M6:1447 — لاشیی بر لاشیی عاشق شدست / هیچ نی مر هیچ نی را ره زدست

Translation: A non-thing (lā shaiʾī) has fallen in love with another non-thing; A nothing (hīch nī) has ambushed another nothing.

Meaning: This verse articulates that all phenomena in this world are, in their essence, nothingness, and their interconnections are merely bonds between two non-beings. It emphasizes that, apart from God, nothing possesses independent existence, and thus, all worldly love and attachment are ultimately rooted in nothingness.

This verse immediately follows Rumi's profound emphasis on the concept of ontological 'non-being' (ʿadam) and 'poverty' (faqr) of humanity and the world, stating: 'Fear the existence that you are currently in / That thought of yours is a non-thing, and you too are a non-thing.' I consider this assertion by Rumi, without a doubt, one of the most profound ontological declarations in the Masnavi, deeply rooted in the principle of the 'unity of acts' (tawhīd-i afʿālī). This is not merely a poetic expression; it is a precise philosophical statement regarding the nature of contingent existence and its relation to the Necessary Being.

Rumi explicitly states here that our 'thought' (khiyāl)—meaning our perceptions and imaginings about ourselves—is lā shaiʾī (a non-thing), and we ourselves are also lā shaiʾī. This state of lā shaiʾī signifies being foundationless and possessing nothing of one's own. The realm of creatures and contingencies is, in its essence, 'nothing.' Their existence is borrowed, a gift from the Absolute Being of God. So, if we ourselves are lā shaiʾī, and our thoughts are also lā shaiʾī, what then is the meaning of 'a non-thing falling in love with another non-thing'? This image clearly illustrates the futility and lack of originality in worldly attachments and affections.

Earthly loves, human connections, ambitions, and all that we become attached to in this world are, ultimately, connections and attachments between two non-beings. This is not meant to be an absolute negation of the value of earthly loves, but rather to place them in their true context: they are but shadows compared to divine love and the Absolute Being of God. This nothingness is the very 'effacement' (maḥw) that Rumi emphasizes elsewhere: 'Here, effacement (maḥw) is needed, not grammar (naḥw).' We must, in this world, see our own existence and free will effaced within the Absolute Being and Divine Will. This is reiterated in other verses of the Masnavi: 'We are like the reed-flute, and the melody within us is from You / We are like the mountain, and the echo within us is from You.' That is, our existence is merely the effect of His existence, nothing more.

This verse, like a hammer, shatters the illusion of human existence's independence and self-sufficiency. We are, by ourselves, 'nothing,' and if we 'ambush' a 'nothing' (i.e., impede or interact with another contingent being), this too is, in reality, one nothing blocking another. This realization is not meant to discourage or lead to despair but to awaken. Prior to this verse, Rumi cautions us to 'fear the existence that you are currently in' and not to fear 'non-being,' because 'non-being' is an antidote to the illusion of independent existence. This perspective paves the way for a deeper, truer love; a love directed towards the Absolute and Eternal Being, not the transient non-beings of this world.

Key takeaways

• The ontological essence of humanity and all contingent existence, in Rumi's view, is absolute poverty and relative non-being.
• Any form of love or attachment in this world is, ontologically, a bond between two 'nothings' or two 'non-things'.
• This verse calls for self-recognition as a 'non-thing' to liberate us from the illusion of independent existence.
• Understanding one's own and the world's nothingness serves as an antidote to self-deception and a prelude to true divine love.
• Rumi articulates this concept within the framework of the unity of acts (tawhīd-i afʿālī), where all actions and existences revert to the Necessary Being.