M6:45 — جنگ ما و صلح ما در نور عین / نیست از ما هست بین اصبعین

Translation: Our war and our peace, in the light of truth, / Are not from us, but are between (His) two fingers. Meaning: This verse asserts that our conflicts and our harmonies, when viewed with true insight, do not originate from our own will but are entirely within the grasp and decree of God.

In this profound verse, Mowlana unveils one of the deepest truths of spiritual wayfaring and ontology. He states unequivocally that neither our wars nor our peaces originate from an independent and absolute will of our own. When he says "in the light of truth" (dar nur-i ʿayn), he refers to perceiving reality through the eye of insight and profound understanding. From this perspective, it becomes clear that our affairs are entirely in the hands of something beyond us: "between (His) two fingers" (bayn isbaʿayn).

This expression, bayn isbaʿayn, is rooted in a prophetic tradition narrated by Sufis, which states: "The heart of the believer is between two fingers of God; He turns it as He wills." This imagery conveys the ultimate divine control over the heart of the wayfaring mystic. With His two fingers, God sometimes turns the heart towards contraction (qabḍ) and sometimes towards expansion (basṭ); sometimes He brings sorrow, and sometimes joy. These inner and outer conflicts and harmonies are entirely within the grasp of the Divine power.

However, this truth is not manifest to everyone. Mowlana clarifies that this divine disposition is perceptible only to the salik, the spiritual wayfarer. The salik intimately understands that their existence, their states, and their conditions are controlled by another, moved by a source beyond themselves. In contrast, those with a "cold, heavy, and sluggish" existence do not perceive these subtle movements; they fail to understand that they are being propelled by a higher power. Such individuals remain captive to superficialities and conjecture.

This perspective is not one of pure determinism (jabr), but rather an expression of God's "dominion" (jabbāriyat); that is, the absolute and infinite power of God that governs even our hearts and states. For the salik, this dominion leads to supplication and lament, rather than absolving them of responsibility. Indeed, Mowlana views the world as founded upon "opposites": "The foundation of creation was on contraries / Therefore, we are combative due to loss and gain." This conflict permeates all parts of the cosmos and nature, and we, as a part of this nature, partake in this struggle of opposites. However, this struggle only ceases when everything returns to its origin, to the Truth, and becomes annihilated in the absolute Divine Being. When a particle is effaced in the sun, no more conflict emanates from it, for it has joined the realm of absolute peace.

Key takeaways

• Our actions and states, including war and peace, are held in God's power and will.
• The phrase "between (His) two fingers" stems from a prophetic tradition describing God's control over the believer's heart.
• This divine disposition is perceptible to the spiritual wayfarer (salik) but remains hidden from the heedless.
• This view speaks to God's ultimate dominion (jabbāriyat), not pure determinism, leading the salik to supplication.
• The struggle of opposites pervades the world and our being, ceasing only through annihilation in the Divine Truth.