Discourses of Rumi

FIHI MA FIHI V 345Nimrod said, ‘When I banish people, it is thesame as causing them to die, and when I appointsomeone to a post it is as if I brought them to life.’Then Abraham gave up this argument, beingcompelled to yield to Nimrod’s point. He thenembarked on another line of reasoning, saying,‘My God brings the sun up from the east andsends it down in the west. Do the opposite ofthat!’ Isn’t this argument at odds with the other?”Rumi answered: God forbid that Abrahamcould have been silenced by Nimrod and leftwithout any answer! The truth is that Abrahamused his second statement to show how Godbrings life out of the womb of the east, and sendsit back to death in the tomb of the west.Abraham’s argument was presented with perfectconsistency. God creates us anew every moment,bringing something perfectly fresh into our innerheart. God’s first moment is nothing like His second,neither is His second moment like the third.Yet people, being unconscious of themselves, donot see this birth and death.Sultan Mahmud was given a fine horse, withan exquisite shape. Next festival day he rode thathorse, and all the people sat on their rooftops to