M6:1862 — صد هزاران سایه کوتاه و دراز / شد یکی در نور آن خورشید راز

Translation: Hundreds of thousands of shadows, short and long, became one in the light of that Sun of Mystery. Meaning: This verse signifies that in the face of absolute truth and divine illumination, all apparent multiplicities and differences (like various shadows) dissolve and merge into a profound unity.

When the sun of truth shines, all shadows—be they short, long, or wide—lose their independent existence and are utterly absorbed into its light. This is a profound metaphor for the ultimate unification in the radiance of divine truth; the apparent multiplicities and superficial differences that characterize our world all fade into insignificance before the absolute oneness of the Real. It is as if the world of forms and distinctions is but a play of shadows that only asserts itself in the absence of the Sun of Mystery; with its rising, they find nothing of themselves remaining.

Mawlana explicitly likens this dissolution of shadows and the emergence of a singular color to the advent of the Prophet Muhammad's illuminating presence. He states, "The weight of Mustafa's light turned hundreds of thousands of darknesses into radiance." This means that with the coming of the Prophet of Islam, darknesses were transformed into light, and people of diverse beliefs and backgrounds—Jews, polytheists, Christians, and Zoroastrians—all became "one-colored" (یک‌رنگ). This illustrates how the appearance of prophets inaugurates a "new era," an epoch that rejuvenates the old, transmutes darkness into light, and reshapes ethical standards and worldviews. Indeed, every prophet is a Sun of Mystery that dispels the shadows of ignorance and discord.

This world we inhabit is one of "a hundred colors and a hundred hearts" (صد رنگی و صد دلی). In this realm, absolute unity is often veiled by multiplicity. Only mystics, whose eyes have been anointed with the kohl of tawhid (divine unity), are able to perceive the underlying oneness within the apparent diversity. This is why Mawlana remarks, "Since you are among the squint-eyed (beholders of multiplicity), it is necessary to speak like a polytheist." When addressing those who navigate a world of multiplicity and perceive through "many lenses," it is impossible to speak of absolute unity except in a language accessible to their understanding. Thus, this verse is an invitation to transcend multiplicity-based perceptions and grasp the foundational unity embedded within all diversity.

However, in the Hereafter, "the one-coloredness that is in the resurrection is revealed and manifest to both good and bad." There, unity emerges from beneath multiplicity, and all truths become manifest, to the extent that no one has the power to deny the Sun of Truth. Mawlana draws this point from the Quran, where all deniers of God will believe in the Hereafter, acknowledging that "He is the Manifest Truth." Therefore, apparent shadows and differences exist only as long as the Sun of Mystery has not fully shone. In that ultimate station, all distinctions dissolve in the light of divine unity, and nothing but oneness remains. This connects deeply with Mawlana's concept of "formlessness" (بی‌صورتی) and the "world of meanings" (عالم معنا) in the Mathnawi; that realm is colorless, formless, and devoid of opposites, where old age vanishes, and everything is ever-new and eternal. The shadows and worldly multiplicities of this world perish in that "salt-marsh of spiritual meanings."

Key takeaways

• Before the light of divine truth, all multiplicities and differences (like shadows) dissolve into unity.
• The advent of prophets (like the light of Mustafa) symbolizes the shining of the Sun of Mystery, transforming darkness into light and divisions into oneness.
• This world is a realm of multiplicity and "a hundred colors" where unity is veiled; only the insightful can perceive it.
• In the Hereafter and "Resurrection," unity becomes manifest, and absolute truth is revealed to all, without denial or ambiguity.
• The Mathnawi's concept of the "formlessness" and "ever-newness" of the world of meaning aligns with the idea of shadows dissolving into the Sun of Mystery.