M6:3338 — هر دمی پر می‌شوی تی می‌شوی / پس بدانک در کف صنع ویی

Translation: Every moment you become full, you become empty; so know that you are in the hand of His making. Meaning: This verse asserts that human inner and outer states are in constant flux, and these incessant changes are a clear sign that humanity remains perpetually within the grasp of God's creative power and craftsmanship.

This beyt instructs us in one of the deepest Quranic and mystical insights, emphasizing the concept of the "Tablet of Effacement and Affirmation" within the human sphere. Just as the Quran declares, "God effaces what He wills and establishes what He wills, and with Him is the Mother of the Book" (Q 13:39), Mowlana extends this cosmic principle to the inner world of humanity.

I argue that if we observe our own existence closely, we find that our states change from moment to moment. One instant we are joyful, the next sorrowful; one moment angry, the next serene. Sometimes generous, sometimes miserly. These incessant contractions (qabḍ) and expansions (basṭ), these storms that blow through our souls, are often neither by our will nor entirely predictable. We wish to remain perpetually in a state of expansion and joy, but is that truly possible? These transformations are themselves a testament to the fact that our being, our heart, is like a "Tablet of Effacement and Affirmation" upon which the signless God inscribes something in every moment and erases something else.

Mowlana provides tangible examples to elucidate this complete dependence: the potter and the pot, the carpenter and the wood, the tailor and the garment, and the water carrier and the waterskin. In all these instances, the pot, wood, garment, and waterskin are all "passive causes" (ʿillat-e qābilī); they possess no will of their own to take shape or to be filled and emptied. It is the active agent and craftsman (the potter, carpenter, tailor, water carrier) who gives them form, cuts them, sews them, fills them, and empties them. Mowlana extends precisely this situation to humanity, stating: "Every moment you become full, you become empty; so know that you are in the hand of His making.". This means you, too, like that waterskin, become full of a certain state one moment and are emptied of it the next. This dynamism and continuous flow is a definitive sign that you are not an absolutely autonomous being; you are in the hand of the eternal and everlasting Artisan, which is God Himself.

Mowlana's words here are an invitation to mindfulness and vigilance (murāqaba and hushyārī). If a person is attentive and aware, they can perceive these subtle divine manipulations within themselves. These inner turbulences are neither random nor without an agent. They are manifestations of God's absolute will, unfolding in the arena of our existence. Therefore, the "blindfold" of heedlessness must be removed so that one may see the "making" (ṣanʿ) in the "Maker" (ṣāniʿ). If the veils are lifted, one realizes that these tables, chairs, and this intricately patterned world are all but reflections of the radiant sun of God's existence. And if the eye is dazzled by the light, nothing but the light itself is seen. This beyt teaches us to always look to the original source and agent, and to know that all our states, all our becomings full and empty, are within the grasp of His making.

Key takeaways

• Human existence is a "Tablet of Effacement and Affirmation"; our states are continuously altered by an unseen hand.
• Our inner fluctuations (spiritual contraction and expansion) are not self-willed but stem from the absolute divine will.
• Through analogies like the potter, wood, and garment, Mowlana casts humanity as a "passive cause," shaped by the ultimate Agent (God).
• Humans must awaken from heedlessness to observe the subtle divine manipulations in their lives and inner states.
• This verse is an invitation to perceive the "making" in the "Maker," understanding the continuous connection between creation and Creator.