M6:2251 — بهر این گفت آن خداوند فرج / حدثوا عن بحرنا اذ لا حرج

Translation: For this, said that Lord of Relief (faraj): 'Speak (haddithū) of Our sea, for there is no constraint (haraj).'

Meaning: This verse quotes a divine or prophetic saying, inviting humanity to speak freely and without inhibition about the divine sea of knowledge and truth.

This verse appears amidst Rumi's profound contemplations on predestination and the unequal distribution of divine blessings, a point where he seems to shy away from delving too deeply into these thorny issues, lest he dampen the spirit of hope and action in his audience. Yet, immediately after, he speaks of the 'soul's fire' that burns imagination and concepts, leading to unity. Precisely at this juncture of transition, this verse shines forth—an invitation to openness and liberation.

I interpret this verse as a divine utterance from the 'Lord of Faraj,' meaning the Lord of relief, deliverance, and opening. It's as if God seeks to free Rumi from the constraint of his 'I will shorten it' (کوته کنم). This 'Lord of Faraj' tells Rumi, and every seeker: 'Speak of Our sea, for there is no constraint, no difficulty, no prohibition in it.' This is not merely permission, but an encouragement—an urging to speak fearlessly of the boundless spiritual truths, even if these truths sometimes appear harsh or difficult. The verse, as if from the mouth of God, assures Rumi that the sea of divine knowledge is so vast and limitless that one can speak of it and reveal it to others without fear of limitations.

This 'sea' is the very spiritual sea that recurs throughout Rumi's work. Rumi himself was sea-like, a swimmer in the ocean of divine knowledge. The Masnavi is also an 'island in the spiritual sea,' not the sea itself, but an anchorage for understanding it. The phrase 'haddithū ʿan baḥrinā' (speak of Our sea) implies an invitation to 'tell' of this sea, but not a telling restricted to the dry frameworks of shari'a or even philosophy. This statement seems to be an affirmation of the immediacy of intuition and the boundless nature of mystical expression.

The significance of this verse is magnified within the overall context of the Masnavi: Rumi repeatedly emphasizes 'silence' (khāmoshī); however, 'silence' here does not mean not speaking, but rather liberation from speech that generates multiplicity, and a return to that 'unity' which burns even 'imagination.' 'Haddithū ʿan baḥrinā' tells us to speak of 'unity,' to speak of 'divine oneness' (tawḥīd), but not with the conceptualizing language of the intellect, but with the language of allusion and direct apprehension (ru'yat). 'Knowledge was a point; the ignorant created multiplicities' (العلم نقطة كثرها الجاهلون); this verse is an invitation to return to that point of unity, and to speak of it with a liberated and unconstrained tongue, just like the sea itself.

Key takeaways

• The 'Lord of Relief' (Faraj) invites us to speak fearlessly of the 'Divine Sea,' unafraid of any constraints.
• This 'Sea' symbolizes Rumi himself, intuitive knowledge, and boundless mystical expression.
• The unconstrained nature of speaking truth affirms liberation from rigid conceptual and linguistic frameworks.
• This verse serves as a bridge, moving from the avoidance of multiplicity-generating discourse to the fire of unity and direct vision.
• Rumi liberates himself from the narrowness of 'I will shorten it' to embrace the vastness of 'Speak of Our sea.'