M6:2713 — آنک خواهی گفت تو با خاک من / برفشان بر مدرک غمناک من

Translation: That which you wish to utter to my dust, / Sprinkle it upon my sorrowful faculty of perception. Meaning: This verse is a profound plea from a lover to the Beloved, asking that any kindness or sweet words intended for their remains after death be bestowed upon their living, yearning soul and understanding in the present moment.

This verse is an urgent invitation to presence, a plea to not overlook the opportunity of the 'now.' It asks that whatever kindness and sweet words are destined for my dust after death, be showered upon my sorrowful perception here and now, during my lifetime. My madrak, meaning my living soul and faculties of understanding, are thirsty for this very discourse.

I, Abdolkarim Soroush, insist that Rumi, in this line, imparts a fundamental ethical and mystical lesson: acts of kindness and connection must not be deferred. He states elsewhere, in a verse I have often cited: "When you wish to kiss my dust, kiss my face now, for I am the same." This clearly indicates that such kisses, such words, such mercies, gain their meaning and efficacy only when experienced by a living, perceiving human being. What benefit is there in kissing dust after death, when it holds no perception? This verse emphasizes the "opportunity for friendship"; an opportunity that, despite the "army of oppression" spanning from eternity to eternity, remains available to the dervishes and lovers.

The word barfashān (sprinkle/scatter) holds a profound meaning here. The Beloved's words are not mere utterances; they are seeds of truth and the essence of love, meant to be sown upon fertile ground (the madrak-e ghamnāk) to take root and flourish. This mirrors the divine workshop in the universe that transforms evils into virtues; just as the sun shines upon impurities, turning them into fuel and light, so too does divine speech scatter upon our sorrowful perception to illuminate and fill it with life.

The phrase madrak-e ghamnāk-e man (my sorrowful faculty of perception) is also key. This sorrow is not the despair or existential loneliness, but rather the grief of separation (firaq) and the awareness of being cut off from one's origin—a state that itself is a sign of prior union and hope for return. This sorrow is the soul's hunger and thirst, which can only be quenched by the word of truth. As I have always maintained, Rumi teaches us that qahr-e nafs (subduing the self) does not mean annihilating one's natural faculties, but rather silencing the mind and temporarily setting aside thought to engage existentially with truths. It is here that love cures all ailments, leading us beyond conceptualization to discover truth elsewhere. The words sought to be scattered upon this sorrowful perception are of this very nature: words that free one from the confines of the mind, inviting silence and an existential encounter with reality. Thus, this is not merely an entreaty, but an invitation to a profound transformation in the present, not in some uncertain future.

Key takeaways

• The ethical and mystical imperative to seize the present moment for expressing love and wisdom.
• The futility of kindness and truth's words in the afterlife for a non-perceiving soul.
• "Sorrowful perception" refers to the yearning, suffering soul and its faculties, which find solace only in divine discourse.
• The term "sprinkle" is a metaphor for bestowing life-giving words and seeds of truth.
• This verse rejects procrastination in love and the understanding of truth, emphasizing immediate presence.
• The sorrow here signifies an awareness of separation and the soul's hunger for union, not existential despair.