M6:2374 — زانک طفل خرد را مادر نهار / دست و پا باشد نهاده بر کنار

Translation: For the young child, the mother by day / Is his hands and feet, for his own are laid aside. Meaning: This verse illustrates the complete and natural trust a young child places in its mother, having no independent strategies or means of its own.

This verse is a gem where Rumi, through a tangible example, presents one of the deepest mystical teachings: absolute, unconditional surrender to God. I have often stated that to enter the realm of gnosis, one must take the path of the 'simple-hearted' (ablahān), not the 'shrewd' (zērakān); and here, Rumi precisely illustrates this point through the metaphor of a child. The 'shrewd' are those who become entangled in the intricate details of the world's ṣanʿ (creation/craft) and lose sight of the ṣāniʿ (Creator/Craftsman). It's akin to someone becoming enamored with the matchmaker and forgetting the intended bride. But the 'simple-hearted' – those pure of heart and guile – reach the Creator directly. They move from the 'craft' to the 'Craftsman' without getting stuck in the 'craft'.

I see the roots of this idea, one hundred percent, in the Gospels. Jesus Christ explicitly states in the Gospel of Matthew that the Kingdom of Heaven is hidden from the wise and learned, and revealed to the 'simple-hearted' (al-busta'a). He clearly emphasizes childlike innocence: "Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." This is the 'innocence' of a child: one without malice, without grudges, unaware of the mental complexities of adults. A child does not perceive the world through conceptual frameworks but is directly connected to objects and reality. We, as adults, through knowledge and philosophy, create intermediaries between ourselves and the world, and even place veils between ourselves and God. Rumi believes that the path of mysticism is the path of transcending these intermediaries and directly, unmediatedly, apprehending God.

This verse is the epitome of childlike tawakkul (trust). The young child lacks any independent strategy or means. In every moment, it sets aside its own 'hands and feet' – meaning it makes no effort on its own behalf – for its mother is all its deliberation and resourcefulness. Whatever happens, the child, without thought or reason, clings to its mother's embrace. Rumi, in the story of Canaan, Noah's son, also expresses this point with regret, wishing that "Would that he were ignorant of stratagems like a child, so that he would cling to his mother like children." He wishes Canaan had been innocent of cunning and self-willed stratagems, so he would have unconditionally sought refuge in his father Noah and been saved.

Al-Ghazali also considered tawakkul a sublime ḥāl (state), a transient yet glorious condition in which a person, for a moment, feels utterly devoid of any self-possession, like a child in God's arms. Rumi, here, likewise portrays this absolute helplessness and complete dependency. For the seeker on the path to God, this utter surrender is a fundamental step towards union; it is the setting aside of one's self-made 'hands and feet' of human intellect and planning, so that the divine 'hands and feet' may become effective and lead one to the destination.

Key takeaways

• Childlike trust in God is a direct path to the divine kingdom.
• True gnosis is attained through simplicity of heart and innocent unpretentiousness, not through intellectual complexities.
• One must transcend preoccupation with creation and turn directly to the Creator without intermediaries.
• This verse reflects the teachings of Jesus Christ regarding the importance of childlike innocence for entering the Kingdom of Heaven.
• The child symbolizes absolute surrender and the setting aside of all personal planning and stratagems before the divine will.