M6:3789 — سوی او نه مرد ره دارد نه زن / شاه پنهان کرد او را از فتن

Translation: No man nor woman finds a path to her; the King has hidden her from all afflictions. Meaning: No one, by their own efforts or conventional paths, can reach this hidden beloved, for the Divine Essence has veiled her from the gaze of strangers and the world's temptations.

I have always emphasized that in spiritual journeys, maftūniyat (captivation) is the primary condition. Contrary to what theologians believe, this path does not begin with argumentation and logical proofs. Faith is of the essence of love, not of rationality and calculation. This book of love captures your heart and kindles a spark in your soul; this is what Mowlana accomplishes, and no philosopher can achieve it.

This verse is part of a story Mowlana recounts in the Masnavi, depicting the exquisite beauty of the Chinese king's daughter. The King has hidden his daughter from fitan (temptations, strifes, afflictions). Who is this "King"? Who is this "King's daughter," whose beauty rivals the Pleiades and who is hidden like the soul or a fetus? Undoubtedly, Mowlana here presents an allegory for the divine essence and absolute truth, or the "True Beloved," who is concealed from the sight of the unworthy and the temptations of this world.

The fact that neither man nor woman finds a path to her does not mean she is inaccessible; rather, it indicates that ordinary human efforts and rational contrivances are ineffective in reaching her. This stems from the "jealousy of the King" over the Beloved's name, not wishing it to be uttered by anyone, just as Majnun refrained from speaking Layla's name, and Jews do not pronounce "Yahweh." This truth is so sacred and singular that it should not become a "coin" spent everywhere.

Further in these verses, Mowlana speaks of sowdā, which here carries two key meanings: one, the illness of melancholy, and the other, a commercial transaction. Love, in the view of ancient scholars, was considered a type of mental illness, as Avicenna himself classifies love among diseases in his Canon. However, this sowdā of love is an illness that ordinary physicians cannot cure. The second meaning of sowdā, as a transaction or commerce, also warns us that this path is a perilous and ruinous deal for those who rely on their own intellect. Mowlana explicitly states: "This is the recompense of one who sowed the seed of ignorance / And held counsel as worthless and trivial / Trusting in his own judgment / That he could manage his affairs with intellect ahead."

Here, the concept of "dying" (murdan) in Sufism reveals itself. "Dying" means abandoning self-reliance, intellect, and the cunning of the ego. As Mowlana states in the story of the grammarian and the boatman, "Effacement is needed, not grammar, know this here." All our rational knowledge and cunning are useless in the whirlpool of affliction; one must learn "swimming," which is "effacement"—the annihilation of selfhood and reliance on flawed intellect. This "dying" is neither suicide nor irrationality, but the slaying of the self-conceited intellect and self-centered contrivance, so that the way for divine grace may be opened. This "speaking less" and "considering oneself as naught" is the key to entering the realm of love and true gnosis, a realm for which no path other than "selflessness" is conceivable.

Key takeaways

• Spiritual journey begins with captivation (maftūniyat) and heart-capture, not with rational arguments.
• The True Beloved is hidden, and conventional human efforts cannot find a path to reach Him/Her.
• The "King's jealousy" over the Beloved's name symbolizes the sanctity and uniqueness of divine truth, which must not be trivialized.
• Love, in Mowlana's view, is a sowdā (melancholy/risky transaction), yet salvation from it lies in surrender and selflessness.
• "Dying" in Sufism means abandoning the self-conceited intellect and self-centered schemes to open the path for divine grace.
• Grammar (naḥw, symbolizing intellect) is useless in the ocean of existence; maḥw (effacement) and the annihilation of selfhood are the only ways to salvation.