M1:440 — چون کُنی بر بی‌حسد مکر و حسد / زان حسد دل را سیاهی‌ها رسد

Translation: Should you practice deceit and envy against one free of envy, From that very envy, darknesses will reach your heart. Meaning: This verse serves as a potent warning: nurturing envy and malice towards others, particularly the innocent, ultimately corrupts and darkens the heart of the envious person themselves, rather than truly harming the target.

In this verse, Rumi addresses one of the most fundamental moral vices: envy, directly linking it to the darkening of the heart. His statement is, first and foremost, a direct and unambiguous ethical teaching: envy brings nothing but gloom and ugliness to the soul of the envious person. This is what I refer to as Rumi's 'first-degree' perspective—a clear moral imperative for every human being to liberate themselves from this undesirable trait.

However, Rumi, like other mystics, possesses a perspective that transcends this ethical level, which I term the 'second-degree' view. From this elevated standpoint, we are no longer engaged in prescribing what ought to be, but rather in describing the world as it is, from a divine vantage point. Undeniably, envy, greed, and conflict are woven as inseparable pillars into the fabric of this world's existence. They are inextinguishable; one cannot expect the earthly realm to be entirely free of evil and imperfection.

I borrow this insight from Ghazali, who argued that God governs the world through the heedlessness of its inhabitants. If human eyes were entirely opened to the truth of the world, this realm would no longer be habitable, and its current order would collapse. Rumi himself articulates this subtly elsewhere: «پس ستون این جهان خود غفلت است / هوشیاری این جهان را آفت است» (So the pillar of this world is heedlessness itself; awareness is the bane of this world.) He further adds: «زان جهان اندک ترشح می‌رسد / تا نغرت زین جهان حرص و حسد چون ترشح بیشتر گردد ز غیب / نه هنر ماند در این عالم نه عیب» (From that world, a slight emanation comes, so that greed and envy do not disappear from this world. If more emanation comes from the unseen, neither virtue nor vice will remain in this world.)

This implies that from the unseen realm, only a limited amount of consciousness and light flows into this world, precisely so that greed and envy are not entirely eradicated. For if this emanation were greater, neither virtue nor vice would remain; the very structure of distinction and opposition in this world would dissolve. Indeed, God maintains the world through the 'greed and envy' of its people; these act as torches that keep the bath-house of the world warm. These torches will only be extinguished on the Day of Judgment, and until then, envy, like other vices, serves a dual purpose: sometimes it brings good, and sometimes evil.

It is for this reason that Hafez insightfully sings: «غمناک نباید بود از طعن حسود ای دل / شاید که چو وابینی خیر تو در این باشد» (Do not be sad, O heart, by the taunt of the envious; perhaps when you see it clearly, your good is in it.)

Thus, Rumi, in the first instance, teaches us through this verse not to bring ruin upon ourselves through envy. He himself emphasizes elsewhere that he has 'crushed envy' (khāk bar sar kardan) and calls upon us to follow such a path. This is the path of individual salvation. But in the second instance, he makes us understand that this vice, despite our desires, is part of the world's architecture and plays a role within existence, even if often malevolent. These two perspectives are not contradictory but complementary: one guides individual action, and the other offers a philosophical description of the universal order. Our duty is, in our individual realm, to crush envy and cast dust upon it, yet in our understanding of the world, not to be oblivious to its existence and its role.

Key takeaways

• Envy, more than harming others, darkens the heart of the envious person; this is a primary ethical teaching (first-degree view).
• Beyond moral advice, Rumi views envy as an inherent and indispensable part of the cosmic order (second-degree view).
• The world operates on 'heedlessness' (ghaflat) and the presence of vices like envy; complete awareness would alter the world's system.
• A limited emanation of awareness from the unseen realm prevents the complete eradication of greed and envy, maintaining the cycle of existence.
• Envy, despite its destructive nature, can—from a broader perspective of divine wisdom—serve a dual, even beneficial, function.
• Human duty is to personally shun envy, while intellectually accepting its presence and role within the larger universal scheme.