M6:578 — او ندارد خواب و خور چون آفتاب / روحها را می‌کند بی‌خورد و خواب

Translation: He has no sleep or food, like the sun; He renders souls without food and sleep. Meaning: This verse speaks to the self-sufficient and absolute nature of the Divine Beloved, who is free from all bodily and animal needs. With His absolute power, He brings the souls of lovers to such a state of restlessness, passion, and rapture that they become independent of ordinary worldly food and sleep.

This verse is situated amidst verses where Mawlana speaks of the grandeur and self-sufficiency of the Eternal Beloved. Without doubt, he portrays the Beloved with the same awe-inspiring majesty and power as the “bloodthirsty lion” (شیر نر خون‌خواره) he described earlier—an image reflecting Ash'ari thought, which prioritizes Divine power above all other attributes, including justice and generosity. This august Beloved is not only powerful and munificent but also utterly self-sufficient and independent; Mawlana conveys this meaning through the metaphor of the “sun.”

The sun is the source of light, warmth, and life, yet it feeds from no source and requires no food or sleep. Its sole function is to shine and give. This self-sufficiency and generous independence are also found in the Quran, which states: “He feeds and is not fed” (يُطْعِمُ وَلَا يُطْعَمُ). This Quranic theme is the essence of Mawlana’s verse: God is absolutely self-sufficient.

But what effect does this Beloved’s self-sufficiency have on the souls of lovers? Mawlana states that this Beloved renders souls “without food and sleep” (بی‌خورد و خواب). This is not a deprivation or an affliction, but rather means that He immerses souls so deeply in the rapture and restlessness of His love that they transcend physical and animal needs. This is the “divine madness” or “sweet melancholy” (عشق خوش‌سودا) that Mawlana frequently speaks of—a sweet frenzy that devastates far-sighted reason and the roots of worldly attachments, yet bestows freshness and lightness upon the soul. The soul no longer sinks into the heavy sleep of heedlessness and is sated with material sustenance that keeps it distant from the Beloved.

This sleeplessness and abstinence from food create a soul ready to receive the Beloved’s subsequent invitation, which follows in the next verse: “Come, be Me or be of My nature / So you may behold My face in manifestation.” In essence, by making souls without food and sleep, the Beloved makes them of His own nature. This restlessness and departure from habits is not an escape from the Beloved but the sole path to approaching Him, to becoming like Him in color and essence, and ultimately, to beholding His beauty in His manifestations. This state is a manifestation of infinite Divine power, which wills to empty eager souls of themselves so as to fill them with Himself; and this itself is the pinnacle of grace and love.

Key takeaways

• The Eternal Beloved, like the sun, is self-sufficient and free from all need for food or sleep; His sole act is giving.
• This self-sufficient Divine essence draws the souls of lovers into restlessness and sleeplessness, not as deprivation, but to free them from bodily needs.
• The soul's sleeplessness and abstinence from food are a state of “divine madness” that shatters calculating reason and lightens the soul.
• This detachment from food and sleep prepares the soul to assimilate with the Beloved and become capable of beholding His manifestations.
• The Quranic theme “He feeds and is not fed” (يُطْعِمُ وَلَا يُطْعَمُ) underlies this depiction of Divine power and self-sufficiency.
• This transformation is a manifestation of absolute Divine power, emptying the soul of itself to fill it with His own essence.