M6:2551 — خانه‌ها را روفتیم آراستیم / زین هوس سرمست و خوش برخاستیم

Translation: We swept and adorned the houses; / From this desire, we rose intoxicated and joyful. Meaning: This verse describes those who claim love or gnosis, outwardly preparing and decorating themselves, believing they are worthy of union. They become intoxicated and joyful by their own desires, oblivious to any true response from the Beloved.

This verse sharply critiques the naive and pretentious individuals who traverse the path of love and gnosis with fanfare and ostentation. Rumi, with a bitter irony, likens these groups to jesters who, lacking any true connection, content themselves with their own delusions. The line, 'We swept and adorned the houses; / From this desire, we rose intoxicated and joyful,' points to an outward show of spiritual purity, perhaps gathering disciples, or organizing ritual gatherings of dhikr and samāʿ—anything that possesses an external, performative aspect. Yet, the crucial phrase lies in 'z-īn havas' (from this desire); it implies that this intoxication and joy do not spring from a genuine union, but rather from an internal, self-generated longing. It is a false rapture, a product of the claimant's own illusion, not the result of divine grace or the Beloved's gaze.

As I have often stated, where there is much boasting and clamor, there is usually an inner void. Rumi himself says that earthenware pots are known by their sound; an empty pot resonates more loudly. These claimants, with their baseless revelries and outward displays, seek to conceal their inner emptiness. They proclaim themselves to be 'alāghānīm dar faqr-o ʿadam' (donkeys in poverty and non-existence)—a term Rumi uses with utmost disdain to show that they are not merely messengers, but truly ignorant asses. They 'threw out claims of Sheikhhood in the world / Made themselves like Bayazid,' while being utterly oblivious to the reality that made Bayazid a true mystic.

Rumi continues to complete this picture: these pretenders are precisely like someone who has stirred up a commotion and celebration in the groom's house, yet 'the bride's folk' (symbolizing the unseen realm and divine grace) are entirely unaware of this clamor. From that side, no message arrives, nor does a bird alight on the roof. 'From that side, did a message come? No. / Did a bird come to this side from that roof? No?' Rumi's rhetorical questions deliver a decisive blow to the baseless claims of these pretenders. They write letter after letter, constantly adding to their assertions, yet 'Did any reply reach you from that vicinity?' The answer, undoubtedly, is no. If there truly were a path from heart to heart, why would no reply come from the Beloved? This lack of response from the Beloved testifies that all this fervor and joy stems from a self-made desire, not from a reciprocal and genuine love. One who truly comprehends their state no longer needs such clamor; 'He who became aware, no news of him returned.'

Key takeaways

• This verse critiques false claimants of love and gnosis who, through outward show and self-promotion, delude themselves into believing they have achieved union.
• The intoxication and joy of these pretenders stem not from true spiritual connection but from their own desires and internal delusions.
• Those who are inwardly empty resort to external clamor and spectacle to conceal their inner void.
• Rumi emphasizes that a genuine connection with the Divine requires no boasting or grand pronouncements; its signs manifest in inner silence and transformation.