M6:2269 — لیک من اینک بریشان می‌تنم / قایل این سامع این هم منم

Translation: But I, now, weave myself in perplexity; The speaker of this, and its listener, am I myself.

Meaning: Mowlana, at the threshold of revealing deep mystical secrets, offers this verse as a defense, presenting himself as engaged in an internal dialogue where he is both the speaker and the listener, thereby absolving himself from the charge of disclosing hidden truths to others.

Mowlana, having delved into the profound truth of existential unity—that "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but God) in its mystical sense means "there is nothing but God"—finds himself treading on what he recognizes as forbidden ground. He has just evoked a symbolic warning from his spiritual guide (the "Beloved," Hosamoddin, or Shams), who figuratively pulls his ear, admonishing him to "wash your mouth of these things" and "do not reveal what we have hidden from others." Yet, immediately following this injunction, Mowlana offers this very verse as an ingenious excuse and justification.

I personally favor the reading of "parišān" over "barišān"; thus, "parišān mī-tanam" means I weave myself in perplexity or I circle around my own state of distraction. While "tanidan" can also imply silence, here it more strongly suggests enveloping oneself in one's own thoughts or being absorbed in one's own condition. It is as if Mowlana is declaring, "I am not concerned with others; I am lost in my own state. I am not worried about your not hearing me, because you are not my intended audience."

The crucial declaration here is "Qā'il-i īn, sāmi'-i īn ham man-am" (The speaker of this, and its listener, am I myself). Through this assertion, Mowlana exonerates himself from any charge of revealing secrets to others. He is stating that he is both the one uttering these profound truths and the one receiving them. In this sense, it is an entirely internal discourse, and no secret is being divulged to external ears. This unparalleled literary and mystical stratagem allows Mowlana to articulate deep and sometimes dangerous truths without being accused of disclosing esoteric knowledge. With this defense, he absolves himself from the potential censure of his "guide of growth" (the Beloved, Hosamoddin, or Shams), thereby demonstrating his acute awareness of the sensitive nature of these mystical insights.

Key takeaways

• Mowlana, through this verse, identifies himself as both the speaker and the listener of divine secrets.
• This verse serves as Mowlana's ingenious justification for articulating truths usually guarded by mystics.
• By framing his discourse as an internal dialogue, he deflects potential criticism for revealing esoteric knowledge.
• It demonstrates Mowlana's profound awareness of the 'forbidden zones' in mystical thought and his linguistic mastery in navigating them.