M6:2677 — این گرفته پای آن آن گوش این / این بر آن مدهوش و آن بی‌هوش این

Translation: This one (the lover) has seized the foot of that one (the beloved), that one (the beloved) the ear of this one (the lover); This one (the lover) is unconscious of self by that one (the beloved), and that one (the beloved) is unconscious of self by this one (the lover). Meaning:* The lover and beloved are so utterly absorbed and intoxicated with each other that both have lost themselves, their entire being dissolved into the other's presence.

This couplet emerges from Rumi's profound understanding of love as a reciprocal, not a unidirectional, force. Unlike many of our poets, including Hafez, whose verses often portray an asymmetry between lover and beloved – the beloved in a state of aloofness and indifference, the lover in need and supplication – Rumi firmly rejects this school of thought. He adamantly believes that both lover and beloved are mustasqī (equally thirsty), both yearning for each other. The difference lies merely in the manner of expressing this love.

As I have articulated before, in Rumi's logic, 'the lover's passion rings out with a hundred cries and laments, while the beloved's love is hidden and veiled.' The beloved, too, is a lover, but their love is concealed, whereas the lover's passion is fervent and overt. Yet, this concealment does not imply absence. Both are of the same essence in this arena of love, and the lover's perfection lies in attaining the station of the beloved. Neither is a sole player, nor is the other an indifferent spectator. Both burn in the fire of love, both are blessed with this most precious divine bounty, and the hands of both are full of this invaluable commodity.

This specific beyt (M6:2677) vividly illustrates the pinnacle of this unity and mutual absorption. 'This one has seized the foot of that one, that one the ear of this one' is a metaphor for complete possession and existential intertwining; it is as if each has gripped the other so entirely that there is no escape from this connection. 'This one is unconscious of self by that one, and that one is unconscious of self by this one' signifies mutual intoxication and self-forgetfulness. Not only is the lover lost in the beloved's trance, but the beloved is also plunged into self-unawareness and unconsciousness by the lover. Both have lost themselves and are annihilated in the other; a reciprocal ecstasy that leaves no room for a separate 'I' and 'You.'

This is precisely the unity Rumi describes as 'a connection beyond quality and measure' (ittisālī bī takayyof bī qiyās). Such unity transcends conventional rational comprehension and logical categories. Intellect has no power to grasp it here; rather, its understanding hinges upon the 'death of man' (marg-e mard), meaning the annihilation of self-centeredness and ego. If this connection were rationally comprehensible, there would be no need for qahr-e nafs (conquering the ego) and struggle against it. Love here is an alchemy that 'united a hundred thousand particles,' dismantling duality and transforming two hearts into a single, unified truth. It is not two becoming one another, but truly becoming one; the union of spirit with spirit, heart with heart, to the extent that 'there is no separator or separated between them,' and no distance remains.

Key takeaways

• In Rumi's philosophy, love is reciprocal; both the lover thirsts for the beloved, and the beloved thirsts for the lover.
• Contrary to common perception, the beloved is also a lover, though their affection may sometimes be hidden and veiled.
• This couplet illustrates the peak of mutual entanglement and intoxication, where both lover and beloved are annihilated in the other.
• True union in love necessitates mutual self-forgetfulness and unconsciousness; there is no longer a separate 'I' and 'You.'
• The union of lover and beloved is an alchemical and supra-rational phenomenon, transcending ordinary intellect and logical categories.