M6:1980 — گر طبیبی را رسد زین گون جنون / دفتر طب را فرو شوید به خون

Translation: Should such a madness reach a physician, he would wash his book of medicine with blood. Meaning: This verse conveys that there exists a unique kind of divine madness or fervent passion that transcends the limits of medical understanding and treatment; conventional medical knowledge is utterly helpless before it.

This verse is embedded in the lover's fervent plea for madness and liberation from the constraints of reason and worldly wisdom. With a decisive tone characteristic of him, Rumi declares the existence of a form of madness in the realm of love that renders all conventional medicine and healing obsolete.

Prior to this verse, Rumi states, through the voice of the lover: "ʿāsheq-am man bar fann-e divānegī / sīr-am az farhang o az farzānegī" (I am a lover of the art of madness / I am weary of cunning and wisdom). Here, 'farnang' (cunning) and 'farzānegī' (worldly wisdom) carry meanings distinct from their modern usage. 'Farhang' for Rumi denotes 'trickery' and 'worldly stratagem,' as he explains elsewhere: "Gheyr-e mordan hich farhang-e degar / dar-nagīrad bā khodā ay hīle-gar" (No other cunning, save dying, is accepted by God, O trickster). This implies that the only 'trick' effective before God is self-annihilation and vanishing from oneself. 'Farzānegī' refers to intelligence and knowledge that become a source of pride and arrogance, acting as a veil between humanity and truth. This ecstatic, divine madness is the absolute antithesis of such 'farhang' and 'farzānegī'; it not only dispenses with worldly wiles and cleverness but stands in direct opposition to them.

To elucidate this madness, Rumi recounts a story where the Beloved, responding to a lover enumerating his deeds and efforts, says: "Īn hameh kardi, namordi, zendeh-ī / īn bemīr ay yār-e jān-bāzandeh-ī" (You did all this, yet you haven't died, you are still alive / Die then, O self-sacrificing friend!). This emphasizes that the essence of love is the lover's 'death' and 'annihilation' in the Beloved; the obliteration of his 'I,' the cessation of his agency. Just as in a logical example, "Zayd died" means Zayd is no longer an agent but has ceased to be. The lover, in the madness of love, loses his agency, leaving no 'self' to boast or complain about.

Rumi even uses the story of Noah and his son Canaan. When the flood came, Noah called his son to the ark of salvation, but Canaan boasted of his cleverness in swimming, saying, "I know how to swim." This very claim of cunning and skill prevented him from boarding the ark and led to his destruction. In the realm of love, this 'farzānegī' and 'knowing' become a veil that obstructs the path to salvation and union.

Now to the main verse: "Gar tabībī rā rasad zīn gūn jonūn / daftar-e tebb rā forū shūyad be khūn." This madness is not ordinary, something that can be found in medical or psychiatric textbooks. Rumi emphasizes in another verse: "Nīst az ʿāsheq kasī dīvāneh-tar / ʿaql dar savdā-ye ū kūr ast o kar / z-ān ke īn dīvānegī ʿām nīst / tebb rā ershād-e īn ahkām nīst" (No one is madder than the lover / Reason in his pursuit is blind and deaf / For this madness is not common / Medicine has no guidance for these decrees). This 'junūn' is a 'khosh-savdā,' a 'sweet melancholy.'

The term 'savdā' in classical Persian and Arabic was used to mean madness or melancholy. Rumi pairs 'savdā' with 'khosh' (sweet) to indicate that this madness is not negatively destructive, but rather a 'sweet melancholy' or a 'charming folly.' This is a love that is itself the physician of all ailments: "Marhabā ay ʿeshq-e khosh-savdā-ye mā / ay tabīb-e jomleh ʿellat-hā-ye mā / ay davā-ye nakhvat o nāmūs-e mā / ay to Aflātūn o Jālīnūs-e mā" (Hail, O Love, our sweet madness / O physician of all our ills / O cure for our pride and honor / O our Plato and Galen!). Thus, the human physician has nothing to say before this absolute physician—Love itself. His books, his knowledge, and all his techniques become invalidated and 'blood-washed,' symbolizing their utter inadequacy. This madness not only needs no cure but is, in fact, the true and ultimate healing.

Key takeaways

• The madness of the lover is not ordinary insanity; this fervent passion transcends the rules and diagnoses of human medicine.
• In the realm of divine love, arrogant reason and worldly wisdom are not only useless but act as a veil preventing union.
• The lover's madness annihilates his agency and 'self'; this 'dying before death' is the key to entering the world of love.
• Rumi qualifies the 'lover's madness' ('savdā') with 'sweet' ('khosh'), implying it is a positively destructive, a 'charming folly.'
• Love itself is the 'physician of all ailments,' and before this absolute healer, human medical knowledge becomes invalid.