M6:90 — چون زمین زین برف در پوشد کفن / تیغ خورشید حسام‌الدین بزن

Translation: When the earth dons a shroud of snow, strike, O Husam al-Din, with the sword of the sun! Meaning: Rumi implores Husam al-Din to wield his sun-like sword, piercing through the snow-like veil of naturalism that obscures God's direct agency in the world.

At the threshold of the Sixth Book of the Mathnawi, Rumi addresses Husam al-Din Chalabi directly with this profound couplet, immediately positioning himself against a prevailing intellectual current that we, today, would term 'naturalism.' This school of thought, as Rumi perceives it, views nature as self-sufficient in its operations, believing that physical, chemical, and biological laws are the autonomous administrators of the cosmos. Whether it is the sprouting of a tree, the shining of the sun, or the birth of a child, all phenomena are seen as entirely explicable and predictable through these laws, thus obviating the need for a direct divine agent. Historically, such thinkers were known as 'tabiʿiyyun' (naturalists) or 'tabāʿiyyun.' This term carried two meanings: one contrasting with mathematicians, and another—the one Rumi engages with—contrasting with theists, as it attributed all natural actions to the inherent 'natures' or 'essences' of things, effectively sidelining God's direct involvement. Rumi's temperament, which I assert is unequivocally anti-philosophical, leads him to contend even with God-believing philosophers on this very point. He argues that philosophers, even when professing faith, interpose 'wasāʾiṭ' (intermediaries) between divine action and nature. These intermediaries might be the natural laws, or the inherent essences of things. They first attribute events to nature and its laws, and only then state that God created this nature and its laws. While ultimately acknowledging God, this approach creates an intervening layer, preventing a direct and immediate apprehension of God's agency in all of nature. Rumi, however, yearns for a vision that perceives the divine hand directly, without any veil, in every natural occurrence. In this beyt, the 'snow' and 'shroud' (برف کفن) metaphorically represent these naturalist and philosophical explanations. They act as a cold, white covering, obscuring the warm, direct divine action. Rumi implores Husam al-Din to strike with the 'sword of the sun' (تیغ خورشید) and pierce this veil. Husam al-Din here is not merely Rumi's human interlocutor but rather the embodiment and manifestation of that direct, unmediated vision of truth—a light that cleaves through these obscurities and coverings, revealing the active warmth of divine presence at the heart of every phenomenon.

Key takeaways

• At the outset of Book Six, Rumi confronts naturalism, challenging the worldview of nature's self-sufficiency.
• The 'snow-shroud' metaphorically represents natural explanations and laws that obscure God's direct agency.
• The 'sun-sword of Husam al-Din' is invoked to bring a piercing light that cuts through these veils, revealing God's unmediated action in nature.
• Rumi critiques even God-believing philosophy for introducing intermediaries between God and natural phenomena.
• He advocates for a vision that directly attributes every natural event to the divine hand.