M6:2587 — تو پی دفع بلایم می‌زنی / تا ببینی رخنه را بندش کنی

Translation: You strike me to avert a calamity you imagine from me, hoping to find a hidden breach and seal it. Meaning: This verse conveys the voice of one oppressed, telling the oppressor that efforts to ward off perceived danger through injustice are futile and will only invite further woes.

This verse is uttered by an aggrieved dervish or a sagacious jester, addressing a tyrannical king who, driven by the suspicion of an imagined calamity, inflicts cruelty upon him. The king, in his boundless mistrust and impatience, seeks to find and "seal a hidden breach" within the dervish; he presumes that by doing so, he can preempt any perceived rebellion or harm emanating from the dervish and secure himself.

I contend that this haste in punishment and retribution is itself a clear sign that such an act stems not from divine justice, but from egoistic wrath and an irascible nature. A judgment delivered with forbearance and contentment would never countenance such urgency. Yet, where the temperamental fury governs, the oppressor rushes to execute his vengeance before the flame of his anger subsides and the "pleasure of retribution" fades. This is precisely what I call "false appetite," akin to the hurried, ill-digested eating of one who is not truly hungry. A "true appetite," however, enjoys food with patience and relish, savoring it at the proper time.

The dervish's argument is clear: "You strike me to avert a calamity... but Fate holds many other breaches." You seek to avert a single perceived calamity by sealing one breach, oblivious that through this very act of oppression, countless other breaches will open in the fabric of divine decree. In other words, your tyranny will not only fail to prevent disaster but will, in itself, invite a fresh calamity upon you. This is Rumi's warning to all despots and autocratic rulers who, driven by suspicion and violence, rush to judge and punish their subjects. History is replete with tales of sons and courtiers who, based on slander or unfounded suspicion, were destroyed at the height of their kings' intoxicated rage, with subsequent regret proving utterly futile.

The remedy for averting calamity is, without doubt, not oppression. Rumi, in the subsequent verse, explicitly states: "The solution is kindness, forgiveness, and generosity." This is a direct reference to the well-known Hadith, "Al-Sadaqah tarfa' al-balāʾ" (Charity averts calamity) or "Dāwū marḍākum bi'l-ṣadaqah" (Heal your sick with charity). I have always emphasized that any good deed whose benefit extends to others is a hundredfold superior to acts of worship that yield only intrinsic benefit to the doer. As Rumi says: "The wind is fierce, and my lamp is frail; so, let me ignite another lamp from it." Our lives are like lamps exposed to the winds of annihilation; the solution is not to stop the wind, but to ignite other lamps (i.e., the lives of others, charities, aiding the needy), so that even after the extinguishing of our own life's lamp, their light may continue to shine. Therefore, let us embrace every pretext for doing good to others, even under the guise of averting calamity; for goodness itself is the highest form of calamity prevention.

Key takeaways

• Haste in seeking revenge indicates egoistic wrath and a 'false appetite,' not divine justice.
• Oppression, intended to avert calamity, is futile; it only invites further woes.
• Divine providence holds countless 'breaches'; sealing one through injustice will open others.
• The true remedy for averting calamity lies in kindness, forgiveness, and generosity, not tyrannical punishment.
• Good deeds whose benefits extend to others are superior to acts of worship that only benefit the individual doer.