M1:2076 — زان جهان اندک ترشح می‌رسد / تا نغرد در جهان حرص و حسد

Translation: From that world, a slight effusion arrives, So that greed and envy do not vanish from this world.

Meaning: Mowlana asserts that spiritual insights and divine grace are intentionally provided to this world in limited measure, precisely to ensure that fundamental human passions like greed and envy — which he considers foundational to worldly existence — do not disappear, allowing the current order of life to persist.

This couplet stands among Mowlana's most profound and contemplative teachings, where he transcends the 'first-order' ethical evaluation of virtue and vice to delve into a 'second-order' philosophical and ontological perspective. From the first-order view, envy is undoubtedly a reprehensible vice, morally objectionable, which one must avoid; indeed, Mowlana himself frequently condemns it in preceding verses. However, this beyt unveils a more sublime perspective: that of God and the management of the world.

Mowlana's assertion is that from the unseen world, the realm of meaning, an 'effusion' (spiritual grace or awareness) reaches our world. But this effusion is 'slight' (andak), and this very limitation is a condition for the continued existence of the world as we know it. If this trickle of knowledge and awareness were to increase, if the veils were fully lifted, and people became entirely conscious of the truth of existence and their ultimate role, then there would be no room left for greed and envy. Yet, in such a scenario, this 'world' might cease to be the world, and life, as it currently functions, would reach an impasse.

This resonates with Ghazali's concept of 'heedlessness' (ghafalat). Ghazali believed that God governs the world through the heedlessness of its inhabitants; if people's eyes were truly opened to reality and they were freed from heedlessness, life would no longer continue as before. Mowlana applies a similar meaning here to 'greed and envy' (hirs-o hasad). Greed and envy, despite being reprehensible in the realm of individual ethics, are fundamental pillars in the overall administration of this world. If these pillars were removed, the world's order would be disrupted. It is as if God wills this world, with all its characteristics, including greed and envy, to persist, and for this reason, only a 'slight effusion' arrives.

The subsequent verse in the Masnavi supports this argument: "If the effusion from the unseen were to increase, / Neither virtue nor vice would remain in this world." This means that if more spiritual knowledge were to descend, neither good nor evil would persist, signaling the end of the conflicts and challenges that essentially drive movement and dynamism in this world. In other words, naghred (نغرد) means 'it should not disappear,' 'it should not be uprooted.' Greed and envy are the driving forces behind many worldly mechanisms; as I have often said, the 'furnace' of capitalism is built upon 'greed' (ṭamaʿ), and without it, it would never ignite. From this second perspective, greed and envy not only do not vanish but are among the divine instruments for advancing the wheel of worldly life.

This dual perspective on humanity and the world cautions us against one-sided judgments. Envy, in its place, is a disease and a vice that must be combated, but at the same time, as one of the constructive and propelling forces of the world, it holds its own position. As Hafez also sings with an echo of this perspective: "Be not saddened by the taunts of the envious, O heart, / For perhaps when you truly perceive, your good lies therein." It is as if, from the perspective of the unseen, good and evil, virtue and vice, are interwoven, each playing a role in the grand tapestry of existence until the Day of Judgment when these torches are finally extinguished.

Key takeaways

• Mowlana, in this couplet, moves beyond mere ethical judgment to address the 'philosophy of existence' and the overall governance of the world.
• Divine grace and spiritual awareness (the 'effusion from that world') are granted in a limited measure to sustain the world with its current characteristics.
• Greed and envy, though ethically condemned, are, from a broader perspective, foundational and motivating pillars of the worldly system.
• If divine grace and awareness were to increase, ethical contradictions (virtue and vice) would disappear, and the world as we know it would cease to exist.
• This perspective parallels Ghazali's view that God governs the world through humanity's heedlessness.