M6:4045 — ماهیان را نقد شد از عین آب / نان و آب و جامه و دارو و خواب

Translation: For the fish, from the very water were realized / Their bread and water, their clothing and medicine and sleep. Meaning: This verse asserts that for mystics, just like fish in the sea, all essential needs are met by the Divine Presence itself, making them independent of worldly attachments.

This verse is a continuation of Rumi’s invitation to join the 'ocean' (bahr) of divine knowledge. As I have often reiterated, Rumi, particularly in the Masnavi, sees the ocean as the comprehensive and perfect symbol for 'all of existence' (kol-e hasti) and the divine essence itself. It is a unified, simple, and mystery-veiled existence that holds all truths within its depths.

In this allegory, the fish represent the mystics and prophets – those who have joined this ocean of being. Rumi, with his sweet and authoritative tone, states unequivocally that the fish, needing nothing else, finds all its necessities fulfilled within the 'very water' (ʿayn-e āb). Its bread, its water, its clothing, its medicine, and even its bed for sleep are all provided by the water itself. These fish, like the mystics, have no attachments outside the ocean. They seek no bread, ask for no clothes, are not in need of medicine, and search for no resting place other than the water itself. All these, for them, are the ocean. This allegory clearly illustrates that for the true mystic, 'God is everything' — their water is God, their bread is God, their breath is God, their desire is God, and their entire being is dissolved in God.

I have previously noted that the fish in this image, like the mystics, are often likened to perpetual wakefulness, needing no slumber or veiling of truth; they are always alive in presence and contemplation. Here, Rumi makes a very subtle and profound point about the origin of this allegory: he speaks of his particular fondness for fish, perhaps due to his association with Christians. As you know, in early Christianity, before the cross became the primary symbol, the fish (Ichthys in Greek) was a symbol for Jesus Christ, used secretly by Christians in the catacombs. Rumi, with his extraordinary breadth of vision and open-mindedness, draws this symbol from Christian culture and links it to Islamic mysticism to portray the mystic's non-attachment and profound connection to the Divine.

This verse is the essence of becoming detached from the material world and fully uniting with the realm of meaning. The ocean is unitary and simple; one cannot swim in it with mere intellectual 'grammar' (naḥw); rather, 'effacement' (maḥw) and mystic swimming are required. The fish in that ocean is neither concerned with the past nor anxious about the future, for its every need is the 'cash of the present' (naqd-e hāl) and the very essence of presence.

Key takeaways

• For mystics, the absolute Divine Being is the sole, all-sufficient source for all worldly needs.
• The fish symbolizes the mystic who finds everything necessary for life within the Divine Ocean.
• This verse emphasizes non-attachment and liberation from material constraints.
• Rumi links the fish symbol to Christianity and its representation of Jesus (Ichthys), demonstrating his expansive vision.
• Immersion in divine unity frees the seeker from the need for worldly 'bread, water, clothing, medicine, and sleep'.