Rumi: Woman is a Ray of God

As a wave of sexual harassment allegations flood the media, and while as Muslim women, many of us have had to suffer under the authoritarian rule of patriarchy in our birth countries such as Iran and Afghanistan, it is refreshing to read the enlightened words of the 13th century poet, Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, a Muslim man and a Sufi mystic. 

"If outwardly you dominate your wife,
inwardly you are dominated,
seeking her love.

The Prophet said, "Woman
prevails over the wise man,
while the raw and ignorant prevails over her."
Those men who lack tenderness and affection
are animals, not men.

She is not that kind of beloved most imagine;
she is a ray of God.
She is nit just created,
she is creative."
-Rumi

Translated by Kabir Helminski & A. Rezwani
Photo: ​www.pixabay.com