to beg for forgiveness.

### Spiritual Significance
This tale highlights how outward trials can be forms of spiritual discipline and how the truly spiritual accept destiny without rancor, paving the way for the manifestation of divine miracles in subsequent sections.

Google

## Original content
<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right; line-height: 2; margin-top: 0.5rem;">

بیست از دزدان بدند آنجا و بیش 
بخش می کردند مسروقات خویش
شحنه را غماز آگه کرده بود 
مردم شحنه بر افتادند زود
هم بدان جا پای چپ و دست راست 
جمله را ببرید و غوغایی بخاست
دست زاهد هم بریده شد غلط 
پاش را می خواست هم کردن سقط
در زمان آمد سواری بس گزین 
بانگ بر زد بر عوان کای سگ ببین
این فلان شیخست از ابدال خدا 
دست او را تو چرا کردی جدا
آن عوان بدرید جامه تیز رفت 
پیش شحنه داد آگاهیش تفت
شحنه آمد پا برهنه عذرخواه 
که ندانستم خدا بر من گواه
هین بحل کن مر مرا زین کار زشت 
ای کریم و سرور اهل بهشت
گفت می دانم سبب این نیش را 
می شناسم من گناه خویش را
من شکستم حرمت ایمان او 
پس یمینم برد دادستان او
من شکستم عهد و دانستم بدست 
تا رسید آن شومی جرات به دست
دست ما و پای ما و مغز و پوست 
باد ای والی فدای حکم دوست
قسم من بود این تو را کردم حلال 
تو ندانستی تو را نبود وبال
و آنک او دانست او فرمان رواست 
با خدا سامان پیچیدن کجاست
ای بسا مرغی پریده دانه جو 
که بریده حلق او هم حلق او
ای بسا مرغی ز معده وز مغص 
بر کنار بام محبوس قفس
ای بسا ماهی در آب دوردست 
گشته از حرص گلو ماخوذ شست
ای بسا مستور در پرده بده 
شومی فرج و گلو رسوا شده
ای بسا قاضی حبر نیک خو 
از گلو و رشوتی او زردرو
بلک در هاروت و ماروت آن شراب 
از عروج چرخشان شد سد باب
بایزید از بهر این کرد احتراز 
دید در خود کاهلی اندر نماز
از سبب اندیشه کرد آن ذو لباب 
دید علت خوردن بسیار از آب
گفت تا سالی نخواهم خورد آب 
آنچنان کرد و خدایش داد تاب
این کمینه جهد او بد بهر دین 
گشت او سلطان و قطب العارفین
چون بریده شد برای حلق دست 
مرد زاهد را در شکوی ببست
شیخ اقطع گشت نامش پیش خلق 
کرد معروفش بدین آفات حلق

</div>

## English translation
Twenty thieves and more were there,
dividing their stolen goods.
An informer had alerted the constable,
and the constable's men fell upon them at once.
There on the spot, the left foot and right hand
of all of them were severed, and a great uproar arose.
The ascetic's hand too was cut off by mistake;
they also meant to cut off his foot.
In that instant a most excellent horseman arrived
and cried out to the officer: 'O dog, look!
This is such-and-such Shaykh, one of the Abdāl of God—
why have you severed his hand?'
The officer tore his garment and went off in haste,
and swiftly brought this news to the constable.
The constable came barefoot, seeking pardon:
'I did not know—God is my witness.
Come, absolve me of this foul deed,
O noble one, O lord of the people of paradise!'
He said: 'I know the cause of this sting;
I recognize my own sin.
I violated the sanctity of His faith,
so His advocate took my right hand.
I broke the covenant, and I knew it was bad,
until the ill-omen of that audacity reached my hand.
Our hand and foot and brain and skin—
let them all, O governor, be sacrificed to the command of the Beloved.
This portion was mine; I have absolved you of it.
You did not know; no burden falls upon you.
But He who knew is the sovereign—
where is there any room for twisting matters with God?
O how many a bird has flown seeking grain
whose throat has been cut—and through its very throat!
O how many a bird, through belly and gut-cramp,
sits imprisoned in a cage on the roof's edge!
O how many a fish in distant waters
has been caught on the hook through the greed of its throat!
O how many a veiled woman behind the curtain
has been disgraced by the ill-omen of the private parts and throat!
O how many a qāḍī and ḥibr of good repute
has grown pallid through his throat and through bribery!
Nay, in the case of Hārūt and Mārūt, that wine
became a barrier to their ascent through the celestial spheres.
Bāyazīd guarded against this for this very reason—
he found in himself sluggishness in prayer.
That man of inner essence probed the cause
and found the reason

