M6:1200 — آب دارد صد کرم صد احتشام / که پلیدان را پذیرد والسلام

Translation: Water possesses a hundred graces, a hundred majesties, That it accepts the impure — and that is all. Meaning: Mowlana states that water, in its boundless nobility and grandeur, embraces even the defiled and impure, for its very essence is to receive and cleanse.

This beyt emerges within the narrative of Helal's transformation from dog-like abjection to lion-like majesty, attributed to spiritual attention and divine grace. Mowlana speaks through Helal, describing the zenith of this metamorphosis as a liberation from chūnī (form and quality) and an arrival at bī-chūnī (formlessness and infinity). This experience of formlessness is so profound and boundless that Helal—that is, Mowlana himself—perceives himself as immersed in a realm of pure, infinite life.

However, at the peak of this ecstatic expression, Mowlana encounters a sudden halt, expressed by the admonition: "In janābat tan zan, īn sūra makhavān" (In ritual impurity, do not recite this surah). This literary self-censorship stems from his self-perception as junub (one in a state of ritual impurity) attempting to articulate pure and luminous truths. It is here that Mowlana responds to this rebuke with an unparalleled logic, offering his justification. He concedes, "Yes, I am defiled, I am impure." Yet, he poses the crucial question: If the waters (symbolizing divine grace and the path to purity) were to reject such impure individuals, what hope would remain?

"Woe upon the yearning ones and their hopes," Mowlana emphasizes, "and alas for their eternal regret!" It is a cycle of despair if the only means of purification rejects those who need it most. How can one become pure if purity is a prerequisite for approaching the source of cleansing? This is a vicious circle. Water, with its "hundred graces and a hundred majesties," is by nature meant to accept the impure. Indeed, this is its fundamental function and role. If water were not to accept the impure, who or what would cleanse them? Outside the basin of water, there is only dust; and whoever does not enter the basin will not be cleansed. This clarifies the liberating role of water and its boundless grace.

Elsewhere, Mowlana articulates this theme with supreme tenderness, recounting how water tells the impure person, "Come, I shall wash away even your shame." This reveals that not only sins and defilements, but even the very shame of sin, can be washed away in the embrace of divine grace. These verses are replete with hope and glad tidings. Mowlana teaches us that regardless of any perceived fault or imperfection that we believe has distanced us from the Divine Threshold, the water of divine mercy is always ready to accept. The Mathnawi, despite its sometimes melancholic outward appearance, is at its core a book of hope that responds to all human crookedness, deficiencies, and errors with: "It is not so!" This water exists to receive the impure, and if the impure do not approach it, it has failed in its very purpose. This invitation to grace and return to the origin is one of Mowlana's foundational intellectual tenets.

Key takeaways

• Water symbolizes boundless divine grace and mercy.
• Water's function and nobility lie in accepting the impure for their purification.
• Mowlana's message of hope: Divine mercy never rejects the impure.
• To achieve purity, one must approach the source of purity, rather than being pure beforehand.
• This verse critiques a pessimistic view of divine grace.
• The Mathnawi is a book of hope, inviting all to return to their Origin.