M1:409 — تا ازین طوفانِ بیداری و هوش / وا رهیدی این ضمیر و چشم و گوش

Translation: So that from this storm of wakefulness and consciousness, This conscience, and eye, and ear might escape. Meaning: This verse expresses Mowlana's profound wish for his soul and perceptive faculties to be liberated from the turmoil of worldly wakefulness and awareness, finding eternal repose.

This verse unveils Mowlana's deepest aspiration, a wish that every true gnostic (ʿārif) murmurs to the Beloved in their solitude. Here, Mowlana speaks of the "storm of wakefulness and consciousness." This phrase refers not merely to daily life, but to all the tumults, anxieties, and clamors that entangle human perceptive faculties – the conscience (ḍamīr), eye, and ear – depriving them of genuine tranquility. The world, in the Sufi's view, is a battlefield, a storm of events and "others" that never leaves one in peace for a moment. Mowlana's desire for this "escape" is something far beyond temporary sleep. He seeks complete liberation and a return to the primordial homeland. This utterance must be understood in its profound Sufi root. The late Abdul-Quddus Gangohi, that great mystic, whose words Iqbal Lahori quotes, said: "The Prophet went to Mi'raj and returned. If it were me, by God, I wouldn't have returned." This statement precisely describes the Sufi's state; the Sufi, in their ascension (Mi'raj), becomes so absorbed in the Divine Presence that they no longer wish to return to the world of multiplicity and suffering. Here, Mowlana, too, seems to say: "Would that You, who take our soul to the unseen realm each night, would no longer return it to this tumultuous and chaotic world. Would that we could remain there, beside God, tranquil and abiding." This "would that" (kāsh) of Mowlana signifies a deep, heartfelt yearning; a yearning for eternal stillness and peace in the presence of the Almighty. He wishes that these "conscience, and eye, and ear," which are constantly exposed to various stimulations and influences in the world, might be freed from this "storm" and achieve unawareness of all but the Divine – which is itself pure awareness. This is the quest for annihilation in God (fanāʾ fī Allāh) that flows through his words.

Key takeaways

• Mowlana's yearning for liberation from worldly tumult and attainment of eternal peace.
• The phrase "storm of wakefulness and consciousness" as a metaphor for the anxieties and clamors of material life.
• A reflection of the deep Sufi desire for the soul to remain in the unseen realm and not return to the world.
• The wish to free the conscience, eye, and ear (perceptive faculties) from worldly influences and immerse them in unawareness of all but the Divine.
• This 'would that' (kāsh) signifies the quest for annihilation in God (fanāʾ fī Allāh) and permanent dwelling in the Divine Presence.