M6:2162 — سالها اندر میانشان حرب بود / چون ز حد رفت و ملولی می‌فزود

Translation: For years, war existed between them; When it passed all limits, weariness increased. Meaning: This verse speaks to the prolonged nature of conflicts between two opposing parties, leading ultimately to weariness and disillusionment when pushed to extremes.

In the Masnavi, history is a grand stage of antitheses; a stage where truth and falsehood, justice and oppression, light and darkness are in perpetual conflict. This beyt, following the narratives of Cain and Abel, Abraham and Nimrod, and preceding the battle of Moses and Pharaoh, clearly illustrates that these struggles, however arduous and bloody, cannot continue indefinitely. Rumi here points to a psychological and historical reality: any war, however justified, when it 'passed all limits' (chun ze hadd raft), that is, when it exceeded human capacity and endurance, 'weariness increased' (malūlī mī-afzūd), and a profound disenchantment takes hold.

I have said this repeatedly: it is these antithetical forces that lead us to gnosis; tuʿrafu al-ashyāʾu bi-aḍdādihā – 'things are known by their opposites'. If there were no oppression, we would not appreciate justice. If there were no Nimrod, how would Abraham become Abraham? And if there were no Pharaoh, how would Moses fulfill his prophecy? These conflicts, in Rumi's view, are a crucible for the manifestation of divine truth and wisdom. Yet, this manifestation is not boundless. When weariness transcends its limits, God Himself becomes the arbiter and brings a resolution. In Abraham's story, fire acts as the judge, refusing to burn Abraham. In Moses's narrative, the sea judges between the two factions, saving Moses and his followers. This malūlī (weariness and ennui) is, as it were, a divine signal for the end of one era and the beginning of another.

But the deeper point is that Rumi does not confine these battles solely to external history. He reminds us that 'Moses and Pharaoh are within your very being.' This means these conflicts, this prolonged 'war' (harb), this malūlī that surpasses its bounds, all flow within ourselves as well. The battle between the commanding self and the self-reproaching self, between intellect and passion, between inner light and darkness, continues within us for years. And when this internal struggle reaches its peak, leading us to malūlī, that is when the opportunity for divine judgment and resolution within us arises. This weariness from battling oneself is the starting point for transformation and the attainment of true knowledge.

Key takeaways

• History is a stage of perpetual conflicts between truth and falsehood, ultimately leading to divine knowledge.
• No conflict lasts forever; when a struggle passes its limits, weariness and disenchantment take over.
• This 'weariness' (malūlī) from prolonged conflict is a divine signal for the end of one era and the beginning of a new one.
• Divine arbitrations in history (like fire for Abraham or the sea for Moses) are responses to these extreme and exhausting conflicts.
• These external conflicts mirror our inner battles between the lower self and higher intellect, leading to profound personal transformation.