M6:118 — مثل نبود لیک باشد آن مثیل / تا کند عقل مجمد را گسیل

Translation: It was not a likeness, yet it served as a similitude, so that it might set the frozen intellect in motion. Meaning: Mowlana asserts that ultimate truths cannot be described literally, but they must be conveyed through similes and imagery to awaken and activate the human intellect, which would otherwise remain inert.

I have often asserted that Truth, in its exalted station, lies beyond our thought and imagination. Thought, like a light, strives to illuminate the unknown; yet in the realm of Truth, there is no unknown to require thinking. There, it is utterly light and vision; meaning, everything that exists is directly visible, and no discursive intellectual journey is needed. Yet, how can we, as humans, connect with this boundless and formless Truth? If we say nothing at all, the weak but ardent lovers of truth will remain deprived and distant. And if we attempt to articulate Truth unveiled and directly, their intellects will stumble, leading to miscomprehension.

It is precisely here that the role of temthīl (simile) and taṣwīr (imagery) becomes clear. Prophets and mystics have always spoken in the language of simile. Not to confine Truth within a form of its own kind, but rather to set the frozen human intellect into motion. Truth has no mithl, no exact counterpart; meaning, nothing in this world is, in the precise sense of the word, its equal. When we say, for instance, “God is like the sun,” we should not assume that God is the sun or entirely similar to it. No, this is not a mithl (exact likeness), but rather a mathīl or mathāl (an example, a similitude); that is, a manifestation of Truth in a tangible and comprehensible form. Mowlana himself states that mathāl differs from mithl. An example is a pointer for the intellect, inviting it to step into the valley of Truth.

Our intellect is weak in the face of comprehending these sublime stations. The philosophical intellect, the theological intellect – though sharp-headed and inquisitive in their own domains – are weak-footed, quickly faltering when confronted with absolute truths. This intellect is like frozen ice, needing warmth to flow. This initial warmth is provided by similes and imageries. They pull the intellect out of its numbness and inertia, inciting it to move and flow. Without these examples, the intellect would remain in its frozen state, gaining no share of Truth. Therefore, simile does not mean a lowering of Truth, but rather a preparation and an opening of a path for the intellect's ascent. This “star of light” (kowkab-e dorrī) that Mowlana speaks of, though it is without direction and cannot be contained in a house, nonetheless affects the receptive ears yearning for revelation and calls the frozen intellects towards itself.

Key takeaways

• Absolute Truth transcends direct human intellect and thought; it is a realm of pure light and vision, not intellectual inquiry.
• Direct articulation of Truth is impossible, as the 'weak intellect' would stumble and fail to comprehend it.
• Similes and examples are indispensable tools for mystics and prophets to point towards Truth.
• An 'example' (mathāl) differs from an 'exact likeness' (mithl); it is a tangible manifestation of Truth, not Truth itself.
• The 'frozen' and 'weak-footed' intellect requires the warming power of examples to break free from its inertia and move towards understanding Truth.