M1:2685 — حق آن کف، حق آن دریای صاف / کامتحانی نیست این گفت و نه لاف

This couplet is spoken by God to His servant, assuring him that the divine command to express all thoughts and doubts freely is utterly genuine. The imagery of 'foam' (کف) and 'pure sea' (دریای صاف) is crucial here. In Rumi's cosmology, foam represents the transient, manifest world and its phenomena, while the pure sea symbolizes the eternal, unmanifest Divine essence. By swearing by both, God emphasizes the totality of His being and the absolute truth of His word. He is not testing the servant's faith or trying to catch him in a lie; rather, He is inviting a childlike intimacy, where all thoughts, even those deemed 'unworthy,' can be shared without fear. This assurance is a cornerstone of Rumi's teaching on divine mercy and the nature of sincere prayer, where the heart's true state, however flawed, is valued over polished words or feigned piety.