دفتر سوم - بخش ۷۳ - متهم کردن آن شیخ را با دزدان وبریدن دستش را / Book Three - Section 73 - Accusing That Sheikh Along With the Thieves and Cutting Off His Hand

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

## Original content
<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right; line-height: 2; margin-top: 0.5rem;">

در عریش او را یکی زایر بیافت 
کو بهر دو دست می زنبیل بافت
گفت او را ای عدو جان خویش 
در عریشم آمده سر کرده پیش
این چراکردی شتاب اندر سباق 
گفت از افراط مهر و اشتیاق
پس تبسم کرد و گفت اکنون بیا 
لیک مخفی دار این را ای کیا
تا نمیرم من مگو این با کسی 
نه قرینی نه حبیبی نه خسی
بعد از آن قومی دگر از روزنش 
مطلع گشتند بر بافیدنش
گفت حکمت را تو دانی کردگار 
من کنم پنهان تو کردی آشکار
آمد الهامش که یکچندی بدند 
که درین غم بر تو منکر می‌شدند
که مگر سالوس بود او در طریق 
که خدا رسواش کرد اندر فریق
من نخواهم کان رمه کافر شوند 
در ضلالت در گمان بد روند
این کرامت را بکردیم آشکار 
که دهیمت دست اندر وقت کار
تا که آن بیچارگان بد گمان 
رد نگردند از جناب آسمان
من ترا بی این کرامتها ز پیش 
خود تسلی دادمی از ذات خویش
این کرامت بهر ایشان دادمت 
وین چراغ از بهر آن بنهادمت
تو از آن بگذشته‌ای کز مرگ تن 
ترسی وز تفریق اجزای بدن
وهم تفریق سر و پا از تو رفت 
دفع وهم اسپر رسیدت نیک زفت

</div>

## English translation
In his bower a pilgrim found him,
weaving baskets with both hands.
He said to him: O enemy of your own soul,
you have come into my bower, thrusting your head forward.
Why did you hasten so in this race?
He said: From excess of love and longing.
Then he smiled and said: Now come in,
but keep this hidden, O noble one.
Until I die, tell this to no one—
not a companion, not a beloved, not a nobody.
After that, another group through his window
became aware of his weaving.
He said: You know the wisdom, O Creator—
I conceal it, yet You revealed it.
Inspiration came to him: There were some for a time
who in this grief were denying you,
saying: Perhaps he was a hypocrite on the Path,
and so God disgraced him before the crowd.
I do not want that flock to become unbelievers,
to go astray in error and ill-thinking.
We made this karāmat manifest
to give you a hand in the hour of need,
so that those wretched ill-thinking ones
may not be turned away from the threshold of Heaven.
I would have consoled you before this, without these karāmāt,
from My own Essence.
This karāmat I gave you for their sake,
and I placed this lamp for that reason.
You have passed beyond fearing the death of the body
and the scattering of the body's limbs.
The illusion of the separation of head and foot has departed from you;
the shield against illusion has reached you, mighty and firm.

