M6:2839 — قوم گفتندش که قطب ما توی / که خلاص روز محنتمان شوی

Translation: The group told him, "You are our Qutb, / So that you may be our savior on the day of our distress." Meaning: People designate one who claims absolute power and intercession as their spiritual leader and savior, seeking refuge in them during times of hardship.

This verse appears within the narrative of the thieves and the king, who is disguised amongst them. One thief boasts of his particular skill: by merely wiggling his beard, he claims he can either release culprits from death or condemn them to bondage. It is at this moment that the other thieves turn to him and declare: “You are our Qutb, so that you may deliver us on the day of our distress.” It is worth noting that this particular verse is absent in some versions of the Masnavi, yet it carries a profound meaning.

I see this narrative as a mirror reflecting two significant realities. Firstly, it portrays autocratic and despotic regimes where all legislative, executive, and judicial powers are concentrated in a single individual. As Louis XIV famously declared, “L'état, c'est moi” (I am the state). In such systems, pardon or punishment is effected by a mere gesture from the ruler. It is in this state of utter helplessness that people, facing despair, implore such a figure to be their Qutb and deliverer in times of tribulation. This supplication stems from absolute desperation and vulnerability.

Secondly, this verse echoes theological debates within Gnosis (ʿirfān) and Sufism, particularly within Ash'arite schools, which posit God as possessing absolute and boundless power, unconstrained even by justice, reason, or ethics. God, in this view, can contravene His promises and consign even the most devout servants to hell. This understanding of the Divine fosters a profound sense of 'strange helplessness' (bī-panāhī-yi ʿajīb) in believers, as there is no recourse to argument or right to protest against such power. As the Quran states, “He is not questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned.” In this intellectual framework, the only path is absolute submission and the plea for intercession from an autocratic power, even if that power transcends justice and reason. We have often discussed how philosophy recoils from paradox, but Gnosis immerses itself in it, speaking in contradictions, for it conveys a reality for which ordinary language is inadequate.

Fearful Sufism (tasawwuf-i khāʾifāna), exemplified in Ghazali's works, exacerbates this terrifying image of God, placing humanity like a sparrow before a ravenous lion. The only escape from this dread, as Rumi offers in his loving Sufism (tasawwuf-i ʿāshiqāna), is to love this God; to perceive His beauties and surrender to His love. Otherwise, this boundless power itself becomes a source of anxiety and insecurity. This is why Rumi, with his poetic subtleties, endeavors to soften this fear, depicting a God whose very lion, though fearsome, bestows life upon the gazelle.

Therefore, this seemingly simple verse speaks to the profound intellectual and psychological dilemmas of societies that, confronted with absolute power, whether political or divine, see no alternative but to yield and seek intercession. Perhaps this 'Qutb' is not a sign of salvation, but rather an embodiment of the very anxiety that the loving Gnostic seeks to remedy.

Key takeaways

• In utter helplessness, people designate absolute power as their Qutb and savior.
• This verse critiques the Ash'arite conception of an autocratic God whose power transcends justice and reason.
• When faced with arbitrary power, people see no alternative but submission and seeking intercession.
• This approach fosters a profound sense of vulnerability and helplessness in the human heart.
• Rumi's loving Sufism offers a remedy to this anxiety by emphasizing God's love and beauty.