M6:369 — جیم گوش و عین چشم و میم فم / چون بود بی‌کاتبی ای متهم

Translation: The Jīm of the ear, the ʿAyn of the eye, and the Mīm of the mouth— / How could they exist without a scribe, O accused one? Meaning: In this verse, Rumi uses the shapes of bodily organs, likening them to Arabic letters, to argue for the existence of an intelligent Creator, challenging those who deny such a designer.

This couplet is one of those instances where Mawlana, with a profound simplicity and spontaneity, appeals to the “argument from design.” Look, Mawlana here addresses the listener as “O accused one” (mutahamm), asking: How can these components of your being—this ear, which is like the letter jīm, this eye, resembling the letter ʿayn, and this mouth, likened to the letter mīm—have come into existence without a scribe? This is an intuitive and straightforward argument, akin to asserting that a written line cannot exist without a writer, nor a house without a builder.

Of course, as I have stated elsewhere, this argument from design has faced serious skepticism and criticism in contemporary philosophy, particularly since David Hume and later in the critiques of Richard Dawkins. However, Mawlana’s approach here is not a rigorous philosophical method but rather a mystical nudge. Prior to this, he had spoken of the “inner thief”; a thief nestled in the heart that prevents the sparks of insight from staying lit. How can a human being, oblivious to their true self, mistaking themselves for another, failing to purify themselves of inner strangers, perceive evident truths? When the thief is in the house, the flame of knowledge is constantly extinguished.

Thus, this simplicity and spontaneity in Mawlana’s argument actually means that if you expel that inner thief and cleanse the house of the soul, these self-evident truths (the order of the world and the necessity of a Creator for it) will be revealed to you. This issue, far from being an abstract philosophical debate, is intertwined with “self-knowledge” and “inner purification.” One who knows themselves and is freed from inner strangers will, by themselves, see the Creator in the mirror of creation, even in the jīm of the ear, the ʿayn of the eye, and the mīm of the mouth. This approach is more a guide to inner experience and discovery than a logical proof.

Key takeaways

• Bodily organs (ear, eye, mouth), likened to letters of creation, bear witness to the existence of a 'Scribe' or Creator.
• Mawlana's argument here is an intuitive and experiential proof for God's existence, not a complex philosophical one.
• Perceiving the order of the world requires self-knowledge and purifying the inner self from 'thieves' and internal obstacles.
• This insight serves as a prelude to understanding deeper existential truths, achievable only through inner experience.