Read› Daftar 6› Interpretation of the Prophet’s saying (peace be upon him): 'Die before you die.' 'Die, O friend, before death, if you wish for life, for Idris became a resident of paradise through such a death before us.'› beyt 772
M6:772 — یاد صنعت فرضتر یا یاد مرگ / مرگ مانند خزان تو اصل برگ
M6:772
Meaning · به زبانِ تو — Your language · AI
This couplet asks a rhetorical question: which is more important to contemplate, God's creation or your own mortality? It answers that they are inseparable, as death (like autumn for a leaf) is the very process that reveals your essential nature.
Rumi poses a question that seems to present a choice between two core spiritual practices: contemplating God's handiwork in the world (ṣanʿat) and remembering one's own inevitable death (marg). The first path leads to awe and gratitude, the second to humility and urgency. The question, however, is a classic Rumi-esque setup, designed to dissolve the opposition.
The second line provides the answer through a powerful natural image. "Death is like the autumn, and you are the very essence of the leaf." A leaf's entire existence—its budding, its greenness, its turning color—is defined by the cycle that culminates in autumn. Autumn isn't an external accident that befalls the leaf; it is the fulfillment of its nature. Similarly, death is not an external event that happens to us, but an intrinsic part of what it means to be a living, created being.
Therefore, to contemplate God's artistry properly is to contemplate the cycle of life and death He has designed. The two remembrances are one and the same. This insight serves the section's broader argument, which urges a voluntary, spiritual "death before you die." By understanding that mortality is woven into our very essence, we can cease resisting it and instead embrace the transformation it promises, just as the leaf embraces the autumn that reveals its true colors.
- صنعت
- Literally 'art, craft, artistry'. In this theological context, it refers to God's creation or divine handiwork, the created world seen as a manifestation of the Creator's skill and power.
- فرضتر
- A comparative form of 'farḍ' (فرض), an Arabic term for an act that is a religious obligation or divine command in Islam. 'Farḍ-tar' means 'more obligatory' or 'a greater duty'.
- خزان
- Autumn or fall. A potent and frequent symbol in Persian poetry for decline, aging, mortality, and the stripping away of external appearances to reveal the essence.
- اصل برگ
- Literally 'root/origin/essence of the leaf'. This phrasing emphasizes that the person ('you') is not just *like* a leaf but embodies the fundamental principle or nature of the leaf in its life cycle.
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