M6:2235 — آتشی دیدی که سوزد هر نهال / آتش جان بین کزو سوزد خیال

Translation: You have seen a fire that burns every sapling; now behold the fire of the soul, for it burns even imagination (khial/concepts). Meaning: This verse asserts that there is a spiritual fire, superior to material flames, that consumes not just physical forms but also human thoughts, concepts, and mental constructs.

This couplet emerges directly after a moment of self-correction by Mowlana. He had been delving into the profound and potentially disheartening topic of divine predestination—the 'dry branch and wet branch' metaphor for varied human destinies—but then pulls back. He senses that such discourse might dampen the listeners' spiritual zeal, leading to fatalistic resignation rather than effort. So, he decides to return to the more narrative story of 'The Beggar and the Treasure.' Yet, even as he pivots, a flame ignites from within his own being, giving rise to this very verse—the 'fire of the soul' he speaks of.

Mowlana asserts that we have witnessed ordinary fires, those that consume saplings and trees. This is an external fire, one that obliterates physical forms. But, he says, I will tell you of a different kind of fire: the 'fire of the soul' (ātash-i jān) capable of burning khial. Here, khial is not merely 'imagination' or 'fancy' but encompasses all conceptual frameworks and cognitive perceptions of the mind. This fire abolishes the mind's creations, which inherently lead to multiplicity.

I identify this as the 'fire of Tawhid' (divine unity). When the fire of unity blazes within the soul, it permits no multiplicity to remain. Our minds are, by nature, creators of multiplicity. We see a 'table,' but our minds immediately render it into dozens of concepts: body, dimensions, length, width, weight, mass. We hear 'God,' yet our minds dissect Him into attributes such as Rahim (Merciful), Wadud (Loving), Ghafur (Forgiving), and Jabbar (Compeller). We 'know ourselves,' but this self-knowledge is also framed through multiplicities: I am Iranian, my weight is this, my education is that. Our minds, often unconsciously, fragment everything into parts and concepts to make it comprehensible.

Mowlana declares that this fire of Tawhid burns not only khial (mental images) but also haqiqat (true concepts and our perceptions of objects). This means both—our correct understandings and our mistaken notions—are equally vulnerable to this fire, shattering and vanishing. In essence, this fire purifies all sciences and conceptual templates, for ultimately, all these sciences and concepts are forms of multiplicity. It echoes the saying attributed to Imam Ali (peace be upon him): “Knowledge was a single point, but the ignorant multiplied it.” Our intellect is predisposed to multiplicity, finding itself incapable of grasping pure unity.

This fire is the adversary of every 'lion' and every 'fox.' That is, it annihilates all distinctions and multiplicities, whether strong or weak. The climax of this expression is Mowlana's citation of the Quranic verse: "Kullu shayin hālikun illā wajhah" (Everything is perishing except His Face/Essence). This verse does not imply 'everything will perish' but rather 'everything is perishing now.' It means every existent being, in its very existence, is perpetually dependent and suspended on the 'Wajh' (Face or Essence) of God. Insofar as it faces Him, it exists; if it does not face Him, it ceases to be. This is a subtle expression of the inherent transience of created beings before the absolute permanence of the Divine.

Furthermore, God's 'Wajh' does not signify a part of God. As narrated in a story involving Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and a Jewish man who asked about God's face, just as the 'face' of fire is all of it, so too is God's 'Face' all of Him. He has no 'back.' Thus, Mowlana also says of love: "Does love itself have a back? / It is face from head to toe." This fire of the soul, the fire of Tawhid, when ablaze, burns away all multiplicities and establishes a true resurrection within the human being. The world of mental conceptualizations is utterly transformed, and everything but the 'Wajh' of Truth perishes. Mowlana beautifully illustrates this 'engulfment' and effacement within unity through the example of the 'alif' in 'Bismillah' which is dropped and hidden within 'Bism'.

Key takeaways

• Mowlana's "fire of the soul" transcends material flames, consuming even imagination (khial) and mental concepts.
• This fire is the 'fire of Tawhid' (divine unity) that dismantles the mind's tendency to create multiplicity, leading to pure unity.
• Both 'imagination' (khial) and 'truth' (haqiqat)—concepts and true understandings—are equally subject to this fire and perish within it; all sciences and conceptual frameworks vanish at this stage.
• The beyt echoes the Quranic principle: "Kullu shayin hālikun illā wajhah" (Everything is perishing except His Face/Essence)—all things are inherently transient, with only the Divine Essence enduring.
• The inherent transience of beings signifies a constant connection and reliance on God's 'Wajh,' not absolute annihilation.
• The absence of 'alif' in 'Bismillah' symbolizes the effacement and concealment of multiplicity within unity.