M6:1837 — لا یعد این داد و لا یحصی ز تو / من کلیلم از بیانش شرم‌رو

Translation: These gifts from You cannot be numbered, nor can they be counted; I am weary and ashamed in trying to express them. Meaning: This verse conveys humanity's utter inability to enumerate or adequately praise the boundless and effortless gifts bestowed by God, highlighting the overwhelming nature of divine generosity.

In this verse, Rumi, speaking through the voice of a destitute pauper, dramatically portrays the peak of human praise and, paradoxically, humanity's profound inadequacy in the face of God's countless blessings. The pauper, having tasted a thousand poisons of poverty, implores God in his prayer to provide for him effortlessly, just as God created him without any exertion—a point where Rumi alludes to God's effortless and unwearied act of creation, similar to the Quranic verse, "Nor is He wearied by their preservation." Before this specific verse, the pauper enumerates the five outer and five inner senses (such as memory and imagination) as proof of God's infinite, unearned generosity.

I unequivocally confirm this assertion: divine blessings are truly "lā yuʿadd wa lā yuḥṣā," meaning they cannot be numbered or accounted for. The term "iḥṣā" derives from "ḥaṣā," meaning pebble, as pebbles were used for counting in ancient times—a linguistic parallel to the word "calculation" in Latin, whose root "calculus" also means pebble. This linguistic nuance underscores our utter lack of tools to even begin quantifying these gifts. It is at this juncture that humanity experiences "kalāl" and "malāl." While "kalāl" signifies physical exhaustion and "malāl" spiritual weariness, here, "kalīl" denotes a helplessness and inability to articulate, a state of being tongue-tied and ashamed before the ineffable grandeur of divine giving. When one encounters such magnanimity, one's tongue falters, and one feels ashamed of trying to describe, or even being capable of describing, such an abundance of blessings.

This inability is not merely quantitative; it is profoundly qualitative. God not only bestows innumerable gifts but does so without any toil or effort, in stark contrast to humans who must strive and become weary for every particle of their existence. This is a crucial point in understanding the verse: God creates "bi-jahd" (without effort) and provides "bi-jahd." This divine effortlessness stands in opposition to human struggle and exertion, and from this contrast arises the pauper's plea to partake in this divine state of effortless provision.

However, this perspective on God's provisioning is itself a subject of extensive theological discussion. Some extremist Sufis, including those whom Imam Ghazali, in a surprisingly unique stance in Ihyaʾ ʿUlum al-Din, states that "seeking provision is ugly for all people, and uglier for scholars," believed that one should abandon all work and simply await effortless sustenance. I personally find Ghazali's statement astonishing, as rizq (provision) encompasses far more than mere food and drink; honor, health, knowledge, and even friends are all part of one's provision. Furthermore, the question arises whether prayer without action, or the request for miracles, aligns with divine wisdom and the established norms of the cosmos. The adage "from you, movement; from God, blessing" (az to harakat, az Khodā barakat) is emphasized in many religious teachings. Rumi, in this verse and its accompanying narrative, places before us this fundamental question: what is the place of human endeavor in the face of God's boundless provision?

Key takeaways

• Divine blessings are so boundless that human language and intellect are rendered helpless in enumerating and describing them.
• God's generosity is effortless, contrasting sharply with human existence, which necessitates struggle and endurance for every aspect.
• This helplessness before divine grandeur leads not to complaint, but to shame and silence in attempting description.
• Praying for effortless provision raises fundamental questions about the relationship between trust in God (tawakkul) and human exertion.
• The terms "iḥṣā" (to count) and "kalīl" (weary, tongue-tied) in this verse reveal the profound cognitive and expressive inadequacy of humanity.