M6:1973 — نی خدا را امتحانی می‌کنند / نی در سود و زیانی می‌زنند

Translation: They put God to no test, Nor do they deal in profit or loss. Meaning: This couplet describes true lovers of God, whose actions are free from any calculation of gain or detriment, and who do not attempt to test the Divine for reward or to escape punishment.

These verses, without a doubt, constitute one of the most brilliant and profound passages in the Masnavi, uttered by Rumi in the twilight years of his prolific life. These concise and mature words clarify many pure concepts regarding the truth of humanity, intellect ('aql') and love ('ishq'), and the very nature of religion. These words are like a furnace of fire themselves, concealing hundreds of treasures of gnosis within.

Rumi here undertakes a foundational comparison between 'aql' (intellect/reason) and 'ishq' (love). He views 'aql' as a mercantile and calculating entity, always seeking profit and shunning loss; it never embarks on the path of despair, proceeding with caution and measuring every step for gain or potential detriment. 'Aql' avoids perilous and high-risk arenas; with every step, it calculates to ensure there is no slip, no lurking danger. This is the particular intellect, which, as Rumi states, "How could it tread the path of despair?"

But 'ishq'! Love knows no such boundaries. Love is so reckless ('lā-obālī') that it fundamentally disregards hope and the prospect of gain. This hope and despair are the domain of the mercantile intellect. Love is "bold, self-sacrificing, and shameless" – audacious, willing to lay down its life, and unafraid of breaking conventions. In affliction, it is resilient and unyielding, like "a stone under the mill." Love embraces danger, and taking risks is inherent to its nature. This is the gamble of lovers, not the trade of merchants. As Hafez says: "Love is the profession of brave, affliction-enduring rinds." Just as Kierkegaard argued, mystical and amorous faith is achieved not through philosophical premises and step-by-step reasoning, but through a "leap of faith" and reckless gambling; precisely the opposite of cautious, conservative 'aql'.

Furthermore, Rumi employs a deep and astonishing expression to describe love: "A resilient one that has no back." Commentators have interpreted "having no back" as signifying vulnerability or lack of support. However, I believe Rumi here refers to the same meaning he conveys in the Divan-e Shams, where he says of love: "Love is all face, it has no back at all." Love is sincere and unified; it is entirely 'face', it has no two layers. This expression is precisely the same description that Imam Ali (peace be upon him) used when asked about the 'Wajhullah' (Face of God), stating that God "is all face, He has no back at all." Love, like God, is one-faced and unveiled; there is no duality in its existence.

This selfless and unmotivated love "has killed the desire for seeking profit within itself"; it has annihilated the pursuit of gain. It "plays purely, seeking no reward." Just as God bestows existence upon it "without cause" (bī-'ellatī) and purely out of grace, love, pure from ulterior motives and maladies, also gives back what it has received. This is 'fotowat' (chivalry), meaning generosity that is "giving without cause." 'Pāk-bāzī' (pure play/selfless action) is beyond any 'millat' (religion/creed); for 'millat' seeks either 'faḍl' (grace/reward) or 'khalāṣ' (salvation/escape from punishment). The Quran itself invites people to a "commerce" that will save them from a painful punishment. Religion is built upon this mercantile logic of reward and punishment; but pure players and lovers transcend these boundaries. They are "special sacrifices" who, in the path of love, seek neither reward nor fear punishment.

The verse in question stands at the pinnacle of this definition: "Nor do they put God to any test / Nor do they engage in profit or loss." Testing God signifies a mercantile and conditional relationship; as if they wish to catch the Beloved in a flaw or see if they receive a reward for their actions. This was the temptation Satan presented to Jesus, to cast himself down from the temple and test God's power. But Jesus stated that servants do not test God. Lovers likewise do not test the Beloved, for such relations have no meaning in the realm of love. They view profit and loss equally, and even delight in the Beloved's wrath, for "I am earnestly in love with both His grace and His wrath / rather, how strange, I am in love with these two opposites." In the lover's gaze, beneath every ruin and affliction, a "king's treasure" is hidden, and thus, they have no fear of ruin.

Key takeaways

• Love, unlike the calculating intellect, is free from profit-and-loss computations and the expectation of reward; its essence is courage and fearlessness in embracing risk.
• A true lover does not test God, for testing implies a conditional, transactional relationship that is alien to the nature of love.
• The lover's relationship with the Beloved is so transparent and unified that love, like God, "has no back" and is entirely 'face'.
• "Fotowat" (chivalry) and "Pāk-bāzī" (selfless action) are hallmarks of love, operating beyond the conventional reward-and-punishment logic of religions.
• The lover embraces not only the Beloved's grace but also His wrath, seeing a 'king's treasure' beneath every affliction and ruin.