M6:1647 — جام صحت را نبودی سنگ تب / آمنی با خوف ناوردی کرب

Translation: If the cup of health were not struck by the stone of fever, / And security did not bring anguish with fear. Meaning: This verse poses a profound question about the mixed nature of existence: why is the world filled with suffering, illness, and insecurity, when God could have created a realm of pure good?

This verse, articulated by the Sufi, poses a fundamental question to the Qadi; indeed, it is one of the most enduring and far-reaching discussions in philosophy and theology. Here, the Sufi laments the world's admixture of evils, pains, illnesses, and insecurities. This is the perennial 'problem of evil' that has occupied the minds of thinkers from the dawn of theology to figures like Kant in the modern era. Mowlana frames this question through the Sufi's voice: 'What if the world were not as it is?' Meaning, what if divine creation were entirely light, not darkness? Entirely joy, not sorrow? Entirely health, not sickness? Mowlana's imagery here is exquisitely poignant: the 'cup of health' is shattered by a 'stone of fever'; fever is depicted as a projectile striking the delicate crystal of human health, reducing it to shards and casting us into sickness. Similarly, the security that human beings seek is suddenly intermingled with 'khowf' (fear) and 'karb' (anguish). 'Karb,' the plural of 'karbah,' denotes suffering and affliction, much as some insightful interpreters have rendered 'Karbala' as 'karb-o-bala' (the site of suffering and affliction). Thus, the Sufi asks: 'What if fear did not steal away security and couple it with pain and misfortune?' This verse, along with the preceding and following ones, converges on a single point: 'What would be diminished from His bounty and mercy / If His blessings were not tainted by impurity?' This is a philosophical and ontological complaint, not a lament over historical or political calamities, but a query into the very existential structure of the world. Mowlana's answer to these questions, conveyed through the Qadi's discourse, is not a direct philosophical treatise but rather an unfolding narrative. To alleviate the gravity of these profound discussions and bring a smile to his listeners' faces, he resorts to the tale of the 'Turk and the Tailor.' This method itself embodies an epistemological insight from Mowlana: some of the deepest truths cannot be articulated through dry argumentation alone; rather, they must be presented within the framework of stories and parables for the human soul to truly receive them. This poignant question from the Sufi, bitter and incisive as it is, paves the way for Mowlana's wisdom regarding the 'why' of suffering and its meaning on the path to union.

Key takeaways

• Posing an eternal question on the problem of evil and the mixed nature of joy and suffering in creation.
• The poignant imagery of fever as a 'stone' shattering the 'cup of health' and bringing illness.
• Questioning divine wisdom in a world where security is accompanied by the anguish and suffering of fear.
• Setting the stage for Mowlana's deeper exploration into the meaning of suffering and the 'mixed human condition.'
• Highlighting Mowlana's method of addressing profound philosophical questions through parables, rather than direct argumentation.