M1:148 — نرم‌نرمک گفت شهرِ تو کجاست؟ / که علاجِ اهلِ هر شهری جداست

Translation: Gently he asked, "Where is your city from?" For the cure of each city's folk is distinct. Meaning: The astute physician, through a seemingly simple question about the maiden's origin, seeks to uncover the hidden roots of her ailment, believing that each person's cure is tied to their native environment and nature.

This verse marks the beginning of the divine physician's work and his subtle strategy to unravel the maiden's illness. As is evident throughout the Masnavi, Mowlana was by no means ignorant of the medicine of his time; rather, he possessed a deep familiarity with its principles and rules. In this verse, he refers to an ancient medical dictum: "yuʿālaju ʿalā nabti baladih" – meaning, each person is treated with the plants of their own land. This principle was founded on the belief that humans had an intrinsic harmony with their natural environment, where they grew up. In an era when humanity had not yet so profoundly encroached upon nature, and life had not become as utterly artificial as it is today, every city and region had its unique natural character, and its plants, as it were, spoke to its inhabitants. Physicians believed that medicines revealed themselves to people, rather than people actively seeking to discover them. I have often mentioned in my lectures that this perspective testifies to a deep intimacy and closeness between humans and nature; the anecdote recounted by Muhyiddin ibn Arabi of his encounter with gazelles in Mecca – how the animals read his inner intention and did not flee from him – is a brilliant example of this mysterious relationship.

Today, however, we have, unfortunately, distanced ourselves from that harmonious world. Asphalts, shoes, and the construction of an entirely artificial environment have become a barrier between us and nature. Heidegger used to say that Dasein (existence) has turned its back on us; it is as if nature, too, has fallen out with us, because we have quarreled with it, and it has veiled its face from us. Mowlana, however, lived in that era of reconciliation with nature.

Now, we must consider why the physician in this story poses such a question. He employs this medical principle not to prescribe a herbal remedy from the maiden's homeland, but as an entry point for her "psychoanalysis." This seemingly physical question is, in fact, a key to unlocking the secrets of the maiden's soul. This is the very distinction Mowlana repeatedly draws between "physical physicians" and "divine physicians." Physical physicians diagnose illness by observing complexion, taking pulses, and examining qārūra (urine flasks), and Mowlana sometimes speaks derisively of the "lowliness" of this profession. Divine physicians, however, like prophets, with their "sublime revelation" (wahy-e jalīl) and inner insight, "hear your name from afar and delve into the very core of your being." They grasp not only apparent illnesses but all inner characteristics, flaws, and virtues of an individual. Mowlana states in the Divan-e Shams: "We are wise, discerning physicians who do not examine urine flasks, for we have run through the patient's body like thought." That is, we move through the patient's being like thought, so intimately close that their entire existence is manifest to us. Thus, the question "Where is your city from?" is in essence a form of this divine knowledge, clothed in the language of physical medicine; a path to discovering the true "city" of the maiden's soul and the spiritual causes of her ailment, not merely its physical manifestations.

Key takeaways

• Mowlana possessed deep knowledge of traditional medicine, especially the innate harmony between humans and their native environment.
• The physician's question about the maiden's city is not for physical medication but a pretext for "psychoanalysis" to uncover spiritual roots of illness.
• This verse highlights the contrast between the "physical physician" (reliant on outward signs) and the "divine physician" (who knows secrets from afar).
• Unlike today's artificial world, Mowlana lived in an era of deep human-nature harmony, where nature communicated with humanity.
• The divine physician, with insight that "runs through the patient's body like thought," penetrates the depth of the human soul to know its true essence.