M6:202 — من که باشم چرخ با صد کار و بار / زین کمین فریاد کرد از اختیار

Translation: What am I (in comparison)? The Wheel (cosmos) with a hundred tasks and burdens, from this ambush cried out from choice (ikhtiyār). Meaning: Mowlana expresses the profound burden of free will, stating that even the vast cosmos, with all its responsibilities, recoiled from accepting this grave trust, which only humanity embraced.

In this verse, Mowlana supplicates before God, lamenting the heavy and formidable burden of free will, or ikhtiyār. He asks, "Who am I, a mere mortal?" in comparison to the vastness of the celestial sphere and the cosmos, which themselves are burdened with a hundred immense tasks. Yet, it is precisely this "Wheel with a hundred tasks and burdens"—meaning all of existence apart from humanity—that "from this ambush cried out from choice." In Mowlana's interpretation, the cosmos recoiled from accepting the "trust of choice" (amanat-i ikhtiyār) that God offered, as mentioned in the Quran, and only humanity chose to bear it.

Mowlana likens free will to a "terrible abyss" (chāh-i vīl), for it harbors the potential for misuse and "bad choices" (sūʾ-i ikhtiyār). By accepting free will, humanity has exposed itself to slips and errors. Here, Mowlana asks God to relieve him of this free will: "O God, take this free will from me." This is a deeply thought-provoking point and reveals Mowlana's distinct perspective when contrasted with other thinkers, such as Iqbal Lahori. Iqbal emphasizes the strengthening of free will and free choice, but Mowlana, fearing error and transgression, desires its removal.

In other words, Mowlana, at this juncture, wishes to become like the angels, whose goodness is intrinsic rather than born of free choice. They are good, but they are not free to be evil. This state is desirable for Mowlana, to be liberated from the "wavering between two paths" (good and evil) and to attain the "single path of straight attraction" (sirāt al-mustaqīm). He calls the possession of free will "death pangs" (jān kandan), for it perpetually keeps humans in a struggle against their own selves. This cry from free will is not born of sheer determinism, but rather from a profound awareness of the consequences and difficulties inherent in the responsibility of choice.

Key takeaways

• Free will (ikhtiyār) as a divine trust (amanat) that only humanity accepted.
• The heavy burden of free will, from which even the vast cosmos recoiled.
• Mowlana's supplication to be relieved of free will, fearing "bad choices" (sūʾ-i ikhtiyār).
• A contrast between Mowlana's view and Iqbal Lahori's; one desiring removal, the other strengthening of free will.
• Mowlana's preference for the "single path of straight attraction" (sirāt al-mustaqīm) over the "wavering between two paths" of choice.