Religion
Cleanliness
Translated by William Hastie, after Rückert's German (1903) · From The Festival of Spring (1903)
Clean be kept thy Garment, and
Clean be kept thy Mouth and Hand.
Clean thy Garment from false Gawds
Clean from all Earth's Filth thy Hand.
Clean thy Heart from earthly Spite;
Clean thy Lips from Greed's Demand.
Outer Threshhold ever clean,
Clean within let all Things stand.
House all clean, might entertain
Angel from the Heavenly Land.
Clean the Food, and clean the cup,
Clean the Wall from smoking Brand.
Son! Thy outward Cleanliness
Pledge of inward is, when scanned.
Clean let Hand and Mouth be kept;
Clean thy Garment's every Strand.
Cite this poem
MLA
Rumi, Jalal al-Din. “Cleanliness.” Translated by William Hastie, after Rückert's German. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/rumi/71/.
Chicago
Rumi, Jalal al-Din. “Cleanliness.” Translated by William Hastie, after Rückert's German. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/rumi/71/.
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