M6:1186 — گوید احمد گر یقینش افزون بدی / خود هوایش مرکب و مامون بدی

Translation: Ahmad (the Prophet) says, "Had his (Jesus') certainty been more, / The air itself would have been his mount, and he would have been secure upon it." Meaning: This verse refers to a tradition where Prophet Muhammad reportedly stated that if Jesus's spiritual certainty had been even greater, he could have walked on air with the same security he walked on water.

In this verse, Rumi alludes to a tradition attributed to Prophet Muhammad. The narrative recounts that when the Prophet heard of Jesus walking on water, he responded, "Had Jesus's certainty been greater, he would have walked on air as well." This beyt, spoken by Ahmad (another name for the Prophet), echoes this very point: if Jesus's yaqīn (certainty) had been further augmented, the air itself would have become his mount, and he would have been utterly secure upon it, without fear of falling. Indeed, the Prophet himself goes on in this narrative to cite his own example: "Just as I rode upon the air / And in the night of Mi'raj, became a companion (of God)." That is, just as I ascended through the air and reached divine companionship during the Mi'raj, Jesus too could have done so had his certainty reached its zenith.

I am strongly of the view that for Rumi, the authenticity of the hadronic tradition is of secondary importance here. What is vital for him is the epistemic principle embedded within the narrative: to what extent can human certainty and inner spiritual rank influence and overcome even natural laws? This is the same perspective Jesus repeatedly emphasizes in the Gospels, stating, "If you have faith, you can move mountains." Rumi takes this concept to its ultimate extreme: the air, which is typically the domain of birds and pulls humans towards the earth, can become a secure mount and platform for those endowed with profound yaqīn. This is not merely about external miracles, but about the qualitative transformation of the soul and psyche that impacts the visible world. Here, yaqīn is not just a mental belief, but an existential state and station that reshapes reality. It is at this point that a miracle transforms from an extraordinary event into a natural consequence of the pinnacle of certainty.

Key takeaways

• Yaqīn (certainty) represents a stage beyond mere faith, leading to direct intuition and experience, and bestowing the power to subdue nature.
• Rumi emphasizes the transformative and gnostic message of traditions, rather than strictly their documentary authenticity.
• Extraordinary abilities, such as walking on water or air, are logical outcomes of the pinnacle of human certainty.
• The air, through the lens of gnostic certainty, transforms from a physical barrier into a secure mount for the seeker.
• The Mi'raj (ascension) of Prophet Muhammad is interpreted as a symbol of the highest level of certainty and triumph over material limitations.