M6:2902 — زین کششها ای خدای رازدان / تو به جذب لطف خودمان ده امان

Translation: From these attractions, O God, Knower of Secrets, grant us refuge through the attraction of Your Grace. Meaning: Rumi implores God to protect him from the distracting pulls and allurements of the world, asking instead to be drawn by divine grace.

This couplet is a profound prayer emerging from Mawlana's heart, pointing to a fundamental truth in mystical ontology: the world is replete with attractions and pulls, yet only one form of attraction leads to salvation and perfection. The world is a marketplace where "these attractions" (kāshishhā) are countless; everything seeks to draw us towards itself, to “buy” us, and in this transaction, humans often sell themselves cheaply. These worldly attractions, whether material or reputational, are all "customers" vying for our soul.

Here, Mawlana implicitly alludes to the famous analogy of straw and amber: Dharra dharra k-andar in arz o samāst / Jins-e khwad rā hamcho kāh o kahrabāst (Every particle in this earth and sky draws its own kind like straw and amber). Every object in this world attracts its like. But the human self, by virtue of its imperfection and attachments, might be drawn to accidentals instead of essences, to branches instead of roots. Thus, the stomach craves bread, the liver thirsts for water, the eye chases fleeting beauty, and the mind seeks pleasant scents. These are all natural, animalistic pulls that have their place, but if a human being's true "worth" is greater than these, then attachment to them signifies a "cheap selling" of oneself.

What Mawlana seeks is the attraction of Divine Grace (jadhb-e lotf-e khwod). This attraction is different from all other pulls. This is a "Customer" who dominates all other customers: Ghālibi bar jāzibān ay mushtarī (You are dominant over the attractors, O Customer). He states that if one must sell, the only true Buyer is God. He buys our lives and our possessions, even though they are already His, and sets our price as Paradise, or even His own Vision (liqāʾ), which is the supreme Paradise. The Quran explicitly states this divine transaction: "Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties in exchange for that they will have Paradise" (Quran 9:111).

This theme is echoed in other teachings. Imam Ali (peace be upon him) states: "The worst trade is that you consider this world as your price" – meaning, to sell yourself for this world. Similarly, the Gospel asks: "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" This fundamental question compels one to ponder one's true value. We search dozens of shops to buy a pair of shoes, fearing we might overpay, yet we sell our very being for next to nothing, without a second thought. Mawlana cries out: Ay gholām-at aql o tadbīr-āt o hoosh / Choon chūnīn khwīsh rā arzān furoosh? (O you, whose slave are intellect, plans, and awareness, why do you sell yourself so cheap?).

Thus, this couplet is both a prayer and an articulation of a mystical principle: amidst the myriad attractions of the world that lead humans to heedlessness and self-depreciation, only the attraction of Divine Grace is the protector and savior. This attraction frees humans from the indignity of trading with lesser things, elevating them to the heights of union with the Beloved. Mawlana calls himself one of the "helpless" (dar-māndagān) who needs God's intervention and "buying" (wā-kharī). This is not a weakness, but the ultimate awakening and understanding of humanity's true place before the absolute Majesty.

Key takeaways

• The world is a marketplace of countless attractions where humans often sell themselves cheaply and unknowingly.
• Worldly and animalistic attractions, though natural, become a 'cheap selling' of the soul if they distract from one's true worth.
• The only true and worthy 'Customer' of the human soul is God, who buys our lives and possessions for the price of His own Vision.
• This verse is a prayer for liberation from the world's deceptive pulls and for refuge in the encompassing attraction of Divine Grace.
• The true value of a human being far surpasses the entire world, and attachment to worldly things leads to the forfeiture of this invaluable worth.