M6:1875 — روز نحر رستخیز سهمناک / مؤمنان را عید و گاوان را هلاک

Translation: On the Day of Sacrifice (Nahr), a dreadful Resurrection, For believers, it is a feast (ʿīd); for cattle, destruction. Meaning: This verse conveys that a single momentous event, such as the Day of Judgment or the transition from this worldly life, can be a joyous celebration for some, while for others it spells annihilation, depending on their spiritual state and insight.

This profound verse offers a multi-layered image of an enduring truth in Mawlana's school of thought: a single event invariably takes on an entirely different aspect in the perception and destiny of various individuals. The day of Nahr—which literally refers to Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice—is not, in Mawlana's view, merely a calendar day; rather, it is a symbol of a “dreadful Resurrection” (Rastakhīz-i sahm-nāk), or, to put it differently, the day of our journey and migration to the “colorless world” (ʿālam-i bī-rangī). It is that realm where veils are lifted, and truths are unveiled without mediation.

Mawlana repeatedly alludes to this duality throughout the Masnavi. For instance, he speaks of drums beaten for people's joy on Eid, while the drums themselves suffer from these blows. He asks, “O empty drums, full of beating, how did your share of Eid become the wound of the stick?” The same logic applies to sacrificial animals: on the very day humans joyfully celebrate Eid, sheep and cattle are slaughtered, and their lives end.

Thus, on this symbolic Day of Nahr, for the “believers” (muʾminān)—by whom Mawlana means the mystics (ʿārifān), the “divine lions” (shīrān-i ilāhī), and the “water-birds” (murghān-i āb) who await God's command of “Come forth!” and whose souls lightly swim upon the ocean of meanings—this day is one of feast and union. They are saved from sacrifice; they have reached the ocean of union (daryā-yi wisāl) and joyfully float within it. They have lived on the shore of that ocean for a lifetime, and now their time for rejoicing has come.

Conversely, the “cattle” (gāvān)—referring to the “sacrificed piebald cattle” (pīsa-gāvān basmalān) in preceding verses, or the “wolves of multiplicity” (gurgān-i kathrat) who are enslaved by forms and the chaotic world of materialism—are destroyed and lose their lives. They become the sacrifice of that “dreadful Resurrection,” for in the monotheistic divine order, there is no place for rootless multiplicity and polytheism. The Day of Nahr is a day when God “unveils Himself in command and expenditure” (bī-ḥijābī ḥaq namāyad dakhl-u kharj); that is, truth itself manifests without veils. In this unveiled manifestation, the essence of true humans reigns over the world, and the people of multiplicity and heedlessness are led to the sacrificial altar.

Key takeaways

• A single event can simultaneously be a feast for believers and destruction for the heedless, depending on their existential state.
• The Day of Sacrifice and Resurrection symbolizes the transition from the realm of multiplicity to the colorless world of unity.
• For mystics, this day is a celebration of union with the ocean of meaning; they are saved from sacrifice.
• For the heedless and worldly (the 'cattle'), this day signifies the end of life and annihilation.
• The verse emphasizes that in the moment of God's unveiled manifestation, He separates the insightful from those immersed in multiplicity.