M6:3277 — وارثی نا بوده یک خوی ترا / ای فلک سجده کنان کوی ترا

Translation: No heir has ever possessed even one of your traits, O heaven, prostrating at your abode. Meaning: Addressing God, Mowlana asserts that no being has inherited even a trace of His unparalleled and life-giving attributes. His grandeur is such that even the heavens prostrate themselves before His threshold, acknowledging His unique majesty.

Here, we witness Mowlana's gaze ascending to the apex of divinity. This couplet marks the culmination of his comparison between earthly generosities and divine benevolence. Prior to this, Mowlana had spoken of Hatem Ta'i and human munificence, which ultimately amounts to giving 'dead to dead' – inanimate gold and silver to mortal, perishable humans. But the address in this beyt shifts abruptly; from the deceased trustee, it turns towards God Almighty, the one who 'gives life with every breath.'

Mowlana here articulates the incomparability of divine attributes with absolute certainty. When he states, 'No heir has ever possessed even one of your traits,' it signifies that no one, at any time, has inherited even a single one of Your boundless characteristics. Your generosity is such that none can ever truly emulate it. All human acts of giving, even the unparalleled generosity of Hatem Ta'i, pale in comparison to Your grace and life-giving boon. That giving is 'counted walnuts'; but You bestow 'cash gold, uncorruptible and countless,' and most importantly, You bestow life.

The second part of the beyt, 'O heaven, prostrating at your abode,' portrays divine grandeur and majesty on a cosmic scale. 'Falak,' meaning the celestial spheres and heavens, with all their vastness and awe, bow in prostration before the divine threshold. This imagery clarifies for us that if these cosmic majesties humbly submit and revere Him, then what is the place of man in this scheme? This in itself is an acknowledgment of God's absolute uniqueness and supremacy in all realms of existence. This prostration of the cosmos is not out of fear, but out of recognition and affirmation of the Creator's unparalleled station.

It is important to note that Mowlana, as I have often stated, is generally not concerned with rhetorical embellishments and beautifying language in the sense of a Hafez. However, here, these well-considered and precise expressions indicate that his mind was engaged with these meanings, shaping them into an eloquent and artistic poetic form. This beyt testifies to Mowlana's penetrating insight in distinguishing between absolute divine benevolence and the limitations of human generosity, revealing where the true source of life and boundlessness lies.

Key takeaways

• Divine generosity is unparalleled and uninherited; no being can ever rival it.
• God is the source of true life, whereas human generosity is ultimately 'dead giving to dead.'
• Divine grandeur is so immense that even the heavens prostrate before it.
• Mowlana explicitly shifts his address from a mortal being to the transcendent Creator in this beyt.