Whoever is far from home longs for the day of return.

What it means

The Masnavi opens with a reed flute cut from its reed bed, crying to go back. Rumi says every soul carries that same homesickness for its source. The longing is not a flaw; it is the way home.

The source

"Whoever is far from home longs for the day of return." Rumi said it in Masnavi I, Prologue (the Song of the Reed). Translated by E. H. Whinfield, 1898.

"He who abides far away from his home Is ever longing for the day he shall return."

E. H. Whinfield, 1898, Masnavi I, Prologue (the Song of the Reed). Text read at archive.org.

Who said it

Rumi (1207–1273). Persian poet and Sufi teacher, born near Balkh and settled in Konya. His Masnavi, six books of rhyming couplets, opens with the song of a reed flute.

Questions

What does "Whoever is far from home longs for the day of return." mean?

The Masnavi opens with a reed flute cut from its reed bed, crying to go back. Rumi says every soul carries that same homesickness for its source. The longing is not a flaw; it is the way home.

Who said "Whoever is far from home longs for the day of return."?

Rumi (1207–1273). Source: Masnavi I, Prologue (the Song of the Reed).

What is the original wording?

He who abides far away from his home Is ever longing for the day he shall return (E. H. Whinfield, 1898). Translated by E. H. Whinfield, 1898.

Is "Whoever is far from home longs for the day of return." on a shirt?

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"Whoever is far from home longs for the day of return." (Rumi, Masnavi I, Prologue (the Song of the Reed), trans. E. H. Whinfield, 1898). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/whoever-is-far-from-home-longs-for-the