M6:1841 — گاو آوردش سعادت عاقبت / عهد داود لدنی معدلت

Translation: The cow, in the end, brought him felicity; this was in the era of David of divinely-bestowed justice. Meaning: This verse refers to a story in the Masnavi where a man, during the time of Prophet David, sought lawful sustenance and ultimately received a cow, leading to his well-being. It highlights David's ladunī (divinely bestowed) justice, which could discern hidden truths.

I shall unpack this verse within the broader context of prayer's reception and the expansive reach of divine justice throughout existence. Here, Mowlana exceptionally references a past story, a rare occurrence given his usual method of "noshawandagī"—being a maker of the new, always moving forward without looking back. Yet, this particular instance holds special significance for him, as it vividly illustrates the nature of ladunī (divinely-bestowed) justice in the time of Prophet David and reveals how divine providence operates in human lives.

The story recounts a man who, with complete trust, prayed to God for lawful sustenance, eschewing conventional work. One day, an uninvited cow entered his home, which the man took as a sign of answered prayer. He slaughtered and consumed the cow. However, some time later, the cow's owner appeared and brought the man before David. Herein lies the pivotal point: David, unlike ordinary prophets or judges who must rule based on evidence and witnesses, possessed "ladunī justice." This meant that God directly inspired him with the knowledge of truth, and he judged accordingly, not by appearances or testimonies.

Mowlana emphasizes that David's justice was "ladunī maʿdalat." This implies David could perceive what lay beyond the visible. In this specific case, David advised the cow's owner to drop his complaint. When the owner refused, David led both men to a particular spot where the owner (who was a slave) had previously murdered his former master and buried the body. The hidden truth was thus revealed. Therefore, the cow that came to the praying man was not merely sustenance but a means to unveil a hidden truth—a divine wisdom that ultimately led to the man's felicity, as he became a recipient of a flow of divine justice.

This incident exemplifies how the divine system operates in the world. Many times, we pray to God, and our prayers are not answered, or they are answered in a way different from our expectations. This verse and its story remind us that God has never promised to answer all prayers. Rather, delay in answering, or an unexpected form of answer, is often itself an act of grace and wisdom. Perhaps God wishes to hear our voice more often, desiring our continuous communion with Him, as stated in another Masnavi story: "Every 'O Lord' of yours has 'Here I am's behind it."

God's action is "khāfiḍ (lowering) and rāfiʿ (raising)." God lowers and raises affairs, and the world's operation cannot proceed without this lowering and raising. This khafḍ and rafʿ is evident not only in heaven and earth but also in human conditions, in health and illness, and in peace and war. Even the cow that the man received was a form of khafḍ and rafʿ: the cow became a means to "raise" a hidden truth and to "lower" the pride and secrecy of the cow's owner. Thus, what appears to be felicitous for us may be a veil drawn back from a deeper wisdom, teaching us not to be content with the apparent but to look to the inner working of the world.

Key takeaways

• Divine-Bestowed Justice (Ladunī Maʿdalat): Prophet David's judgments were based on direct divine knowledge, not merely superficial evidence.
• Wise Answer to Prayer: Human prayers may be answered not as desired, but in a deeper way, often to reveal hidden truths and guide towards ultimate good.
• Mowlana's Forward Gaze: Mowlana generally doesn't look back but creates anew; rare historical references serve to emphasize core principles like ladunī justice.
• Divine System of Lowering and Raising (Khafḍ and Rafʿ): The world operates through divine actions of lowering and raising, evident across all dimensions, from cosmos to human states.
• True Felicity in Truth's Unveiling: What appears as "felicity in the end" can be a divine process to reveal a secret, guiding humanity towards profound wisdom and perfection.