M6:425 — چون بکاری جو نروید غیر جو / قرض تو کردی ز که خواهد گرو

Translation: If you plant barley, naught but barley will grow. You yourself incurred the debt, from whom will you ask for a pledge? Meaning: This verse underscores the inescapable law of action and consequence: whatever deed you perform will yield its own inherent result, and you alone bear the responsibility for it, not another.

This verse is one of those illuminating, pivotal lines where Rumi, especially in Book Six – composed in his later years – explicitly and with tangible examples, defends human free will and elucidates the principle of the 'inherent retribution of actions.' At this stage of the Masnavi, Rumi shifts the balance decidedly towards free will, standing firmly against any form of determinism or passive fatalism. This stems from a lifetime of contemplation and mystical experience, not merely a theological argument.

Rumi employs two clear examples from the natural and social worlds to demonstrate the indissoluble link between an action and its outcome. First, he states: “If you plant barley, naught but barley will grow.” This is an obvious and immutable law of agriculture. If you sow barley seeds, wheat or millet will never sprout; only barley will yield its fruit. This relationship is not contractual or accidental, but causal and intrinsic. The act of planting (cause) naturally and inevitably leads to its specific outcome (effect). This offers a profound lesson for understanding the entire system of reward and punishment in Rumi’s worldview: our actions are the seeds we plant in the field of existence, and the harvest we reap is precisely what we have sown. This echoes the Quranic verses, “So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it,” establishing an unbreakable link between every particle of action and its reflection.

Rumi then moves from the realm of nature to that of social and financial life: “You yourself incurred the debt, from whom will you ask for a pledge?” If you have personally taken on a debt, it is illogical to demand collateral or a guarantor from another person to repay your obligation. The responsibility for repaying that debt rests squarely on you, who initiated the debt. This example also underscores the principle of 'personal responsibility,' cautioning against evading the consequences of one's own actions. This point contrasts with Iblis’s declaration of “You misled me” (اَغوَیتَنی), attributing fault to God, whereas Adam said, “We have wronged ourselves” (اِنا ظَلَمْنا اَنفُسَنا). In Rumi’s view, the only path to liberation is accepting responsibility.

This perspective stands in direct opposition to those who, in times of hardship and suffering, attribute it to 'bad luck' or 'ill fate.' Rumi explicitly states in this very context: “Suffering is caused by wrongdoing; recognize evil as from your own actions, not from fate.” The hardships that befall us are often the result of our own erroneous actions, not bad fortune or divine decree. Such an 'outlook on fate' (نظر در بخت) renders one’s vision 'squinted' (احول) and distorted, depriving one of seeing the truth and leading to inertia.

A crucially important point derivable from these verses is Rumi’s perspective on the 'inherent retribution of actions.' In a contractual view, the punishment for an action might not have an essential connection to the action itself; for instance, theft and the cutting of a hand seemingly lack an intrinsic link, and it is humans who have established such a contract for punishment. However, Rumi believes this link is not contractual but intrinsic, and God has decreed this image of the action and its retribution in the unseen. In my interpretation, “It is as if the action itself, like a cause, brings its own effect, and that effect is the very exigency of the cause.” This means that every action carries its own recompense or reward within itself, rather than having it externally imposed. Just as, “Your action, which is born of your soul and body, clings to your skirt like your child.” This child, whether good or bad, will accompany you.

Fundamentally, from Rumi’s perspective, denying free will amounts to denying the 'self.' Whoever says, 'I didn’t do it; other factors did,' effectively removes themselves from the circle of existence and influence, becoming a 'passive' and inert entity. But accepting the 'self' means accepting agency and responsibility: “Even if you attribute your action to a hundred other factors, you are the hundred-and-first.” This decisive stance purges the spirit of the Masnavi of any determinism and calls for accountability and 'accusing one’s own self'; for repentance itself is a sign that we believe in free will and hold that we could have acted differently.

Key takeaways

• Every action is the cause of its own inherent result; it is neither contractual nor accidental.
• Personal accountability: the consequences of one's actions return to the doer.
• Suffering and hardships are largely due to our own actions, not bad luck or fate.
• Rumi's view emphasizes 'inherent retribution': the action carries its own reward or punishment within itself.
• Denying free will is, in essence, denying the 'self' and one's own agency.
• Repentance and remorse are proof of belief in free will and individual responsibility.