M6:1127 — گرم‌رو چون جسم موسی کلیم / تا به بحرینش چو پهنای گلیم

Translation: Warm-traveling like the body of Moses, the Interlocutor, His journey to the two seas was as short as the width of a prayer rug. Meaning: This verse illustrates the astonishing speed and ease of the spiritual journey for ardent lovers and pure-hearted seekers, exemplified by Prophet Moses, who, through his deep devotion and lofty aspiration, traversed an immense and arduous path as swiftly as taking a single step.

This verse presents one of Rumi's most profound allegories for the spiritual journey and the pivotal role of love within it. Rumi had previously recounted the parable of the 'backward-going' horse, teaching us that human passions and instincts should not be eradicated but rather reformed and reoriented. 'Warm-traveling' (گرم‌رو) stands in direct contrast to 'backward-going' (پس‌رو); it signifies a soul whose carnal desires have been transmuted towards the transcendent and divine perfection.

Rumi illustrates this by referencing the Quranic story of Prophet Moses's journey to Majma' al-Bahrain (the Confluence of the Two Seas) in Sura al-Kahf. This journey, according to various narratives and interpretations, was long and arduous. Yet, for Moses, the 'warm-traveling' and pioneering seeker, this immense path felt as short as 'the width of a prayer rug.' This is due to his high aspiration and the passionate love driving him forward. It is as if he took one step from one side of the rug to the other; time and space compress and fold under the sway of love.

This 'love-driven journey' (sayrān-i ḥubb), as Rumi calls it, denotes a path traversed by the power of love and affection, not by dry intellect or mere ascetic discipline. In such a journey, as the following verse suggests, 'a seven-hundred-year long period' (ḥuqab) is traversed in a moment. This subtle allusion to 'long periods' (aḥqāb) in the Quran also carries a profound irony: just as time seems to stretch endlessly for unbelievers in hell, so too do vast distances contract into the shortest possible time for the lovers of Truth. This is a manifestation of God's 'transformative power,' which redirects desire and lust from 'bread' (raghīf) towards the 'noble intellect' (ʿaql-i sharīf); and this transformation itself is reflected in the speed of the seeker's progress.

Moses the Interlocutor symbolizes the seeker whose entire being, both body and soul, is in this state of 'warm-traveling' and pioneering fervor. If his physical body traverses with such speed, 'his soul's journey would reach ʿIlliyīn,' the highest heavens. This underscores the supremacy of the spirit and soul over the physical frame, and how the quality of one's spiritual journey profoundly impacts the experience of physical travel. Such seekers are the 'champions' (shahsuvārān) of the path, who race ahead in the spiritual arena, unlike the 'slothful' (kharbatān) who cast themselves down at the starting point and remain inert. On this path, 'lightness of being' and detachment from worldly attachments are prerequisites for entering this exalted domain, as Rumi further emphasizes in subsequent tales.

Key takeaways

• "Warm-traveling" symbolizes the transformation and reorientation of carnal desires towards the transcendent, rather than their eradication.
• Love (sayrān-i ḥubb) is the primary driving force in the spiritual journey, compressing time and space.
• A journey of hundreds of years becomes as short as the width of a prayer rug for the ardent seeker.
• If the lover's body travels so swiftly, their soul's journey reaches the pinnacle of ʿIlliyīn.
• Lightness of being and detachment from worldly attachments are essential for entering higher spiritual realms.