M6:609 — هرچه غیر شورش و دیوانگیست / اندرین ره دوری و بیگانگیست

Translation: Whatever is other than tumult and madness, On this path, is distance and alienation.

Meaning: On the path of love, only ecstatic frenzy and complete abandon are acceptable; any adherence to reason, prudence, or tranquility will lead to estrangement and remoteness from the Beloved.

This couplet is, without a doubt, one of the most fervent and uncompromising declarations in the Masnavi, where Mawlana unequivocally dismisses all conventional rationalities and everyday ethics as not only invalid but detrimental at the threshold of love. Here, Mawlana emphatically states that the path of love tolerates nothing but shoresh (tumult, uprising) and dīvānegī (madness). Any attempt to observe decorum, exercise moderation, or cling to rational prudence will distance one from the essence of love and lead to alienation. This is precisely where Mawlana proclaims: "The etiquette of love is entirely without etiquette."

He clarifies elsewhere that "Since the Sultan of Faith demands insatiability from me / Dust upon contentment from now on!" In love, contentment (qanāʿat) is condemned, while ṭamaʿ (insatiability, boundless desire) is a virtue. This perspective sets aside all measures of worldly reason and theoretical wisdom, declaring that love possesses its own logic; a logic that appears as madness to the rational mind. One who seeks tranquility and calculation on this path will not only fail but will fall into the abyss of distance and alienation.

Mawlana explicitly states that the chains of reason (ʿaql) and prudence (tadbīr) are incapable of restraining love, and the lover easily breaks these chains. He asks: "Place this chain upon my foot / For I have torn asunder the chain of planning." The only chain that can bind such a madman is the Beloved's tresses. This means love can only be governed by love itself; no external factor, be it reason or prudence, is a match or kindred spirit to love. "Desire is stronger than patience / Reason's claim against love is futile." This is a claim that reason makes against love, and Mawlana declares it utterly baseless, for "He who has no Beloved is heedless." Lovers are far from heedlessness, even if they appear mad in the eyes of the rational.

This fervent melody not only speaks of an impatient, longing love but also serves as an existential statement, separating the true path of love from the misguided path of reason. In this powerful declaration, Mawlana not only distances himself from blamers and "ʿādhilān" but also deems their advice useless. The mad should not be advised or blamed; for their state is one of shoresh and dīvānegī, and cannot be understood by conventional means.

Key takeaways

• On the path of love, only tumult and madness are conducive; anything else is an impediment.
• Reason and prudence are alien and ineffective in the realm of love; the lover breaks their chains.
• Conventional ethical principles like contentment and patience are nullified at the threshold of love; in love, insatiability and restlessness are virtues.
• Love can only be restrained by love itself; no external force can conquer it.
• Restlessness and defiance of reason are not flaws but the very essence of love's true path.