M6:1195 — گر پلیدم ور نظیفم ای شهان / این نخوانم پس چه خوانم در جهان

Translation: Gar palīdam var nazīfam ey shahān / Īn nakhvānam pas che khvānam dar jahān (Whether I am impure or pure, O noble ones / If I am not to 'read' this [truth], then what shall I 'read' in the world?) Meaning: This verse is a defiant query from a seeker who, despite acknowledging their own flaws and impurities, asserts that there is no other path in the world worthy of their engagement or pursuit than that of divine truth and love.

This verse, articulated through the character of Hilal—but truly spoken by Mowlana himself—offers a profound statement on the nature of spiritual journey and divine mercy. Mowlana here alludes to the pinnacle of bi-chuni (formlessness, boundlessness), a state where the seeker transcends chon (form, quality, limitation) and arrives at the 'garden of life of formlessness' (hayātistān-i bi-chuni). Yet, immediately following this soaring description, Mowlana checks himself, as if to say: 'plunge into impurity, do not recite this surah.' This is a self-censorship, an internal query: how can one who is still confined by form and impurity dare to speak of formlessness and ultimate sanctity? However, Mowlana, in response to this inner rebuke, presents a potent argument, imbued with yearning and hope. He concedes, 'Yes, I am impure, I am defiled.' But, he contends, if 'water' (symbolizing divine mercy, truth, and purity) lacks the generosity and grace to invite and accept the impure, then what is the purpose of this water? If the ultimate function of water is not to cleanse the defiled, then for what was it created? The central question of the verse is: 'Whether I am impure or pure, O noble ones / If I am not to 'read' this [truth], then what shall I 'read' in the world?' If this purifying path, this divine word that speaks of formlessness, is closed to the impure, then where are we, who confess our impurities, to turn? What else in this world is worthy of 'reading'—of contemplation, pursuit, and devotion? This expression signifies that for the seeker, there is no alternative path; they cannot be rejected from this way of truth and purity. Mowlana further amplifies this point: 'You tell me, for the sake of reward / Do not enter the pool without bathing.' But if purification necessitates entering the pool, and the pool rejects the impure, then 'outside the pool there is nothing but dust / And whoever does not enter the pool cannot be pure.' That is to say, beyond this realm of purity, there is only dust and contamination, and no one can become pure without entering this pool. Therefore, it is the water that must accept the impure so that they may be cleansed. As Mowlana says elsewhere, when the defiled person is ashamed to approach the water, the water responds: 'The water said, how can this shame depart without me? / How can this impurity be removed without me?' These verses vividly illustrate the unconditional nature of divine mercy. The Masnavi is a book of hope, promising the erring, impure, and distant soul that the 'water' of mercy will not only not reject them but will eagerly call to them, even washing away their shame. If this door were to be closed to us sinners, then what would remain for us to 'read,' and what hope would there be for the 'yearning soul'?

Key takeaways

• Divine mercy is unconditional and inherently eager to attract and purify the impure.
• Purity is not a prerequisite for entering the path of truth, but rather its outcome and fruit.
• For the seeker, the path of truth and love is the sole destination and the only worthy pursuit in the world.
• Mowlana emphasizes divine hope and forgiveness, even for souls who deem themselves impure.
• The concept of bi-chuni (formlessness) as ultimate perfection is accessible to those still in chon (form), for water exists to cleanse, not merely for the already clean.