M6:4035 — وقت سرما بودی او را پوستین / این کند در عشق نام دوست این

Translation: Whenever she felt cold, His (Joseph's) name was a fur coat for her. This is what the Beloved's name does in love.

In this concise couplet, Mawlana alludes to one of the profound mysteries of love and the beloved's pervasive presence within the lover's being. I have often spoken about the story of Zulaikha and Yusuf, explaining how love profoundly transforms one's worldview and experience. Mawlana states: "Whenever she felt cold, His name was a fur coat for her; This is what the Beloved's name does in love." This verse directly references the narrative of Zulaikha. She was so utterly immersed in her love for Yusuf that everything, to her, took on Yusuf's name. If people spoke of ill, it was the ill of separation from Yusuf; if they spoke of good, it was the good of union with Yusuf. Yusuf became so central to her existence that even mundane words echoed his name in her ears. It's akin to the weaver whose tongue constantly utters 'māku' (shuttle), and if this 'māku' gradually gives way to 'kū-kū' (where, where?) and thence to 'hū-hū' (He, He!), it ultimately leads to the Beloved Himself. The Beloved's name is no longer a mere word; it is the presence of the Beloved in their absence. Their name becomes an 'ism-e dhāt' – a name of the essence – that actualizes the essence itself.

I call this, in contemporary philosophical terms, an ontological transformation in the lover. For the lover, the world is no longer the same world as before. Cold and warmth, suffering and peace, all pass through the filter of the Beloved's presence or absence. Mawlana says: when she felt cold, Yusuf's name was like a fur coat for her; it warmed her. This is not a simple metaphor; it is a reality experienced by the lover. 'Cold' here can refer to separation, to the sorrows of the world, to alienation and loneliness (though not the existential loneliness that I have often distinguished from Mawlana's sense of separation), or to any external or internal source of suffering. However, the Beloved's name, far from being just a memory, is an active and present force that, against these 'colds,' imparts the warmth of presence and peace. A fur coat, too, is not merely a covering; it is a refuge that protects against the world's harms and preserves the warmth of life within.

Thus, the Beloved's name in love is more than a mere recollection or comfort; it becomes an 'existential resource.' It is a vital energy that keeps the lover resilient and warm against any 'cold' of existence. This is what love accomplishes, and this is the state to which the lover's heart points.

Key takeaways

• For the lover, the Beloved's name is a manifestation of their presence, not merely a word.
• In true love, the Beloved's name becomes a "fur coat": a source of warmth and refuge against the world's suffering and coldness.
• The lover's experience is an ontological transformation, redefining their entire existence around the Beloved.
• This power of the name signifies the Beloved's continuous presence in the lover's heart, even in separation.