M6:33 — گرچه ماران زهرافشان می‌کنند / ورچه تلخان‌مان پریشان می‌کنند

Translation: Though serpents spray their venom / And though bitter foes upset us. Meaning: The verse suggests that despite dangers and adversities (like serpents' venom and bitter troubles), the world holds a hidden wisdom and order, providing a counterbalance or remedy for every ill.

This verse, I must say, is a jewel regarding "Divine Providence in Creation." Rumi here introduces a vital point: the cosmos is entirely composed of pairs and opposites, yet not in a chaotic sense, but rather as an expression of an ultimate order. As we see in preceding verses, there are impurities, but there is also water to cleanse them. Dogs and pigs might perceive filth as sugar and halva, but this does not imply disorder.

Our particular verse brings this logic to its pinnacle. "Though serpents spray their venom"—yes, there are serpents and their venom, but immediately in the following verses, Rumi speaks of "bees" who "lay up hoards of sugar from honey." This means that against venom, there is honey; against bitterness, there is sweetness. It is not the case that we only see one side of the coin and imagine the world to be full of evil and harm. Without a doubt, for every "venom," there is an "antidote" (taryāq), and for every "bitter experience," a "sweetness" has been ordained.

This divine providence is not merely about physical antidotes; it is an ontological principle. The natural world, which Rumi calls the "lower world" (ʿālam-e asfal), unlike the higher realms, possesses two fundamental attributes: "opposites" (aḍdād) and "multiplicities" (aʿdād). This means that this world is perpetually engaged in contradictions and pluralities. The serpent and its venom are one aspect of this opposition, and the bee and its honey are the other. Life itself is this balance between these contradictions.

Rumi then sharply concludes from this point that "this world is entirely war, if you observe it." This concept of "war" or contradiction is not merely strife or conflict, but rather the driving force of the cosmos. Contradiction is an inherent characteristic of this world, and it is precisely for this reason that the world is transient, for opposites ultimately decompose each other. Yet, within this "war," there is a divine "He does what He wills" (yafʿalu mā yashāʾ); a providence by which everything that appears evil in our view has a function in its proper place and reaches completion elsewhere, and for every evil, a good has been created in opposition. This worldview presents a picture of absolute divine justice and balance.

Key takeaways

• Despite its bitterness and venoms, the world is founded upon divine wisdom and providence.
• Every impurity or harm in the world has an opposite or an antidote that balances it.
• Contradictions and opposites are fundamental characteristics of the natural world, serving not as chaos but as the principle of divine dynamism and order.
• Rumi perceives the world as a 'total war,' which is the driving force of existence, ultimately leading to balance and eventual decomposition.