The Beloved, in the End of Time, has fashioned a kind of revelry:
Inwardly He is utmost seriousness, outwardly He appears as play.
Here, “the Beloved” refers to God. “The End of Time” signifies the advent of prophets, which is the same as the Day of Resurrection—when the era of a previous religion comes to an end and a new dispensation begins.
Elsewhere, Rumi speaks about the unity of the prophets and says:
O master of the path, if I went away, behold—I have returned,
So that in this End of Time I may openly reveal to you your own state.
“fashioned a kind of revelry” here means a new religion—one whose inner reality is full of majesty, yet the people of its own time do not take it seriously. If we look at the history of all religions, we see how they were treated with mockery and indifference. In the Holy Qur’an, in Sūrat Yā Sīn, it says:
‘Alas for the servants! There never came to them a messenger except that they mocked him.’ (36:30)
And it also says:
‘Every community plotted against their messenger to seize him, and they disputed with falsehood in order to refute the truth.’ (40:5, Sūrat Ghāfir)
For example, they placed a crown of thorns on the head of Jesus Christ and mocked him, until three hundred years after his birth the greatness of his religion was finally recognized.
The German philosopher Schopenhauer says that every new idea is first ridiculed, then fiercely opposed, and finally accepted as a truth.
By this knowledge, the Beloved has slain all the lovers,
So that—beware, beware—your ignorance may not turn into mockery.
The followers of a new religion sacrifice their lives in His path and emerge sound and victorious from the trials.
Remain in motion, for flowing water never grows stagnant;
From movement, Love gains its head-overturning power.
On the path of His love be active, even the heads of the faithful fall to the dust.
How could the stirring of the soul be merely a washed, outward face?
How could a weak fighter ever break the battle lines?
One who is not a true warrior is not worthy of the mount he rides.
They have beaten the war drum so that this moment may be revealed;
A fierce stirring arises, with the swift Arabian steed.
The hour of struggle has arrived; saddle the swift horse and ride boldly into the fray.
Strike and be struck like a lion, until you reach martyrdom,
Until you strike down the neck of the unbeliever.
On this path, one fights like a lion—both striking and being struck—and may ultimately attain martyrdom.
Note on meaning:
In Rumi’s symbolic language, this imagery is spiritual and allegorical, not a call to physical violence. “Striking the unbeliever” represents overcoming disbelief, falsehood, ego, and ignorance—both within oneself and within the world. “Martyrdom” signifies complete self-sacrifice and annihilation of the ego (fanāʾ) in the path of divine truth.
The play of lions is the play of facing the battlefield;
The play of foxes is the play of flight and escape.
How could a fox ever be a match for the Lion of Truth?
The lion advances into direct confrontation, while the fox flees from the arena. A fox can never be compared to the Lion of Truth.
“Where are the warm-hearted travelers, and where are the dark-hearted ones?
A man of Marv (‘Marvazī’) has fallen upon the path together with a man of Ray (‘Rāzī’).”
(Marvazī: a title referring to Ahmad ibn Nasr al-Marvazī, a Shāfiʿī jurist.)
Clarifying meaning:
Those who are illumined by the light of this love stand at the opposite pole from the dark-hearted. The verse points to the stark contrast between awakened souls and those veiled from the light, even when they outwardly share the same path or era.
Love is a wondrous warrior: through it, the martyr lives on.
Lay down your head, O pure soul, before such a warrior.
Love is an extraordinary “mujāhid”—a fighter whose power is such that even the martyr remains alive through it. On this path of love, one must be ready to offer one’s head: total self-sacrifice and surrender.
The dark-hearted wheel of the body will be filled with the moon’s light,
The dark wheel of the body will be filled with the moon’s light,
If you cleanse your heart.
If you take steps on His path, even if your heart is dark, it will become filled with light—provided you break free from attachment to mere appearances and forms.
Blessed is that pure soul who, from the dusty field of this world,
Receives from the heart’s sanctuary the light that shapes and gives form.
Happy is the one whose heart, in this earthly realm of dust, becomes illumined by His light. On the Day of Resurrection, those who believe in the Manifestation of God are born anew and come to life again.