Rumi on Divine Feast & Inner Beast | Ghazal 10

مهمان شاهم هر شبی بر خوان احسان و وفا

مهمان صاحب‌دولتم که دولتش پاینده با

Each night, I am the guest of the King, at the table of generosity and loyalty.
I am the guest of the Possessor of fortune, Whose fortune is everlasting.

بر خوان شیران یک شبی بوزینه‌ای همراه شد

استیزه‌رو گر نیستی او از کجا شیر از کجا

One night, at the table of lions, a monkey joined the feast.
If you are not quarrelsome, [tell me] the lion and the monkey—how far apart!

 

بنگر که از شمشیر شه در قهر‌ِمان خون می‌چکد

آخر چه گستاخی است این والله خطا والله خطا

Behold—blood drips from the King’s sword, from His wrath upon us.
What audacity is this? By God, it is wrong—by God, it is wrong!

 

گر طفل شیری پنجه زد بر روی مادر ناگهان

تو دشمن خود نیستی بر وی منه تو پنجه را

If a lion’s cub strikes its mother’s face by chance,
You are not Your own enemy—do not lay Your claws upon it.

 

آن کاو ز شیران شیر خوَرْد‌، او شیر باشد نیست مرد

بسیار نقش آدمی دیدم که بود آن اژدها

He who was nursed by lions is a lion, not a human.
I have seen many shaped like men, who were in truth beasts.

نوح ار چه مردم‌وار بُد طوفان مردم‌خوار بُد

گر هست آتش ذره‌ای آن ذره دارد شعله‌ها

Though Noah was a man like other humans, [internally,] he was a human-devouring flood.
If there is but a spark of fire, that spark contains blazing flames.

 

شمشیرم و خون‌ریز من‌، هم نرمم و هم تیز من

همچون جهان فانی‌ام ظاهر خوش و باطن بلا

I am a sword, and I shed blood; I am both soft and sharp.
Like this fleeting world: pleasing in appearance, disaster inside.

Rumi, Divan, Ghazal 10: Rumi on Divine Feast & Inner Beast

Translated by Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani, 15 March 2025

 

Watch our analisis of this poem

What does it mean to be invited by the Divine? In this episode of the Rumi Podcast, we explore Ghazal 10 from Rumi’s Diwan. This mystical poem blends Sufi spirituality, symbolism, and paradox—inviting us to reflect on God’s Mercy, Wrath, and our inner readiness. We begin with the image of a nightly banquet where God Himself is the Host, reminding us that all spiritual longing begins with His Grace. But not all guests are worthy—Rumi contrasts the lion (the spiritually awakened) with the monkey (the spiritually unprepared), warning that we must refine ourselves to sit at the table. The episode unfolds deep themes of divine hospitality, spiritual immaturity, and the paradox of human nature, with Rumi portraying sin not as rebellion but as the innocent error of a lion’s cub. He pleads for God’s compassion in a world where even saints carry swords of justice within soft hearts.