M6:2346 — اندرین بود او که الهام آمدش / کشف شد این مشکلات از ایزدش

Translation: While he was in this state, inspiration (ilhām) came to him; / These problems were unveiled to him by his Lord. Meaning: Amidst his confusion and yearning for a solution, an inner divine inspiration reached the seeker, illuminating the answers to his dilemmas from God.

This verse, from Rumi's perspective, narrates a pivotal moment in the tale of the dervish seeking treasure, and indeed, in the journey of every seeker: the moment of receiving inspiration (ilhām). I believe ilhām and wahy (revelation) bear no essential difference in Quranic and Rumi's thought; they are two sides of the same coin, two terms for a singular phenomenon. God inspires not only prophets but all beings. He grants conscience to humans, as in «فالهمها فجورها و تقواها» (He inspired it with its wickedness and its righteousness); He imbues the honeybee with instinct, as in «و اوحی ربک الی النحل» (Your Lord inspired the bee); and He even reveals a hidden solution to Moses’ mother in her moments of anxiety, as in «اوحینا الی ام موسی» (We inspired Moses’ mother). These are all instances of wahy and ilhām that exert their effect within beings through unconventional channels.

What springs from these inspirations is an immediate, presential knowledge that "unveils" problems. This unveiling occurs not through deduction and reasoning, but by the lifting of veils. A crucial point Rumi emphasizes later in this story is the danger of "meddling" (fuzūlī) and the interference of particularizing reason when encountering divine discourse. The dervish had previously deviated from the clear instruction of the invisible voice; he was told to place the arrow on the bow, but he self-directedly drew it, imagining, "this is more logical." Rumi here taunts philosophers and shallow commentators who manipulate divine speech, asserting, "this is what it meant" and "adding a couple of words." These additions, though seemingly reasonable, are veils over the truth.

It must be understood that ilhām, whether in wakefulness or sleep, can occur, and anyone can be its recipient. However, the condition for accepting and comprehending it is absolute submission to what arrives from the unseen. The secret of this inspiration lies in a hidden wisdom that conventional reason is incapable of grasping. "You do not know its secret." This meddling, this presumption that what is said is "meaningless" or "illogical," prevents the discovery of the true treasure. Divine speech demands a listening ear and an obedient heart, not a meddlesome intellect that seeks to "understand" and "improve" upon what has been imparted.

Key takeaways

• Inspiration (ilhām) and revelation (wahy), in Quranic and Rumi's thought, are two names for a single phenomenon of unseen knowledge, without fundamental difference.
• Divine inspirations are not limited to humans but extend to nature (like the honeybee) and other beings (like Moses' mother).
• Knowledge gained from inspiration is immediate and arises through "unveiling" (kashf), not through rational deduction or thought.
• The meddling (fuzūlī) of particularizing reason in divine discourse, rather than leading to understanding, distorts and veils the truth.
• Divine commands, even if they appear "illogical," hold a hidden secret that reason is incapable of grasping.
• Accepting inspiration requires absolute submission and refraining from adding to or subtracting from the message received from the unseen.