M6:2238 — در وجوه وجه او رو خرج شو / چون الف در بسم در رو درج شو

Translation: In His Face and Aspects, go, spend yourself out; Like the alif in Bism, go, get inserted within. Meaning: Mowlana instructs the seeker to annihilate their individual self within God's Essence and Attributes, just as the letter alif is implicitly present but outwardly effaced in the Quranic spelling of Bism.

Let me say this at the outset: this couplet presents a profound metaphor for the process of tawḥīd (Divine Oneness) and fanāʾ (annihilation) in the Divine Essence. Just as I spoke earlier about the perishing of all things “except His Face” (illā wajhahū), Mowlana here takes us a step further, describing how the seeker must efface themselves in this “Face” (wajh) and “Aspects” (wujūh) of the Truth.

“His Face” refers to the singular, simple Essence of God, while “His Aspects” denote the multifarious Divine Attributes. It is through these attributes—His mercy, His love, His forgiveness—that we come to know the singular Essence. Therefore, the seeker must be annihilated in both: in the absolute, nameless Essence, and in its manifest, diverse Attributes. This “spending oneself out” (kharj shodan) and “annihilation” (fānī shodan) means dissolving one’s personal identity and individual will into the Will and Being of the Truth. This is bi-ṣūratī (formlessness), the letting go of all conceptual and identity frameworks that the mind imposes on us and the world. In this fire of unity, the seeker burns away all their multiplicity-creating thoughts and concepts, reaching a point where their very being is entirely the Face of the Truth.

The example Mowlana provides is extraordinary, reflecting his deep understanding of linguistic and Quranic subtleties: “Like the alif in Bism, go, get inserted within.” We all know that in the Quranic spelling of Bismi-llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm, the alif of ism (name) is omitted, so it is written bism instead of bi-ism. This alif is absent in its written form but present in its meaning and pronunciation; we read it as bi-ism. Mowlana offers a mystical interpretation of this apparent omission. He suggests that the seeker, too, must become like this alif: your existence, in its outer form and apparent independence, should be effaced, yet in your inner essence and meaning, you should find a deeper, more real presence. This is to be lost in presence, not lost in absence. This is not merely a poetic image, but an existential and epistemological teaching—the very lesson the Masnavi imparts: “It is muḥw (effacement) that is required, not naḥw (grammar).”

Key takeaways

• The seeker must annihilate their individual identity within the Divine Essence and Attributes.
• Annihilation (fanāʾ) means transcending the outward form of existence to find a deeper, meaningful presence in God.
• The simile of the 'alif in Bism' illustrates that effacement is not destruction, but a presence within apparent absence.
• This couplet emphasizes that achieving unity requires letting go of mental and identity-based multiplicities.
• This process signifies 'formlessness' (bi-ṣūratī), a return to the shapeless source of being.