M6:24 — خاصه این دریا که دریاها همه / چون شنیدند این مثال و دمدمه

Translation: Especially this Sea (the Divine Sea), that all other seas / When they heard this parable and its renown... Meaning: This verse describes the boundless grandeur of the Divine Sea of divine grace and existence, beside which all other seas of being perceive themselves as utterly insignificant, overcome by shame and embarrassment.

This verse emerges from Rumi's discourse on the 'Divine Friend' (wali), a figure whose singular existence, I have explained, is valued as highly as a thousand individuals or a hundred generations. Why does Rumi attribute such vast spiritual authority to the wali? Because the wali is a 'jar connected to the sea,' and as Rumi states, 'A jar that finds a path to the sea / Great rivers will kneel before it.' Indeed, that jar itself becomes the sea. Now, having described this sea-like jar, Rumi turns his gaze to the 'Sea' itself—that boundless Divine Sea, which I interpret as the 'Sea of Generosity and Existence.'

I say: 'Especially this Sea, meaning the Divine Sea.' When the other seas of the world hear the name of this Sea, or comprehend its parable and description, and its 'murmuring' (damdameh) reaches their ears, they become bitter-mouthed and pale with shame and embarrassment. Why? According to Rumi, it is because 'the Greatest Name is conjoined with the lowest (aqall).' This means that when the immense name of God and His infinite manifestations are placed alongside the finite and imperfect beings of this world, those beings tremble with their own shame and inadequacy.

This perspective is indeed continued by Rumi in the following verse, where he says: 'In the Quran, this world with that world / This world out of shame becomes a 'world' (jahān).' That is, when we place the limited world of nature beside the boundless world of Divinity, this world, out of sheer embarrassment, suddenly 'jumps' or 'trembles' (from the root 'jahīdan'), becoming insignificant. This is a profound expression of the worthlessness of the manifest world compared to the infinite grandeur of the unseen world.

Rumi therefore states that even if his words in describing this relationship are inadequate and 'fall short in rank,' the truth is, 'what comparison is there between straw and the lowliest?' (meaning, what relation is there between the exalted and the most base?). In the face of divine majesty, all beings are as insignificant as straw. At its peak, this verse reminds us of humanity's place in existence: that in comparison to the infinite Sea of Divine Being, we are but drops, and we must empty ourselves to become like that 'jar,' finding a path to the Sea and drinking from it.

Key takeaways

• Divine Friends (Awliyāʾ), by virtue of their connection to the Divine Sea of existence, become 'sea-like' themselves.
• All other seas of being pale in shame and embarrassment when confronted with the grandeur of the Divine Sea.
• This material world, when compared to the unseen realm, is insignificant and possesses a humble existence.
• The conjunction of the 'Greatest Name' with 'the least' signifies the incomparable majesty of God before creation.