M6:2982 — لاابالی لا ابالی آورد / زانک جنس هم بوند اندر خرد

Translation: The careless one attracts carelessness, For in their intellect and nature, they are of the same kind. Meaning: This couplet articulates the principle of 'like attracts like,' asserting that individuals with a heedless and reckless disposition draw similar people and circumstances towards themselves, owing to their shared intrinsic nature and character.

This profound couplet from the Masnavi elucidates a deep existential law: the principle of attraction between likes. When Mowlana says, "Lā-ubālī attracts Lā-ubālī," he means that every disposition and character draws similar dispositions and characters towards itself. The term Lā-ubālī translates to 'careless,' 'reckless,' or 'heedless of rules and consequences,' deriving from the Arabic 'la yubālī' (he does not care).

Mowlana, with his characteristic subtlety and profound insight, places this characteristic within two distinct realms:

1. The Realm of Love: In the domain of love, Lā-ubālī is an admirable and even essential quality. As Mowlana himself states elsewhere: "Lā-ubālī belongs to love, not to intellect; Intellect seeks what may bring it profit." The lover is free from prudence, calculation, and the fear of judgment, and this fearlessness aids them on the path of love. They cast caution to the wind and heed nothing.

2. The Realm of Intellect and Ethics: In the sphere of reason and social conduct, Lā-ubālī is reprehensible. An individual who is careless and reckless invariably attracts people and situations that are of the same 'genre' of heedlessness. This is where Hafez's counsel resonates: "The first admonition of the old wine-seller is this: Beware of the company of those not of your kind." This avoidance of the 'unlike' is, in fact, an adherence to this very law of 'genre' or essence; for association with the unlike can alter one's own essence or divert it from its true path.

The second part of the couplet, "For in their intellect and nature, they are of the same kind," provides a philosophical justification for this phenomenon. To be "of the same kind" (jins-e ham būndan) implies a profound congruity and homogeneity in essence, identity, and even 'intellect' (khirad). This is not merely a superficial resemblance but a deep accord in their inner and perceptual structures. As I have always emphasized, in Mowlana's view, jinsiyat (kindness/genre/essence) is not just classification but refers to the ontological nature and substance of being. If the people of paradise become the 'genre of paradise,' it means they transform into paradise itself, rather than merely entering it. By the same analogy, when an individual is Lā-ubālī, this heedlessness is not an accidental behavior but stems from their intrinsic 'genre' or essence, and it is this inner essence that draws external likes towards them. This law applies not only to human beings but to every quality, action, and consequence in the cosmos: "Call all mercies of the genre of mercy, And all wrathful acts of the genre of wrath." Every quality and every action originates from its own particular source and attracts its own kind. This is a cosmic principle that explains all relationships and phenomena in the world, both internal and external.

Key takeaways

• The principle of 'like attracts like' is a fundamental law of existence; every disposition draws its own kind.
• Lā-ubālī (carelessness/recklessness) is lauded in the context of love (as freedom from calculation) but is deemed reprehensible and costly in the realm of intellect and ethics.
• Being 'of the same kind' implies not merely superficial similarity, but a deep congruence in intellect, essence, and ontological substance.
• The attraction of similar people and situations is a reflection of our inner essence and nature, not just an external phenomenon.
• This couplet underscores that our world and relationships are a mirror of our own existential 'genre,' rather than simply external circumstances.