M1:2473 — پیش چوگانهای حکم کن فکان / می‌دویم اندر مکان و لامکان

Translation: Before the polo-mallets of the command 'Be! and it is!' We run in space and spacelessness.

Meaning: This verse illustrates the absolute dominance of God's will, which, like a polo player, drives humanity through both the material and immaterial realms. For the mystic, this divine command is not merely a belief but a deeply felt experience.

This verse is, without doubt, one of Rumi's most eloquent and profound expressions of the ʿārif's (mystic's) state, wherein the seeker experiences himself as utterly within the grasp of divine power. Rumi, just before this beyt, employed the simile of a pen in the writer's hand to illustrate how the mystic perceives himself as a mere instrument, subject to the 'turning hand of the Lord' (taqlīb-i rabb) that guides him in every direction. This beyt continues that very same intellectual current, albeit with a different, perhaps more dynamic, image.

I strongly believe these verses are not merely a philosophical theory but the description of a deep existential experience. The ʿārif, in that particular state, finds himself before the 'polo-mallets of the command kun fa-yakūn'. This kun fa-yakūn is a direct reference to the Quranic phrase 'Be! and it is!'—signifying God's eternal command, by which whatever He wills instantly comes into being. These mallets symbolize the absolute, unmediated divine will that, with every strike, brings forth a new creation and sets the world in motion.

We 'run' before these mallets. This running is not by our own choosing, but out of sheer passivity and absolute surrender, like a polo ball obedient to the player's strikes. Crucially, this running occurs 'in space and spacelessness' (andar makān-u lā-makān). This phrase indicates that the dominion of divine will is not confined to the sensory and material world. Whether we are in a corporeal, physical space (makān) or in a state beyond physical and spiritual dimensions (lā-makān, such as in dreams or mystical unveilings), this will holds sway over us. This all-encompassing nature elevates the mystic's experience beyond ordinary human comprehension. As Rumi says elsewhere, in this condition, one is like 'a straw in the face of a strong wind' or 'lovers fallen into a swift flood,' seeing oneself entirely in the grip of a vast, irresistible force.

The key point here is that for the ʿārif, these 'invisible hands' that guide the pen or strike the mallet are entirely visible and felt. Unlike the ordinary person who thinks the pen writes itself or the ball rolls on its own, the mystic clearly sees and feels the guiding hand. This perspective transforms the world from an independent, self-governing place into a stage for the absolute divine will; much like the realm of dreams where what transpires is beyond our control, and another hand orchestrates the scenes. For the mystic, this state is not the shackles of fatalism (jabr) but the ultimate freedom and the very essence of union, for he is intertwined with Absolute Being, liberated from the bondage of 'selfhood' and 'independent perception'.

Key takeaways

• All beings, like polo balls, are subject to the absolute Divine Will.
• This command of 'Be! and it is!' operates in both the physical (makān) and spiritual (lā-makān) realms.
• For the mystic, this passivity is not a philosophical theory but a profound, felt experience.
• The world, from the ʿārif's perspective, is the stage for Divine 'invisible hands'; he clearly perceives them.
• This complete surrender is itself liberation from the bondage of 'selfhood' and an arrival at Absolute Being.