M6:1069 — خود تو دانی هم که آن آب زلال / می چه گوید با ریاحین و نهال

Translation: You yourself know how that clear water / speaks to fragrant herbs and saplings. Meaning: This verse suggests that natural phenomena, like water, communicate with their surroundings in an unspoken yet eloquent manner, which is a manifestation of the Divine word in creation itself.

Let me unveil the meaning of this verse. Here, Rumi reveals God's 'speech,' but not speech in the conventional sense, formed by letters and lips. He perceives the Divine word at the very heart of 'making' or creation (ṣunʿ). The preceding verse spoke of the sun's speech in Aries to vegetation; how the sun commands the plant to 'grow green' and the seed to 'split open.' This verse repeats the same meaning for 'clear water.' You yourself, in everyday experience, fully grasp how water speaks to fragrant herbs and saplings. This speaking is nothing other than the wondrous effect water has on a plant's growth and life. Water bestows life upon the plant, and the plant responds to this 'speech' of the water.

It is here that Rumi offers a fundamental formula: 'God's making with all parts of the world / is like the breath and word of enchanters.' God's creation, His actions in existence, are themselves speech. God speaks not through conventional, arbitrary words, but through His action and deed, with every part of the world. Pressing an elevator button is for us like saying 'go'; God, too, issues His commands by setting this world in motion. This entire universe is a grand, continuous discourse, a long poem still being written.

Further, Rumi deepens this discussion, referring to 'God's attraction through effects and causes' that 'speaks a hundred hidden words without letter or lip.' Here we enter the complex discussion of causality in Rumi's thought. In my view, he does not believe that cause and effect possess inherent reality in nature itself; rather, these are 'Divine habits.' That is, God has established a custom such that water quenches fire or medicine cures illness. But this is merely a 'tradition' (sunnat) and a 'covering' (rūpūsh), a veil over direct Divine action. It is not that water inherently extinguishes fire; rather, God executes this action through water at every moment. Effects arise from these destinies and decrees, but if we think that this effect originates from them intrinsically, this is an 'unreasonable' (ghayr-i maʿqūl) thought. Cause and effect are merely 'coverings' over Divine action.

And what is the intellect's place in understanding these meanings? Rumi here calls the intellect 'imitative' (muqallid). An intellect enslaved by appearances and mimicking the findings of others is incapable of grasping this doctrine. If such an intellect seeks to comprehend these mysteries, its answer will be nothing but: 'as you do not know.' This means that this profound understanding of Divine speech, and this perspective on causality, demands an insight beyond conventional and imitative rational arguments. It requires an inner, intuitive discovery that transcends the veil of habits and appearances, and finds its way to the inner reality of Divine action within His making.

Key takeaways

• God's speech resides in His 'making' (ṣunʿ); creation itself is the Divine address and word.
• Natural phenomena like water and sun transmit vital messages to existence through their actions.
• The system of causality in the world is not autonomous, but a 'Divine habit' and a covering over God's direct action.
• This world is a continuous discourse and a grand poem from the Divine, perpetually being composed.
• Understanding these mysteries is impossible through an 'imitative intellect' and requires insight beyond superficial reasoning.