M6:1849 — خفض و رفع روزگار با کرب / نوع دیگر نیم روز و نیم شب

Translation: The rise and fall of this age of sorrow (karb), Is another kind of change, like half day and half night.

Meaning: Mawlana here speaks to the ceaseless fluctuations of the world and time, a dynamic process inherently intertwined with grief and suffering, much like the constant shift from day to night and back again.

Here, Mawlana speaks of one of existence's most profound truths: khafḍ va rafʿ (lowering and raising). This expression, beyond its literal meaning, refers to constant 'upheavals and transformations' (degargūnī-hā va zīr-o-zabar shodan-hā); it is the divine contraction (qabḍ) and expansion (basṭ) at its core. I have often stated that the work of God is that of the khāfiḍ (the Lowerer) and the rāfiʿ (the Raiser), an attribute mentioned in Sura al-Waqi'a in description of the Day of Judgment. But Mawlana extends this attribute not merely to the eschatological reckoning, but to the entire sweep of history and time.

This khafḍ va rafʿ is evident in every corner of existence. In nature, we 'see the lowering of the earth and the raising of the sky,' or as Mawlana says in the following verse, the earth itself is 'half a year barren, half green and moist.' This age, replete with karb (grief and sorrow), is half day and half night, testifying to its relentless transformations. Our own composite temperament (mizāj-e mumtazij) is no exception, oscillating between health and illness. The conditions of the world are of the same kind: famine and drought against peace and war, all stemming from iftitān—for the testing and trial of creation.

Mawlana likens the world to a trembling leaf that quivers 'in the north wind and the hot wind (samūm) of resurrection (baʿth) and death (marg).' The north wind is pleasant and life-giving, while the samūm is a scorching, destructive gale. This world, with these two wings of lowering and raising, soars through the air. I have always likened history to a long alley whose walls are lined with windows. A wind blows through this alley—a wind that can be called 'the wind of God's independence' (bād-e bī-niyāzī-ye Khodā)—constantly opening some windows and closing others. People come and go; some find hope, others despair; some are joyful, others sorrowful. This wind sometimes brings baʿth, causing growth and genesis, and sometimes brings marg, leading to destruction and burning. Our souls (jān-hā) too become an abode of fear (khawf) and hope (rajā), fearing one thing and hoping for another. This is the nature of existence, which Mawlana portrays with utmost eloquence and profundity, a nature perpetually in flux and transformation, intermingling suffering and ease.

Key takeaways

• The concept of khafḍ va rafʿ signifies fundamental and ceaseless transformations in existence, not merely literal up-and-down movement.
• These transformations operate at both cosmic scales (heaven and earth, day and night) and in human experience (temperament, worldly affairs).
• The presence of anguish and karb in the temporal world is an inseparable part of this perpetual cycle of change.
• The world's oscillations are guided by 'the wind of Divine independence' (bād-e bī-niyāzī-ye Khodā), leading to 'resurrection and demise' (baʿth va marg) and stirring fear and hope in souls.
• Mawlana connects this phenomenon to the Quranic divine attribute of khāfiḍa rāfiʿa and extends its application to the entire cosmos.
• Constant flux and instability are the essence of the world, serving as a test and trial for creation.