M6:3197 — خاصه این روزن درخشان از خودست / نی ودیعهٔ آفتاب و فرقدست

Translation: Especially this radiant aperture is from itself; Not a loan from the sun or the star Farqad.

Meaning: The light emanating from a perfected human being or a divine friend (wali) is intrinsic and self-radiant, not a borrowed reflection from external sources like the sun or other stars.

In this verse, Rumi touches upon one of the profoundest mystical truths: the intrinsic luminosity of the perfected human being, the Friend of God (wali). I maintain that Rumi speaks here of a 'radiant aperture' whose light originates neither from the sun nor from a star like Farqad, but from 'itself.' What does this signify? It means that a perfected individual, having been forged in the furnace of divine proximity, becomes so 'filled with God' that their light is no longer borrowed; they become a source of light themselves. This resonates precisely with the sacred Tradition (Hadith Qudsi) which states: 'My servant draws ever closer to Me until I become their tongue, their eye, their hand.' In this station, the Prophet's speech is no longer merely his own; it is the very word of God. To behold such a one is to behold the Creator.

I have emphasized for years that Rumi's concept of the 'revelation of the heart' (wahy-i dil) is a euphemism for the 'revelation of God' (wahy-i ḥaqq). This self-radiant quality of the aperture does not imply independence from God, but rather such a complete dissolution (fanā) that divine attributes manifest through them, and their very existence takes on a divine hue. It is akin to a piece of iron that remains in the furnace so long that it becomes fire itself—hot, burning, and illuminating. If you doubt, touch it, and it will burn you. These parables are for those minds that require allegory; otherwise, the true mystic grasps this through direct intuition and experience.

Rumi proceeds to say that while this radiance ultimately originates from the eternal Sun, it does so 'not through the known and accustomed path.' This is a pivotal point in Rumi's philosophy: we must not be confined by natural, scientific, or material mechanisms. These represent only one possible path, not all possible paths. Light can shine forth not only from a wick, cotton, and oil (as he states in Book Three) nor solely through conventional means, but through an unknown, unaccustomed way. There exists an 'unconditional, unquantifiable connection' that binds human souls to the Lord of Humankind—a relationship transcending time, space, and material causality.

To elucidate the 'from itself' nature of this light, Rumi offers a striking analogy: 'Fruit grows from this very basket.' This implies that if you see a basket from which apples are sprouting, these apples have not come from elsewhere and been placed in the basket; rather, they have sprung from the 'very essence' of the basket. In this exalted station, the basket itself is the apple tree. This signifies that the Qur'an or the word of the wali (Divine Friend) is the product of their own being; it is not that God merely gives it to them to convey, but rather their very existence becomes the wellspring of these truths. This illustrates the complete annihilation (fanā) of the servant in God: 'His existence has perished,' meaning their individual being has been effaced, and they are no longer themselves, but have become one with the Beloved. In such a stream of divine existence, a dry clod of earth does not remain dry; rather, it dissolves and is absorbed.

Key takeaways

• The luminosity of the perfected human or divine friend is an intrinsic radiance arising from within, not borrowed from external sources.
• Profound existential proximity to God so 'fills' the human being with divine essence that God's attributes and actions manifest through them.
• Divine connections and manifestations occur through means and mechanisms beyond conventional material laws and human understanding.
• In the state of annihilation (fanā), the divine friend is not merely a recipient and conveyor, but becomes a source for the wellspring of divine truths and manifestations.
• The words and deeds of the perfected being are, in essence, the manifestation of God's word and action, as their individual existence has dissolved into the Divine Being.