M6:1077 — تو مرا می‌دار بنده و یار غار / هیچ آزادی نخواهم زینهار

Translation: Keep me as your servant and your companion in the cave; By God, I desire no freedom from this. Meaning: Spoken by Abu Bakr, this verse expresses ultimate devotion to the Prophet, asserting that servitude to the Beloved is true freedom and liberation from suffering.

This luminous verse, spoken by Abu Bakr al-Siddiq to the Noble Prophet (PBUH), paints a picture of ultimate devotion and attachment. Yet, it is beyond doubt that these words are not merely expressions of Abu Bakr's sentiments; rather, like many impassioned dialogues in the Mathnawi, they are a 'naqd-i ḥāl' – a self-reporting of Mowlana's own inner state. Mowlana himself explicitly states: "It is better that the secrets of others / Be told in the tales of others" and "Listen, friends, to this tale / For in truth it is the report of our present state." He employs stories and characters to unveil his deepest inner truths, which cannot be directly articulated.

Abu Bakr's plea in this verse – to be kept as the Prophet's 'servant and companion in the cave' – is at its zenith. 'Yār-i Ghār,' as you know, refers to the historical event of the Prophet's migration (Hijra) to Medina, where Abu Bakr was his sole companion and refuge in the cave. This phrase has since become a symbol of unparalleled friendship, profound companionship, and the deepest of bonds. But beyond this, the desire for 'servitude' to the Beloved is the key to understanding this verse. He does not wish to be free from this servitude; rather, he swears, "by God, I desire no freedom from this."

At first glance, this statement might seem surprising. Is not freedom the aspiration of all? But this is not freedom in its conventional, Western sense, where the individual is unbound by every tie. Mowlana and the mystics understand freedom as contingent upon the growth and transcendence of the 'higher self.' If one, in the companionship of a nobler being, achieves growth and perfection, if that being makes one 'more oneself' («خودتر کند»), why would one seek independence from such a relationship? On this matter, I have said: "Sit in my eyes, O You who are more myself than I." Servitude in this sense is precisely liberation from the fetters of the 'lower self' and arrival at the 'transcendent self.'

This is the same truth to which Sa'di, the sweet-tongued poet, subtly alludes: "A night in solitude with the friend is better than a hundred years in festivity." And Hafez, in his most eloquent manner, says: "May Hafez never be free from that twisted curl / For those bound by your lasso are the truly liberated." These mystics consider those bound by the lasso of love to be the truly liberated and saved. In this loving servitude, suffering and tyranny vanish, and servitude itself becomes the essence of freedom, for "without You, suffering and tyranny fall upon me." This type of servitude is not limitation but expansiveness, not captivity but flight.

Key takeaways

• Voluntary servitude to the Beloved is true freedom and liberation from suffering.
• Mowlana often expresses his own inner states and gnosis through the voices of story characters (naqd-i ḥāl).
• The phrase 'Yār-i Ghār' (companion in the cave) symbolizes the apex of companionship, loyalty, and spiritual bond.
• True freedom is realized through growth and attaining the 'higher self' under the grace of the spiritual guide or Beloved.