M6:2667 — من بدین وقت معین ای دلیر / می‌نگردم از محاکات تو سیر

Translation: At this appointed time, O brave one, I am not sated by your mimesis (muḥākāt). Meaning: The mouse (symbolizing the body) tells the frog (symbolizing the soul) that brief, fixed encounters and narrations of states are insufficient to quench its thirst, as it yearns for constant union and communion.

“At this appointed time, O brave one, I am not sated by your mimesis (muḥākāt).”

This verse is uttered by the mouse (symbolizing the earthly body in this allegory) to the frog (symbolizing the soul and the spiritual realm), and it inherently reflects Mawlana's own lament and restlessness. The mouse complains about the limited time and quality of interaction designated for its connection with the frog. It says: “O brave one, with these brief and appointed opportunities you grant me—to hear your voice from afar, or for you to receive my message from afar—my thirst will never be quenched, and I will not grow sated by your muḥākāt.”

The word muḥākāt here warrants deep consideration. While it seemingly implies a two-way narration or storytelling, in Arabic literature and Greek philosophy (with which Mawlana was undoubtedly familiar), mimesis or muḥākāt signifies imitation, representation, or the impression of an image. It’s like your reflection cast upon water; the water performs a muḥākāt of your face. Or an artist drawing from nature engages in muḥākāt. This meaning suggests that the level of connection referred to in this verse is not direct and complete union, but a form of reflection, a distant telling, or an imitation—which is utterly insufficient for the ardent lover.

Mawlana at this juncture sets aside the literal story of the mouse and the frog and transforms the mouse’s lament into the cry of the lovers of Truth. He asserts that this constricted space and limited interaction is not the way of true lovers. It is precisely here that Mawlana speaks of the five daily prayers at fixed times, which are a prescribed duty and guidance for the common folk. However, for those lovers who are “perpetually in prayer” (fī ṣalāt dāʾimūn), this minimum is inadequate. Their longing for union cannot be appeased by five sessions. The souls of the truthful are “severely thirsty” (sakht mustasqī), like fish that cannot endure without the ocean; even the water of this vast sea is but a mere sip for their yearning.

Thus, this verse is a protest against the limited quality and quantity of connection. It is as if Mawlana suggests that the fixed, ritualistic interaction prescribed by religion for ordinary devotees is merely a muḥākāt—a distant representation of union, not union itself—for the loving and thirsty souls. He seeks a boundless and timeless connection, a perpetual presence from which he would never be sated, neither by an “appointed time” nor by a muḥākāt that fails to quench his thirst.

Key takeaways

• The verse expresses the mouse's (body's) lament to the frog (soul), articulating an unquenchable thirst for perpetual union.
• The phrase "appointed time" signifies dissatisfaction with limited, prescribed, or formalized interactions.
• Muḥākāt (mimesis, representation, reflection) is deemed insufficient for the loving soul, which yearns for true, unmediated union.
• Mawlana uses this verse as a springboard to illustrate the restlessness of divine lovers, for whom the five daily prayers are but a minimum, aspiring instead to be "perpetually in prayer."
• The verse emphasizes that for thirsty souls, there are no limits to communion with the Beloved, and they are never sated by such connection.