The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) · 37 of 37 · tr. E.H. Whinfield
STORY XVI-c
Like as the green thorn which is cropped by the camel, And then yields him pleasure and nutriment; When its greenness has gone and it becomes dry, If the camel crops that same thorn in the desert, It wounds his palate and mouth without pity, As if conserve of roses should turn to sharp swords.
When bread is "substance," it is as a green thorn; When 'tis "form," 'tis as the dry and coarse thorn.
And thou eatest it in the same way as of yore Thou wert wont to eat it, O helpless being, Eatest this dry thing in the same manner, After the real "substance" is mingled with dust; It has become mingled with dust, dry in pith and rind.
O camel, now beware of that herb!
The Word is become foul with mingled earth; The water is become muddy; close the mouth of the well, Till God makes it again pure and sweet; Yea, till He purifies what He has made foul.
Patience will accomplish thy desire, not haste.
Be patient, God knows what is best.
*NOTES: 1.
Muhammadans think the forbidden fruit to have been wheat.
2.
The descending node of the moon (see Gulshan i Raz, I.
233).
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Divine Providencetheology
Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.
The text advises patience and trust in God's superior knowledge ('God knows what is best') regarding the timing of purification.
All passages →Evil As Privationtheology
Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.
Corruption is described as a loss of original quality ('greenness has gone', 'mingled with dust') rather than an opposing positive force.
All passages →Rejection Of Hypocrisyethics
Critique of outward religious observance that lacks inner transformation; form without substance.
[auto] The passage explicitly contrasts 'substance' (green thorn) with 'form' (dry thorn), warning against consuming religious forms that have lost their spiritual essence.
All passages →Related passages · 7 parallels
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