دفتر سوم - بخش ۷۴ - کرامات شیخ اقطع و زنبیل بافتن او بدو دست / Book Three - Section 74 - The Miracles of the Maimed Sheikh and His Weaving of Baskets with Both Hands

The Tale of the Accused Sheikh and His Severed Hand in the Masnavi

In Book 3 of Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, the story of the ascetic and the pear tree illustrates the fragility of human resolve when confronted with severe physical deprivation and the workings of fate. An ascetic makes a solemn vow to rely entirely on divine providence, refusing to actively pluck fruit from a pear tree and resolving to only eat what the wind naturally shakes down. However, after enduring five days of excruciating hunger, the wind bends a heavily laden branch directly within his reach. Overwhelmed by starvation, weakness, and the overwhelming pull of temptation and destiny, the ascetic breaks his covenant and plucks a pear. Immediately upon breaking his vow, he is struck by swift divine chastisement—a spiritual 'ear-pulling' that violently reawakens his awareness. Rumi uses this brief narrative to highlight the immense difficulty of maintaining spiritual patience against natural human impulses and the immediate consequences of faltering in one's spiritual commitments.

The Tale of the Ascetic's Broken Vow at the Pear Tree in the Masnavi

## Original content
<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right; line-height: 2; margin-top: 0.5rem;">

در عریش او را یکی زایر بیافت 
کو به هر دو دست می زنبیل بافت
گفت او را ای عدو جان خویش 
در عریشم آمده سر کرده پیش
این چراکردی شتاب اندر سباق 
گفت از افراط مهر و اشتیاق
پس تبسم کرد و گفت اکنون بیا 
لیک مخفی دار این را ای کیا
تا نمیرم من مگو این با کسی 
نه قرینی نه حبیبی نه خسی
بعد از آن قومی دگر از روزنش 
مطلع گشتند بر بافیدنش
گفت حکمت را تو دانی کردگار 
من کنم پنهان تو کردی آشکار
آمد الهامش که یک چندی بدند 
که درین غم بر تو منکر می شدند
که مگر سالوس بود او در طریق 
که خدا رسواش کرد اندر فریق
من نخواهم کان رمه کافر شوند 
در ضلالت در گمان بد روند
این کرامت را بکردیم آشکار 
که دهیمت دست اندر وقت کار
تا که آن بیچارگان بد گمان 
رد نگردند از جناب آسمان
من تورا بی این کرامتها ز پیش 
خود تسلی دادمی از ذات خویش
این کرامت بهر ایشان دادمت 
وین چراغ از بهر آن بنهادمت
تو از آن بگذشته ای کز مرگ تن 
ترسی وز تفریق اجزای بدن
وهم تفریق سر و پا از تو رفت 
دفع وهم اسپر رسیدت نیک زفت

</div>

## English translation
In his hut, a visitor found him
weaving a basket with both hands.
He said to him, "O enemy of your own soul,
you have entered my hut, poking your head in!
Why did you hasten so much in this race?"
He said, "Out of excessive love and longing."
Then he smiled and said, "Come in now,
but keep this a secret, O noble one.
Until I die, do not speak of this to anyone,
not to a companion, nor a friend, nor anyone insignificant."
After that, another group through his window
became aware of his weaving.
He said, "You know the wisdom, O Creator,
I keep it hidden, but You have made it manifest!"
Inspiration came to him: "For a while there were those
who, in this affliction, were denying you,
Saying, 'Perhaps he was a hypocrite on the path,
so God disgraced him among the group.'
I do not want that flock to become disbelievers,
and proceed in misguidance and evil suspicion.
We made this miracle manifest
that We might give you a hand at the time of work,
So that those poor, suspicious ones
would not be rejected from the heavenly threshold.
Without these miracles, I would have already
consoled you from My own Essence.
I gave you this miracle for their sake,
and I placed this lamp for that reason.
You have moved beyond fearing the death of the body,
and the separation of the body's parts.
The illusion of the separation of head and foot has left you;
to repel illusion, a very sturdy shield has reached you."

دفتر سوم - بخش ۷۴ - کرامات شیخ اقطع و زنبیل بافتن او به دو دست / Book Three - Section 74 - The Miracles of the Maimed Sheikh and His Weaving of Baskets with Both Hands

Learn Before

Key Narrative Elements

Spiritual Significance

Related

Learn After