M6:1346 — آن توکل کو خلیلانه ترا / وآن کرامت چون کلیمت از کجا

Translation: Whence do you have that Abrahamic trust, so that your blade won't cut Ishmael? And whence that Mosaic miracle, that you could send a city to the depths of the Nile? Meaning: Rumi here warns his audience not to compare themselves to great prophets like Abraham and Moses, nor to assume they possess the same divine trust and miraculous grace.

Rumi, in this profound verse, imparts a fundamental lesson in self-knowledge and humility. He asserts with absolute certainty: “Do not compare the deeds of the pure ones to yourself.” This is a gem of wisdom that must ever be a spiritual ear-ring for us. We cannot consider ourselves equal to those great divine saints and prophets who were endowed with God’s explicit support and backing. Their station and their responsibilities constituted a unique mission, which divine management and decree necessitated, and God Himself was their supporter and guide to deliver the burden of their message to its destination.

He tells us, “You are not Abraham,” that Friend of God who, upon hearing the command to sacrifice his son Ishmael, with an Abrahamic and sincere trust, unconcerned by the judgment of others or earthly ethics, placed the blade upon his son’s throat. For him, this trust and sincerity resulted in divine intervention; his blade became dull, and the divine mission was fulfilled in another way. This itself is a great religious enigma, found in the Torah and the Quran, with various interpretations: from Abraham’s misinterpretation of a dream to a test designed to abolish the practice of child sacrifice. Here, however, Rumi interprets this act as the ultimate expression of tawakkul (trust in God) that resulted in salvation and liberation. For an ordinary human, however, one must not, under the illusion of such trust, undertake an unrighteous act. Otherwise, one's blade might indeed be sharp, leading to utter destruction, with no hand to restrain them.

Similarly, he says, “You are not Moses, the Kalim,” that great prophet who, in Iqbal Lahori’s words, “split the breast of the sea” and crossed the Nile (or the Red Sea) to reach Mount Sinai and receive divine revelation. You are not Pharaoh, to abandon yourself to the waves, assuming the sea will part at your command. If you were to step into such a perilous arena, you would surely drown, and eternal ruin would be your fate.

Rumi’s message is a serious warning. He tells us to “be vigilant, do not step into every perilous situation.” This world is full of countless traps; “Oh God, hundreds of thousands of snares and baits are laid / And we, like weak, faithless ants (fall prey).” And we should not assume these traps are merely external; rather, the trap is our very existence, these lusts and angers and unruly desires that nest within us. Satan, too, is our own commanding self (nafs-i ammāra) that drags humanity toward ruin.

God, of course, has not abandoned humanity. He has sent prophets, sages, and philosophers, and has bestowed “reason” as an inner guide to make us vigilant and warn us that there is a path, but beside it are valleys and traps. Our situation is precarious; we are like someone walking on a tightrope. We should not expose ourselves to difficult trials and hard judgments, because often, our slips become apparent in these dilemmas. Rumi himself prays elsewhere: “Oh Lord, if You test me, do not! / Grant me one path, not ten doctrines.” He asks God not to confuse him among dozens of paths, for he lacks the strength and discernment to choose correctly.

So the message is clear: let us set aside pride and conceit, and be aware of our weakness. We ordinary humans are neither Abraham, nor Moses, nor any prophet. Our duty is vigilance, caution, and humility before divine decree and the traps of this world, so that we may rise from this “lowest of the low” to salvation, just as the Quran states: “We created man in the best composition; then We returned him to the lowest of the low, except for those who believe and do righteous deeds.”

Key takeaways

• Do not compare yourself to divine elect; their trust and grace stem from special missions and divine support, not granted to everyone.
• Disregarding one's ordinary human status can lead to delusion and ruin; our 'blade' is sharp, and no invisible hand will restrain us.
• Many of the world's 'traps' are not external but internal; the unruly desires and passions of the commanding self are humanity's greatest perils.
• Out of arrogance, do not subject yourself to severe tests and difficult decisions; it is often in these dilemmas that our weaknesses and slips become apparent.
• Always acknowledge your own frailty and, like Rumi, ask God not to let you wander among many paths, but to lay a clear path before you.