M1:393 — می‌رهند ارواح هر شب زین قفس / فارغان نه حاکم و محکوم کَس

Translation: Every night, souls escape from this cage; Free, neither ruler nor ruled by anyone. Meaning: This verse suggests that each night, during sleep, the human soul is liberated from the body's prison, becoming free from the constraints of power and worldly attachments.

After a fervent prayer and a plea for divine succor, Rumi experiences a sudden surge of spiritual energy, as if he has undergone a 'spiritual doping' that imbues him with the strength to confront the myriad traps of the world. In this state of spiritual expansion, he points to a profound and ancient truth explicitly stated in the Holy Quran: sleep is a temporary liberation of the soul from the body's cage.

The Quran states: "It is God who takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die, during their sleep" (Surah Az-Zumar, 39:42). This 'taking' and 'freeing' during sleep is precisely what Rumi alludes to in this couplet. The soul, in sleep, detaches from this corporal 'cage' and, unburdened by the world's decrees, discourses, and narratives, finds a moment of respite. The 'cage' (qafas) here symbolizes the body that confines the soul, and Rumi, by noting its Persian and Arabic spellings, emphasizes its profound meaning.

In this nightly liberation, all humans become equal. Prisoners, kings, merchants, and anyone engrossed in worldly roles and concerns during wakefulness are freed from all such privileges and limitations in sleep. Neither worries of profit and loss remain, nor thoughts of being a ruler or being ruled. It is as if everyone dwells in another realm, a realm not governed by the rules of wakefulness. Rumi then, by invoking the analogy of the 'Companions of the Cave' (Quran 18:18), who seemed awake but were truly asleep, refers to the state of mystics. Mystics in this world, even when physically awake, appear to be steeped in a profound sleep. The world for them is no more than a dream scene, and they perceive its events with eyes that penetrate the veil of appearances.

For the mystic, this 'sleep of the world' does not signify unawareness or negligence, but rather the perception of the 'invisible hands' that govern the universe. He discerns the inner laws and true causes of phenomena, while others cling only to superficialities. This nightly detachment of the soul from the body, though physically impossible (as the soul is non-material), metaphorically speaks to a dimension of existence where the soul is free from earthly time and space. This temporary nocturnal freedom is a prelude to the ultimate and complete liberation that the yearning soul perpetually seeks.

Key takeaways

• Sleep is the soul's nightly escape from the body's cage, a daily rehearsal for true liberation.
• In sleep, the soul becomes free and unburdened by all worldly roles—ruler, ruled, rich, or poor.
• This temporary freedom offers a taste of absolute human equality, transcending worldly attachments.
• Rumi likens this state of liberation in sleep to the mystic's insight, who even when awake, sees beyond appearances to the 'invisible hands' that govern the world.
• The verse emphasizes the soul's intrinsic separateness from the body and its inherent capacity for freedom and detachment.