M6:746 — نقل باشد نه چو نقل جان عام / هم‌چو نقلی از مقامی تا مقام

This couplet clarifies the nature of the mystical death Rumi has been describing, based on the Prophetic saying, "Die before you die."

He contrasts two kinds of "relocation" (naql). The first is the death of the ordinary person (jān-e ʿāmm), which is a single, final transfer from this world to the next. The second is the death of the mystic, which is not a departure but a continuous, living process of spiritual ascent. It is like moving from one station (maqām) to a higher one on the spiritual path. This person has already "died" to their lower self and relocated their soul's center of gravity to the divine presence.

Therefore, when their physical body perishes, it is not a dramatic journey for the soul, which has already made the essential move. Their physical death is merely a final, small step in a long series of transformative relocations they undertook while still walking the earth.