M2:366 — کنت کنزا رحمة مخفیة / فابتعثت امة مهدیة

This couplet is a direct quotation of a famous hadith qudsi (a saying of God revealed to the Prophet but not part of the Quran), which Rumi uses here to explain the divine motivation behind the advent of the Prophet Muhammad and his umma (community). The story leading up to this couplet describes Moses's yearning to experience the 'era of mercy' that would come with Muhammad. God tells Moses that while he is distant from that era, He is 'generous' and would reveal Himself to His servants, like a mother who awakens her child with a gentle touch to feed it.

In this context, the hadith qudsi provides the ultimate theological justification: God, in His absolute self-sufficiency, was a 'Hidden Treasure' (Kanzan Makhfiyan) of mercy, beauty, and perfection. The very act of creation, and specifically the sending of prophets and the establishment of a 'guided nation' (ummatan mahdiyah), is an outpouring of this hidden mercy, a desire for this treasure to be known and appreciated. It's not a need on God's part, but an overflowing of His inherent generosity and love. The 'guided nation' here refers to the community of the Prophet Muhammad, whose guidance is a manifestation of this divine mercy, leading humanity out of idolatry and into the recognition of the One God, as the subsequent verses elaborate.