M6:1871 — تا ز رزق بی‌دریغ خیره‌خند / این سگان را حصه باشد روز چند

Translation: So that, from ungrudging (and scornfully smiling) sustenance, these dogs may have their share for a few days. Meaning: This verse indicates that the worldly-minded and those attached to multiplicity will only for a short time, and by a grace that seems more like mockery than benevolence, partake in the blessings of this world.

This verse emerges from the larger tableau Mowlana paints of the current world, which he describes as the 'era of wolves, with Joseph in the pit' and the 'era of Copts, with Pharaoh as king.' From my perspective, Mowlana here explicitly addresses the 'world of multiplicity' (جهان کثرت), a realm of 'a hundred colors and a hundred hearts,' where unity and singularity are not manifest, and whose very chaos allows 'dogs' to roam freely.

These 'dogs' are, without doubt, the worldly-minded (دنیاپرستان), the bearers and agents of multiplicity. They are those who cling to outward forms rather than essence, immersed in the variegation and plurality of this world. Mowlana observes these dogs benefiting from 'ungrudging (and scornfully smiling) sustenance' (رزق بی‌دریغ خیره‌خند). The phrase 'خیره‌خند' is profoundly meaningful here; this sustenance is ungrudging, in the sense that it is provided by God, but it is granted not out of compassion or love, but perhaps out of indifference, or even mockery. It is as if God gives them this provision, but with a fixed, smiling gaze that denotes the impermanence and worthlessness of their temporary enjoyment.

The significance of 'for a few days' (روز چند) is crucial. Mowlana emphasizes with this phrase that this period—the era of wolves and dogs—is temporary and unstable. This flourishing is fleeting and lacks permanence. This part of Mowlana's discourse is, in fact, a prelude to the ultimate manifestation of unity. He continues in the very next verses to say that 'within the thicket, the lions are waiting / until the command to ascend is issued.' These 'lions' are the bearers of unity, awaiting the divine command to charge against the wolves and dogs of multiplicity.

Thus, this verse is not a complaint about the current state, but rather a narration of it, a telling of a transient phase in the cosmos. This phase, with all its darkness, dogs, and wolves, progresses towards the 'day of sacrifice' (روز نحر); a day when the 'essence of humanity' (جوهر انسان) – the Perfect Human, or the complete manifestation of divine truth in the world – will 'encompass land and sea,' and the 'piebald cows' (pīs-gāvān), symbols of multiplicity and variegatedness, who are the same worldly 'dogs,' will be sacrificed. This is Mowlana's vision of a resurrection that occurs both within human souls and in the world at large.

Key takeaways

• The 'dogs' in this verse symbolize the worldly-minded and those attached to the multiplicity and variegation of this world.
• The phrase 'ungrudging (and scornfully smiling) sustenance' highlights the insignificance and almost derisive nature of worldly blessings for the worldly.
• The era of multiplicity and worldly pursuits is merely a transient and unstable 'few days.'
• This verse foreshadows the emergence of the 'lions of unity' and the ultimate end of the era of multiplicity and global chaos.
• From Mowlana's perspective, the current world is one of 'a hundred colors' and disorder, ultimately moving towards unity and a final resurrection.