M6:617 — تا نسوزم کی خنک گردد دلش / ای دل ما خاندان و منزلش

Translation: Until I burn, how shall its heart be cooled? O heart, you are our family and our abode!

Meaning: The lover states that their burning and annihilation are prerequisites for the Beloved's (or Love's) heart to find solace and satisfaction. The verse then elevates this sentiment, declaring that this very heart, which is consumed by love, is in truth the Beloved's own dwelling, of which He is the rightful owner.

In this verse, Rumi speaks of the ultimate surrender and annihilation of the lover before the Beloved. He previously states in a ghazal, “My patience died the night Love was born.” This signifies that Love so overwhelms that it leaves no room for patience, even strangling its very throat. Here too, the heart of Love, symbolizing the relentless and restless demand of the Beloved Himself, finds peace only through the burning and annihilation of the lover. It is a mystical equation: “Until I burn, how shall its heart be cooled?” My burning is the cooling of His heart; meaning, Love's gratification lies in the lover's demise.

However, Rumi immediately corrects this perception, making a profound philosophical leap. Addressing this heart of Love, which encompasses the lover's entire being, he declares: “O heart, you are our family and our abode!” This means that the house burning, this existence undergoing annihilation, is in truth the Beloved's own property. I am not the owner of this house to complain about its burning; the true Owner is the Beloved Himself. If the Beloved sets His own house ablaze, who would dare to say, “Lā yajūz” (it is not permissible)? Who could forbid it? Jurists can only issue rulings of lā yajūz concerning another's property, but regarding His own dominion, the Owner is free to dispose of it as He wills. This is precisely the teaching of the Ash'ari school, which posits that whatever God does with His creatures is permissible and not unjust, for “innahu yaf'alu fi mulkihi lā fi mulki ghayrihi” – He acts within His own domain, not another's. Here, the boundaries of legal and jurisprudential thought collapse before the absolute sovereignty of the Divine.

Rumi continues: “Gladly burn this house, O drunken Lion!” This epithet, “drunken Lion,” for God, is a deeply profound and awe-inspiring image that has appeared in the experiences of some mystics. A lion that is both ferocious and drunk acts without conventional awareness, proceeding heedless and indifferent to those slain in its path. This image signifies the boundless and unconventional power that instigates Love in the world. Lovers know that for the lover, “such a house is more fitting”; meaning, this immolation and annihilation is the most appropriate destiny for the lover's abode. Love triumphs over reason, bestowing upon humanity a state of intoxication where there is no room for objection or complaint, but only absolute surrender and consent to being consumed.

Key takeaways

• The annihilation and burning of the lover are conditions for the satisfaction and solace of Love's own heart.
• The lover's existence is, in reality, the Beloved's house; thus, the true Owner is free to do with it as He wills.
• The absolute divine ownership of human existence transcends and nullifies any jurisprudential ruling of 'permissible' or 'impermissible'.
• The image of the 'drunken lion' for God or Love symbolizes the divine power that is unconditional and beyond human reason.
• In the state of love, no objection or complaint against annihilation is permissible; rather, it is the most desired destiny.