M6:1808 — گرچه آتش سخت پنهان می‌تند / کف به ده انگشت اشارت می‌کند

Translation: Though the fire intensely creeps and threads its way, hidden, / The foam with ten fingers points and indicates its presence. Meaning: This verse conveys that even if a truth or reality remains unseen and concealed, its evident signs and manifestations emphatically and decisively proclaim its existence.

This verse, to my mind, initially points to a palpable, physical truth, but then immediately elevates it to the lofty realm of meaning and mystical experience. Rumi states here that fire, with all its burning intensity and powerful presence, can remain hidden beneath water, unseen. However, the water's reaction to it — its bubbling foam and gurgling sound — acts like fingers pointing with all their might (the 'ten fingers') to that concealed fire, shouting: 'Fire is here!' We can better understand this image through older scientific theories, such as the 'caloric theory' of physics, which posited heat as an invisible particle transferring between bodies without being seen, yet its effect on the second body is manifest.

However, Rumi never confines himself to mere material phenomena. This metaphor of hidden fire and visible foam swiftly transforms into an analogy for spiritual states and joys. He argues that just as a hidden fire reveals itself through boiling foam, the inner states and subtle qualities of mystics and the 'intoxicated ones of union' (mastān-e vesāl) manifest through clear signs. The very soul of these gnostics, who have attained the station of divine union, is replete with 'images of states and utterances' (temthāl-hā-ye hāl o qāl). What does this mean? It signifies the impressions and patterns left by their past spiritual states (hāl — transient joys and ecstasies) and utterances (qāl — invocations, supplications, intimate conversations with the Beloved) throughout their spiritual journey. These temporary hāl and qāl accumulate, gradually transforming into a permanent 'station' (maqām) of everlasting intoxication and eternal union. This is what has endowed their spirit with an enduring delight and ecstasy.

Thus, the phrase 'the foam points with ten fingers' means that the very being of these 'intoxicated ones of union'—their movements, their stillness, their tranquility, and their presence—serves as an unequivocal and undeniable testament to the hidden fire of love and union within them. It is as if every particle of their being proclaims their attainment of the Beloved, even if this union is not visible to the physical eye. This is a 'narration' (ḥikāyat), not a 'complaint' (şikāyat); it is a narration of a truth that, though hidden, clearly presents itself through its signs. In Rumi's worldview, the cosmos is one where all its components narrate a singular and perfect truth, and no phenomenon exists solely for complaint; rather, all are signs of that hidden Origin's presence.

Key takeaways

• Hidden truth reveals itself through its evident signs and manifestations.
• The boiling foam is a potent symbol of the decisive emergence of a hidden fire's reality.
• A mystic's transient spiritual states and utterances (hāl and qāl) culminate in a permanent 'station' (maqām) of ecstatic union.
• Rumi leverages material phenomena (like the caloric theory) to elucidate profound spiritual truths.
• The 'ten fingers' symbolize the emphatic and undeniable testimony to the presence of an inner reality.