M6:3451 — لعل را زان هست گنج مقتبس / سنگ را گرمی و تابانی و بس

Translation: For the ruby, from that [light] there is a treasure to be drawn (muqtabas), For the stone, there is only warmth and mere shining, and nothing more. Meaning: This couplet illustrates how divine grace illuminates all beings, yet each absorbs it according to its intrinsic capacity; the ruby draws a profound treasure, while a common stone gains only transient warmth and superficial gleam.

This couplet follows my critique of reductionism in science and various fields of knowledge. Many empirical scientists often assume that if something cannot be reduced to empirically verifiable phenomena, it should not be considered true. This perspective overlooks distinct realms of existence; one immersed in the world of sports knows little of commerce, and one in the realm of love is oblivious to economics. It's like a chick in an egg, unaware of the songs of birds in the sky, and denying their existence. This reductionism is akin to the neurologist who claims that without a dedicated brain center for the knowledge of God, such knowledge cannot be believed. Yet, the truth is that realms are distinct, each with its own laws and capacities.

In this verse and those preceding it, Mowlana clearly articulates this difference in capacities. He states, "The sun of God's grace, on whatever it shone, from dog and from horse found the cave's glory. But do not deem its benefaction uniform; it gave indication to the stone and to the ruby." This means God's grace shines upon all, but this shining is not received uniformly—not in the quality of the emanation, but in the capacity of the recipient. Precisely as this couplet explains: the ruby, from the sun, acquires a profound treasure, while the stone, from the very same sun, gains only warmth and a superficial gleam.

This statement by Mowlana is consistent with the intellectual tradition of philosophers and mystics. Pre-Mulla Sadra philosophers believed that beings in the world differ because their mahiyyat (essences or quiddities) are different. Water has one essence, soil another. They asserted, "Al-dhātī lā yuʿallal" (the essential is not causally explicable); the essence of water is simply what it is, without further cause. However, the discourse ascends a step: why did God create different essences? Peripatetic philosophers posited that God grants existence to essences but does not create the essences themselves. Essences were seen as empty vessels in non-existence, which existence would then fill. In this sense, God's will does not penetrate the essences; for instance, God does not create a circle whose radii are unequal but merely bestows external reality upon the essence of a circle.

Mulla Sadra, however, with his philosophy of asālat al-wujūd (primacy of existence) and tashkīk al-wujūd (gradation of existence), presented this argument differently. He stated that existence has various degrees, rather than distinct essences residing in non-existence to which existence then attaches. Existence is graded, much like a sequence of numbers. Every being is a degree of existence; humans are one degree, angels another, horses another. All these beings share in "existence" but differ in their capacities (ẓarfiyat). One existence might be a one-liter capacity, another a ten-liter. Thus, one-liter vessels are filled with one liter of existence, and ten-liter ones with ten liters.

Mowlana, although his language sometimes leans towards the primacy of quiddity, his underlying spirit is more compatible with the primacy of existence. He refers to the truth that God extends His grace to all, but each being benefits from it according to its own essence or capacity. Just as it is stated in the Holy Quran: "Wa kulla(n) numiddu hā'ulā'i wa hā'ulā'i min ʿaṭāʾi Rabbika wa mā kāna ʿaṭāʾu Rabbika maḥẓūrā" (Surah Al-Isra), meaning, "And to each – these and those – We extend from the bounty of your Lord. And the bounty of your Lord is never restricted." Divine grace showers universally, but like rain falling on various containers, each vessel receives according to its capacity. Sunlight shines on green leaves, and because of their chlorophyll, they utilize it to create fruit and sugar; but the same light falls on soil, and the soil, as Mowlana says, receives only warmth and nothing more.

This is a crucial point: everything is what it is, yet some things are potential and some actual. Angels are actualized (bi-al-fiʿl) and have no further room for betterment, but natural beings, especially humans, are both actual and potential. Humans possess the capacity to ascend from the terrestrial to the celestial, from dust to the heavens, provided they utilize this immense potential. This is precisely the point beautifully articulated in the couplet, "For the ruby, from that [light] there is a treasure to be drawn (muqtabas) / For the stone, there is only warmth and mere shining, and nothing more"; the ruby attains a treasure from the sun's radiance that the stone is deprived of, because the ruby's capacity and readiness for "drawing forth" and transforming light into essence is greater than that of the stone.

Key takeaways

• Divine grace is universal, but its reception is proportionate to each being's intrinsic capacity.
• Every entity benefits from divine emanation, yet the quality and depth of this benefit vary.
• The ruby (a gem with special capacity) transmutes light into a profound treasure, while the stone (with less capacity) only receives superficial warmth and shine.
• This couplet illustrates Mowlana's perspective on the hierarchical nature of existence and the differential reception of divine bounty.
• Human beings, unlike other creatures, possess immense potential for transformation and deeper assimilation of divine grace.