M6:1648 — خود چه کم گشتی ز جود و رحمتش / گر نبودی خرخشه در نعمتش

Translation: What would have been diminished from His generosity and mercy, Had there been no admixture in His bounty? Meaning: The Sufi poses a profound question to God: what would have been lessened from His boundless generosity and mercy if He had created a world of pure light and joy, unmixed with suffering and imperfection?

This couplet, nestled within the Sufi's profound questioning of the Qadi, articulates a central, perennial inquiry that has ceaselessly occupied monotheistic thinkers and philosophers of religion from the dawn of theological thought to our present day, yet remains without a conclusive answer. Mowlana himself alludes to this unending dispute, stating: "Between the determinist and the free-will advocate / The war continues, O father, until resurrection." This is, in essence, Kant's 'problem of evil,' but voiced with a distinct tone and approach.

In the preceding verses, the Sufi asks, with both wonder and longing, what would have transpired had the world perpetually "opened the brow of mercy" and smiled? What if it had never brought forth bitterness, never mixed the "sting" with the "sweetness"? What if night had not stolen the lamp of day, nor winter seized the garden of joy? What if the cup of health had remained unbroken by the "stone of fever," and safety untainted by "fear" and "sorrow"?

Then, the inquiry reaches its pinnacle: "What would have been diminished from His generosity and mercy, / Had there been no admixture in His bounty?" The word khar-khashe here transcends its literal meaning of clamor or din, instead denoting "impurity and admixture." The Sufi is essentially asking if God, in the act of creation and bestowing His blessings, had refrained from blending them with any unhappiness, pain, or imperfection—if He had made the entire cosmos pure goodness—would this have in any way diminished His boundless generosity? Would His absolute mercy have suffered any flaw? What imperfection would have befallen the perfect divine attributes?

This is a question that delves into the deepest strata of the wisdom of creation and the attributes of the Divine. Mowlana, with his characteristic sagacity, does not immediately offer a straightforward philosophical response. Instead, for the "expediency of the moment" and to "gladden the hearts" of his audience, he embarks on the delightful tale of the "Turk and the Tailor." This narrative pause and shift in focus itself signals the profundity and complexity of the question; it suggests that there is no simple, singular answer, and Mowlana prefers to unveil this truth gradually within the intricate tapestry of stories and deeper insights throughout the Masnavi.

Key takeaways

• The verse raises the perennial "problem of evil" and the wisdom of creation.
• The Sufi questions why divine blessings are mixed with unpleasantness and imperfections.
• The term "khar-khashe" here signifies impurity or admixture in bounty.
• The inquirer refers to God's boundless attributes of generosity (jūd) and mercy (raḥmat).
• Mowlana, acknowledging the question's complexity, shifts to a story rather than providing a direct answer.