24/08/2025
What will people say?”
One night, Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi (رح) invited his master, Hazrat Shamsuddin Tabrizi (رح), to his home.
When dinner was ready, Shams (رح) said to Rumi:
“Can you bring me some wine to drink?”
Rumi was shocked:
“Does my teacher also drink wine?”
Shams replied:
“Yes, of course.”
Rumi said:
“Forgive me, I didn’t know.”
Shams said:
“Now you know. So, bring me the wine.”
Rumi hesitated:
“But it’s late at night, from where can I get it?”
Shams said:
“Send one of your servants.”
Rumi replied:
“If my servants see this, I will lose my respect in front of them.”
Shams said:
“Then go yourself.”
Rumi said worriedly:
“The whole city knows me. How can I go and buy wine myself?”
Shams said:
“If you are truly my student, then do what I say. Otherwise, tonight I will not eat, nor talk, nor sleep.”
Out of love and obedience for his master, Rumi covered himself with a cloak, hid a bottle, and went to the Christian quarter.
On the way, no one doubted him. But as soon as he entered the Christian area, people became suspicious and followed him.
Everyone saw Rumi enter a wine shop and come out with a bottle hidden under his cloak. The crowd grew and followed him back to the mosque.
At the mosque gate, one man shouted:
“O people! Your Imam, your Sheikh Jalaluddin Rumi, has just bought wine from the Christian market!”
He pulled away Rumi’s cloak, and the bottle appeared before all.
The crowd grew angry, spat on him, beat him, and even his turban fell to the ground.
Rumi remained silent. He gave no explanation.
People became even more convinced he was guilty. Some even wanted to kill him.
At that moment, Shams Tabrizi’s voice rose:
“O shameless people! You have accused a great scholar and jurist of drinking wine. Know that this bottle does not contain wine, but vinegar!”
Someone said:
“But I saw him myself taking it from the wine shop!”
Shams opened the bottle and poured some drops onto people’s hands. They smelled it – it was vinegar!
The truth was, Shams had gone earlier to the wine shop and instructed the seller:
“If Rumi comes, give him vinegar instead of wine.”
Now people were shocked, ashamed, and fell at Rumi’s feet, begging forgiveness.
Rumi turned to Shams and said:
“Master, today you put me through a great trial. My respect and honor were destroyed in front of my followers. What was the meaning of this?”
Shams replied:
“So that you may realize that people’s respect and reputation are nothing but a deception. Do you think people’s honor lasts forever? You saw yourself – at the mere suspicion of a bottle, they spat at you, hit you, and almost killed you. This is the ‘honor’ you were proud of, which vanished in a single moment.
From now on, never rely on people’s respect. True honor lies only with Allah, which never changes and never perishes. He alone knows who is truly honorable and who is falsely seeking honor. Keep your gaze only upon Allah.”
Lesson:
🌿
Just as the story of Rumi (RA) teaches us that true honor lies only with Allah, the greatest form of honor is to carry the Quran in one’s heart. Worldly fame and people’s praise can vanish in moments, but the light of the Quran remains forever.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“The one who memorizes the Quran will be told on the Day of Judgment: Recite and ascend in ranks, for your position will be at the last verse you recite.” (Tirmidhi)
A Hafiz of the Quran will not only be honored in this world but, in the Hereafter, his parents will be crowned with a light brighter than the sun.
So, if you seek true honor, do not rely on people’s words, but strive for the words of Allah. Memorizing the Quran is not just worship—it is honor, blessing, and a path to Paradise.
🌹✨⚪
Shared by your brother,
Hafiz Aman
Rumi
