M6:1604 — چونک جمله از یکی دست آمدست / این چرا هوشیار و آن مست آمدست

Translation: Since all things have come from one hand, Why is this one sober, and that one drunk?

Meaning: In this verse, Rumi poses a profound philosophical question: How can such diversity and contradiction, exemplified by the difference between the sober and the drunk, arise from a single, unified origin?

This verse introduces a fundamental problem, a question that the Sufi poses to the Qadi – to the scholar and philosopher. This is one of those perennial questions that philosophers have grappled with since the dawn of thought: How does multiplicity and contradiction originate from unity? Rumi, though aware of philosophical answers, approaches this with his own distinct method and response. However, here, he first presents the problem clearly, as the Sufi himself frames it.

I interpret this question as: "Since all things have come from one hand, / Why is this one sober, and that one drunk?" Is it possible for such dualities and contradictions to emerge from a single source and origin? Rumi elaborates on this question with numerous examples that follow in subsequent verses. He asks: If gold comes from one mine, why is some profitable and some harmful? If streams flow from one sea, why is one sweet and another venomous? If lights emanate from one eternal sun, why is one a true dawn and another a false one? And if kohl comes from a single substance, why does it grant clear sight to some, and double vision (haval) to others? These are all instances of such contradictions.

One of Rumi's intriguing examples involves the dār al-ḍarb (mint), the place where coins were struck and currency produced. "Since God is the Sultan of the mint, / How can coins be good and some invalid?" Rumi asks: If God Himself is the Sultan of the mint of existence, why are the coins that emerge from this mint sometimes good and valuable, and sometimes counterfeit and worthless? This is the essence of the Sufi's question: How can the contradiction and multiplicity in the world be reconciled with the unity and oneness of its origin? This is a challenge to which Rumi provides profound answers, but in this verse, he merely confines himself to posing the question accurately and eloquently, so as to draw the listener's mind to this existential and epistemic conundrum.

Key takeaways

• This verse raises an age-old philosophical question: The origin of multiplicity and contradiction in the world from a single, unified source.
• Rumi articulates this question through the voice of a Sufi addressing a Qadi (representing intellect and philosophy).
• The core of the inquiry is how fundamental differences like 'sober and drunk,' 'profit and harm,' 'sweet and poisonous' can be explained if they stem from 'one hand,' 'one mine,' and 'one sea.'
• The example of the 'mint' (dār al-ḍarb) and its good versus invalid coins provides a tangible image of this existential paradox.
• This verse frames the problem, rather than providing the answer; the solution lies deeper within the Masnavi.