Page 140 - The Book of Rumi

The Sufi and His Cheating Wife

here was a Sufi who was a hard-working and honest shopkeeper who
Tloved his wife; he felt that he would go to the ends of the earth for her.
For some time, though, he had grown suspicious of her but was feeling guilty
about his suspicions at the same time. One day he decided to go home earlier
than usual. On that day, however, his beautiful wife had arranged for her lover
to pay her a quick visit. When the Sufi opened the front door of his house,
she was in the arms of the local peddler, lost in love and lust.
He slammed the door shut as he entered, barring any way out for a pos-
sible intruder. The lovers froze on the spot, unable to think of a way out.
The Sufi , who possessed valuable foresight, decided not to make a scene and
to maintain his wife’s good reputation in the neighborhood, as he was still
very much in love with her. While he was quickly strategizing an appropriate
response, his cunning wife came up with a rescue plan. She quickly disguised
the peddler under one of her veils, pretending that she was entertaining a
visitor, in fact a woman inquiring on behalf of a suitor for their unmarried
daughter.
The truth didn’t escape the Sufi , but he had already made up his mind and
decided to play along with his wife. “What service can we do for the revered
lady?” he asked shrewdly.
“She’s come to ask for our daughter’s hand and would like to see her, but
she’s at school right now. The lady’s son is a competent businessman but is out
of town at the moment; that’s why he’s not accompanying her,” the wife was
quick to reply.
“It seems to me that this lady is grand and rich! Why would she want
to marry her son to our poor daughter?” the man asked, feigning ignorance.
“We’re certainly not in the same class of society as her family! It’s like build-
ing a doorframe with wood on one side and ivory on the other. When couples
are not on the same social level, their marriage will not last long!” asserted
the Sufi .

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