Story Summary
Explore The Reed Flute's Song, Rumi's profound Sufi parable about the soul's separation from the Divine and its passionate journey back to its spiritual home.
Listen to the reed flute as it tells its tale, complaining of the pain of separation. Ever since I was torn from the reedbed, my lament has moved men and women to tears. I want a heart torn by separation, that I may reveal the pain of longing. Everyone who is left far from his source wishes to go back to the time when he was united with it. The fire in the flute is love, not wind. The fermentation in the wine is love. The reed is the comrade of anyone who has been severed from a friend; its melodies have rent our veils. Who has ever seen a poison and an antidote like the reed? Who has ever seen a sympathizer and a longing lover like the reed? It tells the story of the Path of Blood and describes the loves of Majnun. The secret of my song is not far from my grief, but eyes and ears lack the light to perceive it. The body is not hidden from the soul, nor the soul from the body, yet none is permitted to see the soul. This noise of the reed is fire, it is not wind; whoso hath not this fire, may he be naught!
The Moral
The soul is an exile in the physical world, eternally longing to return to its divine origin through the power of love.
“Listen to the reed flute how it tells a tale, complaining of separation.”
Fun Fact
The 'Song of the Reed' serves as the prologue to the Masnavi and is the only part of the 25,000-verse work that Rumi is said to have written down with his own hand.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the moral of The Reed Flute's Song?
The moral is that human suffering and longing are actually signs of the soul's divine origin, urging the individual to seek reunion with the Creator through love.
What does the reed flute symbolize in Rumi's poetry?
The reed flute, or 'ney,' symbolizes the human soul which has been 'cut' from the divine reedbed and hollowed out by worldly trials to become a vessel for God's breath.
Why is the reed flute's song described as mournful?
The song is mournful because it expresses the 'pain of separation' from the source of all being, reflecting the universal human feeling of spiritual homesickness.
Is The Reed Flute's Song part of a larger work?
Yes, it comprises the famous opening 18 lines of the 'Masnavi-I Ma'navi,' Jalaluddin Rumi's six-volume masterpiece of spiritual Sufi poetry.
What does Rumi mean by 'the fire in the flute'?
Rumi explains that the sound of the flute is not merely air, but the 'fire of love'—the intense spiritual passion that drives the seeker toward the Truth.
How can one understand the secret of the flute's song?
Rumi suggests that the secret cannot be understood through the physical senses alone; it requires spiritual awakening and a heart that has experienced the 'fire' of divine love.
