# Persian: می نگیرد



## Asadullah

What does می نگیرد mean? Here's the context (it's by Rumi)

فھم وخاطر تیز کردن نیست راہ
جز شکستہ می نگیرد فضل شاہ

fahm-o (or fahm va) khaater tiz kardan nist raah
joz shekaste mi nagirad fazl-e shaah


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## soheil1

می نگیرد=نمیکیرد


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## Asadullah

So it's from گرفتن (gereftan), meaning "to seize"?


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## soheil1

also هم نگیرد works in that context I think


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## soheil1

Asadullah said:


> So it's from گرفتن (gereftan), meaning "to seize"?


Yes


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## soheil1

soheil1 said:


> also هم نگیرد works in that context I think


My father says it doesn't


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## Asadullah

But if it's from گرفتن how would we translate it?

فھم وخاطر تیز کردن نیست راہ
جز شکستہ می نگیرد فضلِ شاہ

There is no way to sharpen the understanding and the mind,
unless the broken doesn't seize the mercy of the king.

That doesn't make any sense.


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## colognial

Asadullah said:


> But if it's from گرفتن how would we translate it?
> 
> فھم وخاطر تیز کردن نیست راہ
> جز شکستہ می نگیرد فضلِ شاہ
> 
> There is no way to sharpen the understanding and the mind,
> unless the broken doesn't seize the mercy of the king.
> 
> That doesn't make any sense.



Hi, Asadullah. In my limited understanding of Molaanaa's style, the (omitted) word joining the two halves of the line could well be 'since'. I feel the poet is saying the trick is not to sharpen the understanding or strengthen the memory (in an attempt to grasp the mere appearance of things), [since] the virtue attributable to the Lord is such that it graces only those who are broken, disconnected and lost. I suppose the idea is, that the trauma, loss, and pain that come to us in our experience of this world are the key to receiving true insight into the essence of existence.

If I could add a tip about how to read the line, I see that you are in two minds about the word و (meaning 'and') and how it ought to be pronounced. Personally, I look at the line as if it were musical. I am going to rewrite the line with underlined parts to illustrate how the line has strong beats here and there, and how these beats are observed when reciting the line:

فهم و خاطر تیزکردن نیست راه، جز شکسته می نگیرد فضل شاه

I hope I am able to show by these underline signs how the beat is the strongest on certain monosyllables. In each case the vowel is stretched a bit more than usual to show the strong beat. All the other vowels are either pronounced at the normal length or shortened even further to suggest a weak (or practically no) beat. What is more, no major stoppages (or caesura) find their way into this line of verse. The line flows without stopping for the word 'and' to be pronounced fully, turning it into a short 'o'. (The exception is the last syllable in شکسته: it does have a more than normal stress and there is a slight stoppage there.)

I do dislike to confuse. If my 'guidelines' don't work, just ignore them, please.


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## James Bates

I think Asadullah's translation of the first line could be improved thus:

Sharpening (one's) understanding and mind is not the (right) way.


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## colognial

I agree, James.


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## Asadullah

So the second line means "(Nobody) except the broken one seizes the bounty of the King (God)"?


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## James Bates

soheil1 said:


> می نگیرد=نمیکیرد



Quite right. My dictionary states that in poetic styles, the particle می mi precedes the negative, e.g. می ندانم mi nadaanam "I don't know", instead of نمی دانم nemidaanam (or is it pronounced namidaanam?)


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## Asadullah

In classical Persian it was, as far as I know, na mi daanam (or perhaps na me daanam), but in modern Persian it is always nemi daanam.


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## soheil1

Asadullah said:


> So the second line means "(Nobody) except the broken one seizes the bounty of the King (God)"?


Yes.
rumi's mathnavi is ful of metaphors. شاه is often a metaphor for god

elsewhere he says:
خضر کشتی هز برای آن شکست
تا تواند کشتی از فجار رست

چون شکسته می رهد اشکسته شو
امن در فقر است اندر فقر رو

meaning:

Khidr did break the ship dear
so he can rescue it from the offender


Since broken will  rescue, break your ego
Safety is in poverty, in poverty you go!


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## Asadullah

soheil1 said:


> Yes.
> rumi's mathnavi is ful of metaphors. شاه is often a metaphor for god
> 
> elsewhere he says:
> خضر کشتی هز برای آن شکست
> تا تواند کشتی از فجار رست
> 
> چون شکسته می رهد اشکسته شو
> امن در فقر است اندر فقر رو



What does هز mean? By the way, رستن rastan means "to be rescued", not "to rescue", so the first line would mean "Khidr broke the ship so that the ship could be rescued from the sinners."


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## soheil1

Asadullah said:


> What does هز mean? By the way, رستن rastan means "to be rescued", not "to rescue", so the first line would mean "Khidr broke the ship so that the ship could be rescued from the sinners."


هز was a typo- correct is از
I translated رست correctly
The subject is Khidr


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## James Bates

خضر کشتی از برائے آن شکست
What is that supposed to mean?


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## soheil1

James Bates said:


> خضر کشتی از برائے آن شکست
> What is that supposed to mean?


Khidr broke the ship so (=so that)
از برای is a poetic way of saying برای which means in order that


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## James Bates

Oh, I see.


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