M6:3302 — چون همی‌گنجد جهانی زیر طین / چون بگنجد آسمانی در زمین

Translation: How can a world be contained beneath mere clay, / When you, a heaven, could not be contained by earth?Meaning: This verse marvels at the paradox of a saintly man's death, whose spirit was as vast as a world and a heaven, questioning how such an uncontainable essence could ever be confined to the smallness of the grave.

This verse, seemingly a lament from the debtor mourning the muḥtasib at his grave, is in fact a profound allusion to the exalted station of God's saints (awliyāʾ Allāh). Mowlana here speaks not merely of an individual, but of a wali, as if Shams-e Tabrizi himself has appeared before him. He declares, 'God forbid! You were never of this nature; your essence and substance were beyond space and time.' This implies that the great muḥtasib, even during his earthly life, was never truly contained by 'clay' (tin) and 'earth.' His feet were on the ground, but his head was in the heavens. This state of 'dual life,' or more precisely, a 'singular life with an earthly shadow,' is the hallmark of divine saints.

I connect this to the words of Imam Ali, Amir al-Mu'minin, in his invaluable conversation with Kumayl, where he states: 'Their souls are suspended in the highest assembly (arwāḥuhum mu'allaqah bil-malāʾ al-aʿlā),' even while their bodies are on earth. The physical form of these great beings is merely a vessel for their boundless spirit, not its limiter. This verse asserts that the 'world' beneath the clay and the 'heaven' within the earth refer to the vastness of this saint's spiritual and mystical being; as if he encompassed an entire world and heaven within himself. This 'world' and 'heaven' symbolize his expansive awareness, profound gnosis, and elevated station in the realm of meaning.

Even after death, this thin veil of the body is removed, and that luminous spirit fully reunites with its original sun, becoming entirely radiant. Therefore, this verse is more than an elegy; it is an affirmation that for such individuals, death signifies liberation from the cage and reunion with the origin. The 'light-souled' spirit is never confined by matter and, at all times, whether in life or thereafter, is free from the 'cage of the body.' This perspective of Mowlana, as always, emphasizes the spirit's ascent and flight rather than sorrow and complaint, viewing death not as an end, but as the pinnacle of a journey. Here, the transcendent takes apparent form in nature, yet is never truly limited by it.

Key takeaways

• The station of saints transcends material limitations; their spirit is never confined by physical form or space.
• For true mystics, death is liberation from the body's cage and a return to their origin, not an end to being.
• The spirit of great individuals is as vast as a world and a heaven, their essence existing beyond time and space.
• Mowlana, through this verse, speaks of the 'light-souled' nature of mystics and their non-attachment to the earthly realm.
• This verse emphasizes the principle of 'formlessness' (bi-surati), affirming that the essence of being transcends all material forms.