M2:1936 — محض مهر و داوری و رحمتند / همچو حق بی علت و بی رشوتند

This couplet concludes a short, powerful description of the spiritual heroes Rumi calls shīr-mardān ('lion-men'). The passage begins with one such man rescuing a bear from a dragon. Rumi uses this specific act of selfless courage to define the general nature of all saints and prophets.

They are, he says, "sheer love, justice, and compassion." Their helping nature isn't a strategy or a transaction; it's their essence. Rumi then makes a bold theological comparison: their action is "like God's" (hamchū Ḥaqq). This likeness is defined by two key negatives: they act bī ʿillat (without external cause or motive) and bī rishwat (without a bribe or seeking reward).

This is a core concept in Sufi ethics. Divine grace and the actions of God's true servants are not conditional. They do not help you because you are worthy or so that they can gain something. Their mercy flows from them as an essential attribute, just as water flows downhill to the lowest place, as the following verses explain. Their compassion is its own reason and its own reward.