M6:2097 — ای بریده آن لب و حلق و دهان / که کند تف سوی مه یا آسمان

Translation: May those lips, throat, and mouth be severed that spit towards the moon or sky. Meaning: This verse serves as a stern warning against arrogance and disrespect towards the divine or its sacred manifestations, likening such an impertinent act to spitting at the sky, which inevitably recoils upon the perpetrator.

I wish to highlight a crucial point in understanding Mawlana, of which this verse is a clear testimony. This beyt immediately follows Mawlana's discussion of a sheykh uttering Anā al-Ḥaqq (I am the Truth) and how such a one could advance this idea and enlighten the blind. Mawlana explains that when 'the servant's 'I' (anā) is negated from existence,' what then remains but 'He'? This is where the paths of Pharaoh and Mansur al-Hallaj diverge. Pharaoh claimed Anā al-Ḥaqq while his 'I' remained intact; thus, he perished. Mansur, however, became so effaced in 'He' that his 'I' dissolved, and he became the tongue of Truth itself. His words emanated not from himself, but from the Real. It is here that Mawlana, with this verse, draws a definitive line against any false, arrogant claim.

I say, this verse is an unequivocal and emphatic warning to those who, out of arrogance and self-conceit, disrespect the station of the Divine and its saints, or the sacred realm of the cosmos. 'Spitting towards the moon or sky' is a powerful metaphor for such spiritual impertinence. The moon and sky, in mystical literature, often symbolize perfection, luminosity, and divine manifestations. Spitting at them not only causes no harm to that exalted realm but returns immediately to the face of the one who spits. This is an undeniable cosmic law; the law of the recoil of action.

Mawlana explicitly states: 'The spittle will undoubtedly return to his face; the spittle will find no path to the heavens.' This means any improper act intended to insult the Divine or Truth finds no way to that elevated sphere; it only returns to the perpetrator, disgracing and humiliating them. This is akin to the divine curse and rebuke that rained upon the soul of Abu Lahab, termed 'Tabbat' in the Holy Quran. This is not merely a moral injunction; it is a metaphysical principle. The universe itself operates on a scale of justice that returns every action to its doer. It is the world itself that returns inappropriate speech to its utterer.

Therefore, this verse emphasizes the necessity of humility and respect before the Divine and its manifestations. One who reaches the station of proximity and truly says Anā al-Ḥaqq has attained the ultimate degree of humility and annihilation, not the apex of arrogance. The phrase 'may those lips, throat, and mouth be severed' here is, without doubt, a prayer for the silencing of any tongue that, out of ignorance or arrogance, dares to commit such insolence. It is a prayer for the expulsion of that intrusive ego which becomes a veil to Truth and leads one to violate proper spiritual conduct.

Key takeaways

• Spiritual arrogance inevitably recoils upon the perpetrator, bringing disgrace.
• Any disrespect towards the sacred realm of existence harms only the individual who commits it.
• The cosmos operates under a law of recoil; what is sown will be reaped.
• Claims of spiritual insight or status must arise from annihilation of self and humility, not ego and conceit.
• The imprecation to 'sever lips and mouth' is a prayer for the silencing of any wrongful, arrogant speech against Truth.