Read› Daftar 4› The complete story of that lover who fled from the watchmen into an unknown garden, where he found his beloved, and in his joy, he prayed for the watchmen, saying, 'Perhaps you dislike a thing and it is good for you'› beyt 69
M4:69 — خلق آبی را بود دریا چو باغ / خلق خاکی را بود آن مرگ و داغ
M4:69
Meaning · به زبانِ تو — Your language · AI
The same thing—in this case, the sea—can be a source of life and joy for one being, but a cause of death and sorrow for another, depending on their intrinsic nature.
This couplet is the capstone of Rumi's argument about relativity, which he introduces a few verses earlier with the statement, "nothing in the world is absolutely evil; evil is relative" (M4:65). Using a powerful and simple natural image, he illustrates how the very same reality can be experienced in opposite ways.
For an aquatic creature (خلق آبی), whose essence is of the water, the sea is its natural home, a place of freedom and sustenance—a garden. For a terrestrial creature (خلق خاکی), whose nature is bound to the earth, that same sea is a terrifying, alien environment that brings only drowning and grief (مرگ و داغ).
The point extends the story of the lover who was chased by the night watchman. The watchman seemed like a poison, an enemy, but his pursuit inadvertently led the lover to the garden of his beloved. The 'poison' became a 'remedy' (تریاق). This beyt universalizes that principle: what constitutes a paradise or a hell, a poison or a medicine, is not inherent in the thing itself but is determined by the nature and capacity of the one experiencing it.
- خلق آبی
- Literally 'watery creatures' or 'creation of the water'. It refers to beings whose nature and habitat are aquatic, such as fish.
- خلق خاکی
- Literally 'earthly creatures' or 'creation of the earth'. It refers to beings whose nature and habitat are terrestrial, such as humans and land animals.
- داغ
- A word with a rich semantic range: a brand, a searing mark, a wound; and by extension, acute sorrow, grief, or anguish. Here it evokes the pain and trauma of a fatal encounter.
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