M6:1378 — هر دو چشمت بست سحر صنعتش / تا که جان را در چه آمد رغبتش

Translation: Its art's enchantment closed both your eyes, so that the soul's desire fell into the well. Meaning: This verse describes how a subtle divine trickery can blind us, causing the soul to mistakenly desire the depths of the material world, instead of seeking liberation from it.

This couplet touches upon one of the deepest layers of human «ghaflat» (forgetfulness or heedlessness) and inverted perception. I have repeatedly stated that the issue of heedlessness, referred to here as «saḥr-i ṣanʿat-ash» (the magic of His craft) or «jādūy-i ʿālam» (the world's magic), is a pivotal teaching in the Mathnawi. This «saḥr-i ṣanʿat» is in fact «chashm-bandī-ye Khodā» (God's blindsiding); a subtle divine trickery that veils our eyes, causing us to see reality in reverse. We perceive being as non-being, and non-being as being.

Mawlana explicitly states here: «Her do chashmat bast saḥr-i ṣanʿat-ash». This magic is not the work of Satan; it is the craft and divine orchestration that has led us into this existential misunderstanding. What is the result of this blindsiding? «Tā ke jān-rā dar chah āmad raghbat-ash» (So that the soul's desire fell into the well). This means that while we should be escaping the well, our desire falls into its depths. The well here is a metaphor for the prison of nature, the material world, and its attachments. Instead of yearning for freedom and liberation from this well, we find contentment within it, perceiving life at its bottom as freedom and paradise. This profound inversion of perception is the deepest spiritual ailment of humanity.

Mawlana further illustrates this inverted perception with other examples: «Az che nām-i barg-rā kardī to marg? / Jādūyī bīn ke namūdat marg barg» (Why did you call 'provision' 'death'? See the magic that showed you death as provision). «Barg», meaning possessions or sustenance, is the foundation of life, yet we name it 'death' and flee from it. Or, we see the vast plain as teeming with snakes and scorpions, fearing it, while we consider the bottom of a well a safe refuge and seek shelter there. In reality, the bottom of a well is precisely the abode of snakes, scorpions, and confinement, while the plain offers expanse and the possibility of breathing. This is the «jādūyī bīn» (see the magic) that displaces realities for us.

However, I find it necessary to emphasize an important point here. Although Mawlana speaks of the world as a well and a prison, this metaphor should not be taken as an absolute condemnation of the world or an incitement to abandon it. I have often pointed out that this imagery of «chāh dīdan-i īn ʿālam» (seeing this world as a well) and «sijn dīdan va zendān dīdan» (seeing it as a dungeon and prison) and «bī-arzesh dānestan» (devaluing it) is very common and «rāhzan» (misleading/highway-robber-like) in Sufi literature. In contrast, the Shari'a and the words of the Imams depict this world differently. Imam Ali (A.S.) in Nahj al-Balagha, refers to the world as «matjar-i awliyā’ Allāh» (the marketplace of God's friends). Also, «al-Dunyā mazraʿat al-Ākhira» (the world is the farm of the Hereafter). A farmer or a merchant never turns their back on their farm or marketplace; they do not condemn it or deem it worthless. Rather, they cultivate it, care for it, and profit from it. Our lifespan, our body, our soul, our intellectual and physical capacities—all these constitute our farm, which we must appreciate and utilize to the fullest. Kicking this farm is kicking one's own fortune.

Therefore, Mawlana's metaphor of the world as a «well» should be understood in the sense of its narrowness in comparison to the vastness and expanse of the metaphysical worlds, and not as a negation of this world's value or a rejection of benefiting from it. The primary heedlessness is to mistake this farm and marketplace, which is a means to reach that expansive world, for the ultimate destination and an eternal prison, choosing to remain «at the bottom of the well».

Key takeaways

• «Saḥr-i ṣanʿat-ash» (His art's enchantment) refers to God's 'blindsiding' or subtle divine trickery that inverts our perception of reality.
• Human heedlessness causes the soul to desire the depths of the world's 'well' instead of seeking liberation, mistaking the prison for paradise.
• This inverted perception, calling 'provision' (barg) 'death' (marg), is the deepest spiritual ailment Mawlana addresses.
• Mawlana critiques the Sufi 'well/prison' metaphor for the world as 'misleading,' advocating instead for the prophetic 'farm/marketplace of God's friends' (from Nahj al-Balagha).
• The world is our 'farm' and 'marketplace' to be cultivated and utilized, not condemned and abandoned.
• We must make the best use of our physical and spiritual capacities in this world, rather than undermining our own fortune.