M6:2259 — سجده خود را می‌کند هر لحظه او / سجده پیش آینه‌ست از بهر رو

Translation: Every moment, he bows in prostration to himself, For prostration before a mirror is truly for the face within it. Meaning: This verse suggests that when an individual prostrates before a worshipped object or a desired end, they are, in essence, prostrating before their own true self, as that object of devotion merely reflects their inner being and hidden perfections.

This verse emerges from Rumi's narrative of the 'Dome and the Treasure,' marking a profound culmination of his vision of 'seeking' and 'prostration.' Previously, Rumi stated, 'Do not see him as a seeker of treasure; he is the treasure himself.' What you yearn for, what occupies your aspirations, ultimately defines the ceiling of your personality and your very being. If you seek material treasure, your essence is circumscribed by that; but if you pursue spiritual wealth, you become that treasure and attain it. This yearning itself is a sign that a ladder has been placed for you to ascend to the summit of your desire. The core is the thirst, the quest itself, which, once ignited, shapes one's destiny.

Therefore, when you turn towards a qibla (direction of prayer) and prostrate, you are, in essence, prostrating to your own self. The qibla you have chosen, or the treasure you perceive, is already pre-existent within you. This is one of the highest mystical secrets revealed in the Masnavi, though Rumi himself notes that such secrets, even when uttered, remain unrevealed, for 'a secret shares with none but the confidant, a secret finds no ear in the denier.' I extend this understanding to the prostration before God; mystically, it can be understood that when we prostrate to God, we are prostrating to our own self.

This insight resonates with other mystics. Ibn al-Farid, a contemporary of Rumi, states in his poetry: 'Both of us, the worshipper and the worshipped, bow to one qibla, to its reality, with union in every prostration.' Shams-e Tabrizi, in his Maqalat, similarly remarked that if the Kaaba were removed, people would prostrate to one another. All these emphasize the secret that, ultimately, the Beloved resides within the seeker.

The second line clarifies this further: 'For prostration before a mirror is truly for the face within it.' When you gaze into a mirror, you don't perceive the mirror itself; you perceive your own face. A physicist or mirror-maker might focus on the mirror's material properties, but if your aim is to behold your own beauty, the mirror fades, becoming transparent to your reflection. The mirror here is merely a tool for reflection; when we prostrate to something, what is reflected in it is our own inner reality.

Rumi then explains that if one were to perceive 'even a penny's worth' of the mirror itself (i.e., focus on its materiality), then 'no khayāl (image/thought) would remain from it'; one would lose sight of one's own reflection. When both the image (khayāl) and the self ('he') become annihilated ('When both his image and he vanished'), a new kind of 'ignorance' emerges, from which 'another knowledge' springs forth: 'From our ignorance, another knowledge / Manifestly arose, proclaiming 'I am I' (Anī Anā).' This is the annihilation (fanā) that leads to subsistence (baqā). From this 'ignorance' (which is utter existential poverty), a knowing arises that declares the reality of being with 'I am I.'

'I am I' is an allusion to God's self-description to Moses in the Torah (Exodus 3:14), where God, upon Moses's inquiry as to what to tell his people, replied, 'I Am Who I Am.' God introduced Himself not with attributes like Merciful or Creator, but as 'Pure, Formless Existence.' Rumi suggests that in that moment, Moses perceived his own 'formless self' in the mirror of God. God appeared to Moses in this mirror, and Moses was present within it. As Rumi says elsewhere: 'If you see Jesus, son of Mary, it is you... He is simple; He has placed your image before you.' God is 'simple' (simple, meaning formless), merely presenting your own image before you. Whatever you perceive in the Divine mirror is a reflection of your own self.

This mystical insight also interprets the Quranic command, 'Prostrate to Adam' (Usjudū li-Ādam). The angels prostrated to Adam because they saw themselves in Adam. They were told: 'You are Adam; see yourselves in Adam' to prostrate to yourselves. God removed 'squint-eyedness' (ahwalī) from the angels' vision, enabling them to perceive unity, unlike Satan, who clung to the 'I and other' duality and thus refused to prostrate. Ultimately, this state leads to the realization of Lā ilāha illallāh, which mystics understand not merely as 'There is no god but God,' but as 'There is no existence but the One Existence (God).' All creation comprises manifestations and reflections of that singular Existence.

At the conclusion of these profound discussions, Rumi senses he has ventured beyond the permissible bounds of speech. He imagines his Beloved or guide (God, Shams, or Husam-e Din) admonishing him: 'The time has come for me to pull your ear... Do not reveal what we have hidden from people.' But Rumi, in his defense, asserts: 'But I now lament distraughtly/ I am the speaker, I am the listener.' He implies that he is speaking to himself and hearing himself, and thus has no concern for others' censure. 'Do not blame me,' he says.

Key takeaways

• What one worships or seeks is a mirror reflecting one's own inner being and perfections; the ultimate qibla is the self.
• Prostration to God, from this perspective, is a prostration to the Divine reality that is manifest within the human being.
• This mystical insight aligns with the teachings of Shams-e Tabrizi and Ibn al-Farid, who posit that the 'sought-after' resides within the 'seeker.'
• When the seeker transcends attachment to their image in the mirror (imagination) and even their own transient self, they arrive at an 'ignorance' that is the genesis of 'another knowledge'—a formless knowledge of absolute existence.
• The experience of 'I am I' (Anī Anā) is the moment one perceives their own formless self in the mirror of God, a manifestation of Pure Divine Existence.