M6:1515 — گر پدر زد مر پسر را و بمرد / آن پدر را خون‌بها باید شمرد

Translation: If a father struck his son and he died from it, / That father's blood-money must be counted. Meaning: This verse states a jurisprudential rule: if a father disciplines his son, resulting in the son's death, the father is liable for blood-money. Rumi uses this legal premise to introduce a deeper spiritual concept of selflessness and annihilation.

I approach this verse from the Masnavi not merely as a legal pronouncement, but as a profound bridge between jurisprudence (fiqh) and gnosis (irfan). Rumi, himself a distinguished faqih, consistently viewed fiqh as a ladder leading to higher spiritual knowledge. This particular verse cites a specific legal ruling: if a father disciplines his son and the son dies as a result, the father is liable for blood-money. The reason for this, as Rumi clarifies, is that the father "struck him for his own sake" (zan ke o rā behtar-e kār-e khwīsh zad). His action stems from personal motives and the demands of his ego – "Why did you not heed my words? Why did you not act according to my wishes?" In contrast, Rumi contrasts this with the teacher's situation: if an unfortunate incident occurs during a teacher's discipline, the teacher is exempt from responsibility, because the teacher is a "deputy" (nāyeb) and a "trustee" (amīn). That is to say, the teacher's action is not attributable to his ego, but emanates from a station beyond the "self."

It is here that Rumi leaps from a mere legal ruling to a foundational mystical principle. He urges us to "behead the self, O Dhū al-Faqār" (pas khūdī rā sar bebor ay Dhū al-Faqār) and "become selfless, a dervish annihilated" (bī-khūdī show, fānīī darwīsh-wār). This invitation to the annihilation of the "self" (fana) and the attainment of selflessness is the core of Rumi's teachings. When a human being empties themselves of ego and their actions originate not from the "self" but from the divine source, they reach the station of Mā Ramayt idh Ramayt (Quran 8:17: "It was not you who threw when you threw, but Allah who threw"). Then, their arrow-throwing is God's arrow-throwing, and they become "secure" (āmen), freed from the responsibilities arising from the "self." As I have repeatedly stated in my explanation of the theory of revelation, the Prophet Muhammad, too, was empty of self and full of truth when receiving and conveying revelation; that is, both he spoke and God spoke. These two were simultaneously present. This is the paradoxical nature of the mystic's experience, which is resolved in the realm of meaning but appears contradictory in the realm of words and concepts.

Al-Ghazali, in explaining the degrees of reliance on God (tawakkul), refers to the highest stage where the one who relies on God is like a corpse in the hands of a washer; that is, they have no independent will or movement of their own. This is the highest level of annihilation and selflessness to which Rumi invites us. This verse, in essence, teaches us that the criterion for salvation and liberation from the bondage of the "self" and "responsibility" is to eliminate personal motives and assume the position of trusteeship and representation of the Truth. Ultimately, Rumi explicitly states that "the Masnavi is a shop of spiritual poverty, O son" (Masnavī dukkān-e faqr ast ay pesar), not a shop of fiqh. He uses legal rulings only as a means to illuminate deeper mystical truths, not for fiqh itself. Fiqh is for regulating worldly affairs, but the Masnavi is for journeying into the boundless ocean of love and annihilation.

Key takeaways

• Actions stemming from the "self" and personal motives render the individual responsible and liable for their consequences.
• Actions performed from the station of a "trustee" (amīn) or "deputy of God" free the individual from personal liability.
• The verse serves as a jurisprudential preamble to introduce the mystical concept of "selflessness" (bī-khūdī) and "annihilation" (fana) in God.
• The annihilation of the "self" leads one to the rank of Mā Ramayt idh Ramayt, where the true agent is God.
• The Masnavi is a 'shop of spiritual poverty' and gnosis, not of fiqh; legal rulings are tools to illuminate deeper truths.