M1:106 — بی‌خبر بودند از حالِ درون / اَسْتَـعِـیــذُ الـلّهَ مِـمـّــا یَفْـتَـــرُون

Translation: They were unaware of the inner state. I seek refuge in God from what they fabricate.

Meaning: Ignorant physicians attributed a physical ailment to the handmaiden, while her suffering stemmed from love and spiritual matters; Rumi seeks refuge in God from such a misdiagnosis.

This verse marks a pivotal moment in the Masnavi, where Rumi explicitly underscores the profound difference between the nature of illness and its cure. It appears precisely in the midst of the story of the King and the Handmaiden, after the city's physicians, with their purely superficial gaze, have attempted physical treatments for the handmaiden, naturally without success. The Divine Physician, whom Rumi portrays as the embodiment of inner vision and gnosis, enters the scene and, upon merely observing the handmaiden, comprehends the core of the matter.

«They were unaware of the inner state» – this is the first diagnosis of this gnostic physician. The other doctors were ignorant of the handmaiden's ‘inner secret’ (rāz-e darūn) and did not know what transpired in her heart. They mistook her malady for a physical one and applied physical remedies. This verse teaches us that appearances do not always reflect the truth, and indeed, behind physical ailments, deeper, spiritual sufferings may lie hidden. This is Rumi's perpetual emphasis that ‘the soul is the origin, and the body is the branch.’ The handmaiden's illness was neither due to an excess of melancholic humor nor bile; it was an illness of the heart. She was afflicted by the heart, not by the body.

Then, with a powerful Arabic phrase, «I seek refuge in God from what they fabricate,» Rumi unveils his profound critique of this superficial perspective. Iftirā’ signifies fabricating a lie or inventing something from oneself; meaning, the previous physicians had offered a baseless and delusive diagnosis. Here, by uttering this Quranic verse, Rumi considers their lack of awareness of the ‘inner secret’ not merely an informational deficit, but a form of ‘fabrication’ and a construct born of ignorance that does injustice to the patient's true condition. This avoidance of iftirā’ and distancing oneself from fabricating truths, especially the existential truths of humanity, is a fundamental principle of Rumi's epistemology. He teaches us that one must begin with disillusionment, setting aside all mistaken and superficial understandings to achieve ‘spiritual medicine’ (tibb-e rūhānī) and genuine healing. This verse is, in essence, an invitation to ‘secret-knowing’ (rāz-shenāsī) and comprehending the hidden mysteries of existence, rather than settling for mere appearances.

Key takeaways

• Illnesses are not always physical; their spiritual and emotional roots must be understood.
• A superficial and external gaze, instead of healing, leads to 'fabrication' and falsehood about truth.
• The human 'inner state' holds hidden secrets discernible only through gnostic insight.
• Rumi's use of the Quranic phrase 'I seek refuge in God from what they fabricate' underscores his vehement objection to superficial ignorance.
• True healing is possible only through a deep understanding of the 'soul' and 'inner secret,' not merely through physical remedies.