M6:3196 — خدمت او خدمت حق کردنست / روز دیدن دیدن این روزنست

Translation: Serving him is truly serving the Truth (God); To see him is to gaze through this very window (to ultimate Reality). Meaning: This couplet posits that the actions of a perfected human, absorbed in the Divine, are manifestations of God's own actions, and beholding such a person is akin to looking through a window directly onto ultimate Reality.

This couplet, undoubtedly, articulates one of Mawlana’s most crucial teachings regarding the relationship between the perfected human and God; a teaching rooted in the gnostic understanding of "unity." "Serving him is truly serving the Truth (God)" and "To see him is to gaze through this very window" are succinct summaries of a profound insight: that between the mystic who has reached God and God Himself, there is merely a nominal distance.

Mawlana previously elucidated this meaning by referencing the Quranic verse, "Ma Ramayt Idh Ramayt" (It was not you who threw when you threw). There, God addresses the Prophet, stating that during the Battle of Badr, it was not he who threw the pebbles, but God. This verse became central to the gnostic understanding that the action of the perfected human is identical to the action of God. His hand is God's hand, his eye is God's eye, and his word is God's word. This is not a metaphorical union; rather, it is an ontological transformation that the seeker undergoes in the furnace of divine proximity.

Mawlana's best analogy for explaining this transformation is that of "iron in fire." A piece of iron is placed in a blazing furnace; it remains there until it becomes molten and red-hot, taking on all the attributes of fire: it burns, it illuminates, and it radiates heat. If you doubt, place your hand upon it! Is it not fire? Yet, it remains iron. This example illustrates that the mystic becomes so filled with God that divine attributes manifest in him, and his actions become God's actions. This is the "fanā fi'llāh" (annihilation in God) that leads to "baqā bi'llāh" (subsistence through God).

Therefore, "Serving him is truly serving the Truth (God)" is not merely a moral injunction or an encouragement to devotion; it is an ontological statement. You serve an existence that, in its essence and action, has become unified with the Truth, and for this reason, serving him is precisely serving God. This is the "Ṣibghat Allāh" (the Dye of God) in which all individual colors fade, and a single color of unity remains.

And as for "To see him is to gaze through this very window." The "window" (روزن) is a metaphor for the perfected human, who is a portal to the world of meaning. This window does not merely reflect light; rather, it is "luminous from itself" (درخشان از خود), meaning light emanates from him, not as something borrowed. This light, in Mawlana’s words, does not come from "a wick, cotton, and oil," nor is it "a borrowed light from the sun or a distant star (Farqad)." This is an unusual, supernatural path to illumination. This is the very connection that is "without quality, without measure (بی‌تکیف، بی‌قیاس) / between the Lord of humanity and the soul of humanity (هست رب‌الناس را با جان ناس)." Seeing this window-like human guides you to seeing God Himself; he is not a barrier between you and God, but rather the very passage and revealer of the Truth. This worldview clashes with any metaphysics of separation or an absent God that deems distance absolute and unchangeable. This "union" (وصال) is established not only in the hereafter but "right here and now," placing one "in the presence of God."

Mawlana deepens this meaning with the analogy of "the fruit growing from the very tray" (میوه می‌روید ز عین این طبق). The fruit is not placed in the tray from outside; rather, it grows from the tray itself. This implies that the actions and words of the perfected human are an internal, organic product of his divinely infused nature, not something imposed upon him from without. Therefore, that window and that service have their roots in that very existence, melted into God, rather than being mere intermediaries. This perspective demands a washing of the eyes and a seeing differently, which removes the veils from unblemished truths.

Key takeaways

• Serving the perfected human is serving God, as their actions originate from the Divine.
• Perfected humans are luminous windows through which one can gaze upon divine reality, with light emanating from themselves.
• This insight posits a real, ontological unity between the servant and God, not merely a metaphorical one.
• The perfected human is so absorbed in the divine furnace that God's attributes and actions manifest through them, like iron glowing in fire.
• Through this couplet, Mawlana challenges any metaphysics of separation or an absent God; union is possible here and now.
• This verse is an invitation to "see differently," to remove the veils from the inner eye and perceive unclouded truths.