M6:3684 — چاه‌ها کنده برای دیگران / خویش را دیده فتاده اندر آن

Translation: Pits he dug for others, Himself he saw fallen into them. Meaning: This verse speaks to the failure of human schemes, particularly when one intends harm for others but ends up ensnared in one's own machinations.

Mowlana, in this beyt and the verses preceding it, imparts a profound and foundational insight into the structure of the world and the interplay of human and divine will. Here, we observe that human planning, despite all its cleverness and cunning, is not always assured of stability and certainty. Many times, what we scheme or even wish for others returns to us; just like one who digs a pit for another, but suddenly finds themselves at the bottom of that very pit.

I have always emphasized that we must not place absolute trust in apparent causes and effects. Of course, in this world, we are obligated to plan and utilize means, because the cosmos, by divine habit, operates on a specific course. Yet, a percentage, a corner of the mind, must always be ready for the exception. This world, to use Kant's term, with its apparent “continuity,” deceives us into believing that everything is certain and predictable. But Mowlana, and even Kant in his own way, says that this continuity is not something that pure experience provides; rather, our mind imposes it on nature, or, as Mowlana puts it, another hand is at work, guiding this horse of nature.

This insight extends beyond individual plans. Even in the realm of empirical sciences, despite all mathematical and experimental precision, scientists today admit that no absolute certainty exists. Scientific laws are fragile and may be invalidated at any moment. How much more so for history! As I have repeatedly stated, the philosophy of Marxist historical determinism, which claimed to have discovered the scientific laws of historical movement and predicted the future, collapsed due to its “poverty of imagination.” No one can, with incomplete knowledge of the past, definitively predict the distant or near future. Claims like the “End of History” (Fukuyama) or any other historical determinism, lack scientific and rational foundation. Everything is fragile, and a “small pebble” can change the course of the train of history.

From a theological perspective, these “lapses” in the natural order of things are a sign of another dominant force that does not wish for everything we desire to unfold exactly as we envision. When our plans go awry and the caravan takes another route, we must awaken. Imam Ali (peace be upon him) states in Nahj al-Balagha: “I knew God by the annulment of intentions and the breaking of resolves.” This is where we understand that the world does not stand on its own feet, but has another guide. In this مقام (station), the apparent agents of the world are like a donkey's tail; the tail wags and moves, but the donkey has a rider who pulls it wherever he wills. Relying on the donkey's tail is the height of heedlessness and immaturity. This insight leads us to both intellectual and practical humility; to know that we are not the masters of this world, and that not all reins of control are in our hands.

Key takeaways

• Human planning, despite its cleverness, is not guaranteed and can lead to inverse outcomes.
• Absolute reliance on apparent causes and effects is a sign of heedlessness; one must always make room for the 'exception'.
• This world, neither at the individual level nor in its scientific and historical laws, possesses absolute certainty or complete predictability.
• The 'lapses' and failures in our plans are a divine sign that there is another guiding force behind the world.
• Knowledge of God is attained through the 'annulment of intentions' and the 'breaking of resolves'; this world does not sustain itself.
• The true station of humanity is one of intellectual and practical humility, acknowledging that complete control is not in our hands.