M6:2844 — نقب‌زن زد نقب در مخزن رسید / هر یکی از مخزن اسبابی کشید

Translation: The tunnel-digger breached the treasury, Each one pulled out items from the vault. Meaning: This verse literally depicts thieves breaking into a treasury and taking valuables. Allegorically, it illustrates human heedlessness as individuals extract resources from the world, unaware of the divine presence within and around their actions.

This verse marks the beginning of a narrative in which Mawlana, on the surface, recounts a tale of thieves plundering a treasury. Yet, it serves as a profound allegory for humanity's relationship with the Divine. The thieves, tunnelling into a vault in the darkness of night and each taking according to their capacity, symbolize us, human beings, who in the 'night of heedlessness' within the material world, delve into the 'treasury' of existence and benefit from it. This 'treasury' should be understood as the boundless Divine storehouse, the source from which all beings, all knowledge, and everything in the universe emanates.

Observe, the crucial point here is that, ostensibly, the thieves are engaged in stealthy plunder, unbeknownst to the treasury's owner. However, Mawlana later clarifies in this very narrative that the 'King'—who here symbolizes the Truth (al-Haqq) and the realized mystic (ʿarif)—was present among them from the outset, witnessing their every action. This act of 'tunnelling' (naqab zadan) and 'drawing forth items' (asbab kashidan), irrespective of its moral dimension, is an image of human interaction with the world. We are constantly taking and acquiring from this world; from the breath of life to the talents and opportunities that appear to be ours. But we are heedless that all these originate from the treasury of Another, and He is present in every moment of our taking.

Just as the Qur'an states, 'And He is with you wherever you are,' Mawlana also notes, 'The King precisely saw their dwelling-place.' This means the King fully knew the thieves' hiding spots and all they had taken. This is a mystical paradox: we imagine ourselves hidden and Him absent, while He is 'closer to us than our jugular vein.' The mystery lies in our distance, not God's absence. This 'tunnelling' and acquiring of 'items' is, in truth, an aid from the very King who is among them. Even the very capacity to dig a tunnel and draw from the treasury is a bounty from Him. The true mystic (ʿarif) is that 'thief' who ultimately recognizes this hidden presence, and it is from this 'separation'—which is the product of heedlessness, not the absence of the Divine—that both men and women have wailed in the reed's cry.

Key takeaways

• The 'treasury' (makhzan) symbolizes the boundless Divine storehouse, the source of all existence.
• The 'thieves' and 'tunnel-digger' represent humanity, drawing from this Divine treasury in the heedlessness of the material world.
• The King (representing God/the realized mystic) is ever-present in all human actions, truly witnessing every deed: 'And He is with you wherever you are.'
• Even the capacity to extract and benefit from the world is a bounty from that hidden Divine presence.
• This anecdote illustrates the mystical paradox of the continuous Divine presence amidst human heedlessness.