This beautiful ghazal alludes to the advent of the Blessed Beauty and celebrates the declaration of His Mission within its verses.
The King has arrived, the King has arrived—adorn the pavilion;
cut off the hands, for the sake of the Beauty of Canaan.
he “Beauty of Canaan” is Joseph, and Joseph here signifies Bahá’u’lláh. The phrase “cut off the hands” alludes to the women who, upon beholding Joseph’s beauty, cut their hands instead of the fruit they were holding—symbolizing utter astonishment before divine beauty.
ʻAbdu’l‑Bahá states:
“Whenever you read the Sūrah of Joseph—since in the Best of Stories ( احسن القصص), that is, the interpretation of the Sūrah of Joseph, the Báb (may my spirit be a sacrifice unto Him) has interpreted Joseph as the true Joseph, the Manifest Beauty, and referred to Him as the Most Great Master (Baha’u’llah)—each time you read it you will weep, and you will burn and ache for the wrongs suffered by the Blessed Beauty.”
Provisional translation
— Selections from the Writings of ʻAbdu’l-Bahá, Vol. 4, pp. 321.
Publisher: Bahá’í Publishing Trust of Germany, 2000.
When the Soul of souls arrives,
the very name of “body” may no longer be spoken;
what use is one’s body before Him,
except to offer it up as a sacrifice?
When He appears, many sacrifice their lives in the path of His love. Numerous examples of this can be found throughout the history of the Cause.
I was lost in loveless wandering—
then love arrived suddenly.
I was a mountain; I became a straw
before the steed of the King.
His beauty gives rise to love. Human beings who were once like mountains of pride are reduced to mere straw before Him.
As ʻAbdu’l-Bahá explains:
“For the power of the test is severe, and the force of trial is immense:
mountains are turned into straw, and great peaks become like mustard seeds.”
Provisional translation
— Selections from the Writings of ʻAbdu’l-Bahá, Vol. 2, p. 285
Publisher: Bahá’í World Centre Publications, 1984
Here the imagery echoes Rumi’s verse: the appearance of divine beauty creates love so powerful that ego, pride, and self-importance collapse. What once seemed firm and immovable—like a mountain—proves weightless in the face of spiritual testing. True humility and transformation emerge only through this encounter with divine reality.
Whether Turk or Tajik, this servant is close to Him;
like soul and body—yet the body can never behold the soul.
Muslims often expect their Promised One to be Arab; however, for Rumi this is of no importance at all—race and ethnicity are irrelevant. In the same way, Hafez beholds the Light of God (Baha’u’llah) in the Magian temple, among Iranians, saying:
“In the Magian temple I behold the light of God;
wondrous indeed—see what a light I behold, and from where.”
This expresses the shared mystical insight of Rumi and Hafez: divine truth is not confined to race, language, or outward religious expectation. The light of God appears wherever hearts are receptive—even where formal religion least expects it.
O friends, behold—good fortune has arrived;
the time to offer all has come.
A Solomon has ascended the throne
to depose Satan.
Here Rumi announces the arrival of a divinely empowered sovereignty. “Solomon on the throne” symbolizes God-given authority, wisdom, and justice, while the “removal of Satan” signifies the overthrow of ego, deception, and false dominion. The call to īthār (self-sacrifice) signals that this transformation requires wholehearted devotion and the surrender of self.
Rise up—why do you just stand there stamping in place,
why are you so lazy and inert?
Do you not know? Learn the path to Solomon’s palace from the hoopoe.
Rise up and stand in service to His Cause; do not be lazy and inactive.
And if you do not know the way, ask the hoopoe.
In the sacred tradition, the hoopoe was the messenger between Queen of Sheba and Solomon.
In this ghazal, however, the hoopoe symbolizes ʻAbdu’l-Bahá, the **Interpreter of the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh—the mediator who guides lovers to the Beloved (humanity to Bahá’u’lláh).
As affirmed in the Kitáb-i-ʻAhd (Book of the Covenant), the Most Exalted Word (Qawl-i-A‘lá) establishes this station, directing all to turn to ʻAbdu’l-Bahá for guidance and interpretation after Bahá’u’lláh.
The Will of the divine Testator is this: It is incumbent upon the Aghsán, the Afnán and My Kindred to turn, one and all, their faces towards the Most Mighty Branch. Consider that which We have revealed in Our Most Holy Book: “When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your faces towards Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root.” The object of this sacred verse is none except the Most Mighty Branch [‘Abdu’l‑Bahá]. Thus have We graciously revealed unto you Our potent Will, and I am verily the Gracious, the All-Bountiful. Verily God hath ordained the station of the Greater Branch [Muḥammad ‘Alí] to be beneath that of the Most Great Branch [‘Abdu’l‑Bahá]. He is in truth the Ordainer, the All-Wise. We have chosen “the Greater” after “the Most Great,” as decreed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.
Kitáb-i-‘Ahd (Book of the Covenant)
Offer your supplication there; speak your secrets and your needs—
for Solomon himself knows the language of all the birds.
Here, Rumi invites the seeker to pray intimately, to ask for help, and to speak openly from the heart—as he says elsewhere,
“Tell whatever your sorrowful heart desires.”
In The Conference of the Birds, Attar of Nishapur likens human beings to birds journeying through many trials on the path to perfection. In this ghazal, “Solomon” symbolizes the Divine Knower of all inner languages. In this understanding, Bahá’u’lláh fully understands the language of every soul—each prayer, each pain, and each longing—without intermediary or translation.
‘Abdu’l‑Bahá affirms that such prayers are “conducive to humility and submissiveness, to setting one’s face towards God and expressing devotion to Him,” and that through these prayers “man holdeth communion with God, seeketh to draw near unto Him, converseth with the true Beloved of his heart, and attaineth spiritual stations.”
Talking is like the wind, O servant—it scatters the heart;
yet He commands that the scattered be gathered together.
Here Rumi contrasts empty speech with purposeful action. Words alone, like wind, can disperse attention and intention. In this blessed Revelation, what is asked is deed rather than talk—to bring unity where there is confusion and to gather hearts around the Blessed Beauty through service and love, as taught by Bahá’u’lláh.
O Son of My Handmaid!
Guidance hath ever been given by words, and now it is given by deeds. Everyone must show forth deeds that are pure and holy, for words are the property of all alike, whereas such deeds as these belong only to Our loved ones. Strive then with heart and soul to distinguish yourselves by your deeds. In this wise We counsel you in this holy and resplendent tablet.
The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds; he whose words exceed his deeds, know verily his death is better than his life.