M6:2208 — گر بخواهد عین کشتی را به خو / او کند طوفان تو ای نورجو

Translation: If He wills that the very ship, by its own essence, / He makes it a storm for you, O seeker of light. Meaning: This verse asserts God's absolute power to transform an object of safety, like a ship, into a raging storm for the spiritual seeker, highlighting His boundless capacity for fundamental transformation.

I believe this verse, like many others in the Masnavi, opens a window onto the enigma of existence and the relationship between the transcendent and the natural. Rumi begins by stating that God "made the body a manifestation of every soul." This is a precise and profound expression that should not be overlooked. The soul, contrary to popular belief, does not inhabit the body as one physical object resides within another. No, the soul is not in the body; rather, the body is a canvas, a mirror, a manifestation for the soul. The body signifies the soul, and the soul is reflected and revealed within this body. Ideas that the soul sits within the body or is attached to it by a string are mere popular illusions and fantasies. The truth is that the soul has a specific relationship, an ‘allaqa (connection), with the body, which draws the body along and makes it its locus of manifestation. A living body indicates the presence of life, a soul, and a profound connection between this body and the soul.

The discovery and elucidation of this relationship have been among the great difficulties for philosophers and mystics throughout history. Attar so beautifully says: "The body became soul, the soul descended into the body / No one can devise a more wondrous talisman." This is a wondrous talisman that God has forged a bond and friendship between two seemingly disparate entities. This echoes Ibn Sina's discourse and Rumi's own metaphor of the parrot in a cage; but we must be vigilant that these are examples for intellectual approximation, not to mislead us. The essence is that the body is a manifestation of the soul. The soul does not appear in stone or walls, but in the body, it is revealed, bestowing life, beauty, and capability upon it. As Rumi says elsewhere: "The body boasts of its beauty and grace / The soul has hidden its glory and wings / O you dung-heap, what are you? / For a day or two, you lived by my light." The body lives for a day or two by the soul's light, and if that light departs, so does its dignity.

Now, with this same logic, Rumi alludes to God's boundless power: "He who made Noah's ark his Buraq / If He wills that the very ship, by its own essence, / He makes it a storm for you, O seeker of light." The God who made the body a manifestation of the soul and established this mysterious connection is the same God who can transform Noah's ark into his Buraq. The Buraq is the celestial steed that carried the Prophet of Islam to the heavens on his Mi'raj night. Rumi implicitly suggests here that Noah's journey in the ark was a form of Mi'raj, a spiritual ascent for him. Just as our Prophet undertook a spiritual journey on the Buraq, Noah too experienced a spiritual Mi'raj in his ark, not just a material voyage on water.

And this is the very power that can make "the very ship, by its own essence, a storm for you." Meaning, if God so wills, that very object which is a symbol of salvation and tranquility—the ship itself—becomes a storm for you. This address is to the nurju, the seeker of light and truth. This transformation is not for punishment but for instruction and trial. For one who seeks light, even apparent security can turn into a challenge and a storm, so that they may grasp the depth of divine power and the mysteries of existence. This resonates with the concept of mahw mībāyad na nahw (effacement is needed, not grammar); it is not by logic and grammar, but by effacing oneself in His power that truths are unveiled. This insight, undoubtedly, underscores Rumi's emphasis on God's absolute and unimaginable power, which can break any form and bestow another, even if that form is the very ship of salvation.

Key takeaways

• The soul's relationship with the body is not one of inhabitation; rather, the body is a manifestation and locus of revelation for the soul.
• Transcendental beings do not reside within nature, but have a mysterious, non-physical relation to it.
• This verse emphasizes God's absolute power, capable of transforming the most secure phenomenon (a ship) into a raging storm.
• Noah's journey in the ark, according to Rumi, was not merely a physical voyage but a spiritual Mi'raj, akin to the Prophet's ascension on the Buraq.
• The transformation of phenomena, even from safety to peril, serves as a divine lesson and test for the 'seeker of light' to grasp the depth of divine power.