M6:1370 — جست سقا کوزه‌ای کش آب نیست / وان دروگر خانه‌ای کش باب نیست

Translation: The water-carrier seeks a jug that has no water; / And that carpenter, a house that has no door. Meaning: This verse illustrates that every craftsman or seeker, in order to create or complete their task, first looks for something that is "not yet" or has a "lack."

I have often emphasized in my readings of the Masnavi how Rumi, with remarkable subtlety and a "gentle trick" (ḥīlat-i laṭīf), guides us from the sensible world to the intelligible realm. This beyt is a shining example of this very method.

In our daily lives, without even realizing it, we are constantly searching for "non-being" or "absence" (nīstī, ʿadam). A builder seeks an unbuilt plot of land; a farmer, uncultivated soil; a capitalist, profit that has not yet materialized. These are all instances of moving towards a state of non-being in order to fill it with being. The water-carrier seeks an empty jug to fill it with water; the carpenter looks for a house without a door to apply their craft and construct one. In this process, "non-being" or "absence" is not understood as annihilation or decay, but rather as "potentiality" and an "empty vessel." It is a non-being that is a prerequisite for the emergence of being.

This echoes the Cartesian insight that "a mountain always accompanies a valley"; neither can exist without the other. Or, consider Rumi's own concept of "generosity and the beggar" (jūd-o gadā), where God first creates the "beggar" – meaning empty vessels and potentials – and then fills them with His generosity. This initial "non-being" is a necessary condition for all "being" and "perfection."

Yet, Rumi uses these tangible examples to construct a bridge towards mystical "non-being." He asks us: You who in your daily trades and affairs search for "that which is not yet," why then, when the greater "non-being" is mentioned – the annihilation of the self, mystical poverty, or fanā – do you flee from it so vehemently? You have always been "intimate with nothingness" (anīs-i lā); you have "cast your heart's hook into the sea of non-being" (shast-i dil dar baḥr-i lā afkanda-īd) and harvested countless prey from this sea. So, what is this flight from fanā?

Rumi here invites us to become intimate with this greater "non-being" as well, a non-being that is the condition for attaining absolute being. He seeks to link these two types of non-being in our minds: the actual non-being (e.g., an empty jug) that leads to desired being (water in the jug), and the existential non-being (fanā fīʾl-lāh) that is the gateway to everlasting being (baqā biʾl-lāh). This is a call to accept our inherent poverty and our nature as beggars before the absolute richness of the Divine; this is the condition for reaching true perfection. This is how, from the context of earthly crafts and professions, a profound and mystical insight emerges.

Key takeaways

• The essence of creativity and completion lies in the initial search for "non-being" or "lack"; the artist or craftsman seeks what is not yet to bring it into being.
• Rumi perceives "non-being" not necessarily as annihilation, but as "potentiality" and an "empty vessel" ready to receive being.
• This verse serves as a bridge from everyday, material non-being to mystical non-being; just as the carpenter seeks a doorless house to build a door, the mystic seeks the "non-being of the self" to attain "Absolute Being."
• The existence of a "beggar" (one who lacks) is a prerequisite for the manifestation of "generosity"; just as an empty jug provides the water-carrier with the opportunity to give.
• The human tendency to flee from "mystical poverty" and "annihilation," while constantly seeking to fill "lacks" and "non-beings" in daily life, is a paradox Rumi challenges.