M6:3736 — این صور دارد ز بی‌صورت وجود / چیست پس بر موجد خویشش جحود

Translation: These forms possess their being from the Formless; What then is their denial (juḥūd) of their own Creator (mūjid)? Meaning:* This verse poses a fundamental question: how do material and manifest phenomena derive their existence from an invisible, formless reality (God or the ultimate principle of being), yet subsequently deny their very source?

Here, Rumi touches upon one of the deepest insights of the Masnavi: the relationship between 'form' (ṣūrat) and 'the Formless' (bi-ṣūrat). This couplet is, unequivocally, a scathing critique of naturalists, materialists, and anyone who confines existence solely to its physical, perceptible forms, oblivious to its Formless origin. This misguided perspective, to my mind, constitutes a kind of modern 'idolatry' (bet-parastī), where humans worship a single manifestation of existence, forgetting that countless other possible worlds could have been created.

I have long maintained that the world of forms originates from the Formless. Forms are servants of the Formless in two senses: firstly, they are created by and emerge from it; secondly, they serve as a prelude and means to reach it. In essence, form arises from the Formless and eventually returns to it, echoing the Quranic dictum, "To God we belong, and to Him is our return." A human thought, which is formless, gives rise to tangible actions; the visible act of wine-drinking leads to the formless state of ecstasy; the visible bread and salt impart formless strength; the visible sword and shield bring forth formless victory; and the visible school and books culminate in formless knowledge. These examples illustrate how forms are instrumental to the Formless.

This is why Rumi asks, how can these forms, so dependent and indebted to the Formless, deny their 'Benefactor' (ṣāḥib-i niʿmat)? To deny the existence of the Formless origin is, indeed, an act of 'denial' (juḥūd) against one's own Creator (mūjid). The Formless Being, that Hegelian 'Absolute Spirit' as I would call it, assumes various 'forms.' This observable nature is merely one possible manifestation among infinite forms, a single garment worn by absolute existence.

A subtler point Rumi makes is that even the act of denying the Formless itself emanates from that very Formless. It is as if, "There is no escape from Your dominion." Believers are intoxicated by their affirmation of Him, while deniers are consumed by their rejection. All these roles are played out by the Divine, and both belief and disbelief are "weavings of the Divine Presence, and His alone." This underscores the absolute encompassment of the Formless Agent, asserting that nothing exists outside the sphere of His will and creation.

As Rumi says, "This world is a thought from the Universal Intellect." The world is like a building shaped by the architect's thought. In the architect's mind, there are no bricks, stones, or wood, only thought. This thought then materializes externally. The Absolute Agent is Formless, and forms are merely tools in His hand. This world is a form God has assumed, a mask He has placed over His Formless Self, and we perceive Him through these forms.

We are compelled in this world to perceive the Formless within forms. We lack the right, and indeed the power, to strip away these forms and perceive the Formless independently, especially when we consider the Ultimate Principle, which dwells in a state of "no name and no trace." We are like fish in the ocean of the Formless, oblivious to our own water. We must not become 'intoxicated' by these 'cups of forms' and descend into 'idolatry,' but rather discern the Formless source beyond these superficial manifestations.

Key takeaways

• All material forms originate from the Divine Formless realm.
• The denial (juḥūd) of the Formless origin (God) by forms is an act of ingratitude.
• Materialism and naturalism represent the worship of a single 'form,' leading to oblivion of the Formless.
• Even the act of denial itself falls within the absolute embrace of the Formless.
• The cosmos is the external manifestation of the Divine thought and Universal Intellect.
• Humanity is compelled to perceive the Formless within forms but must not mistake the manifestation for the essence.