M6:2690 — پانصد استسقاستم اندر جگر / با هر استسقا قرین جوع البقر

Translation: I have five hundred dropsies (estestqā) in my liver, / And with each dropsy, an insatiable bovine hunger (jowʿ al-baqar) is conjoined. Meaning: This verse vividly portrays the lover's extreme spiritual thirst and hunger, comparing it to insatiable physical ailments to convey the profound intensity of their longing for divine union.

This verse belongs to a category where Rumi, cloaked in a narrative (the story of the mouse and the frog), speaks through the voice of an absolute lover, intoxicated with divine truth. His disregard for form and focus on meaning reaches its pinnacle here; as he himself states: “After this discourse, it is the lover speaking, the absolute lover. He no longer cares about the mouse and the frog; rather, divine love gradually emerges and casts its shadow over all this speech and dialogue.” Here, the discourse is no longer about human love or earthly desires. This declaration of “five hundred dropsies (estestqā)” and “bovine hunger (jowʿ al-baqar)” is a metaphor for the boundless thirst and hunger of the soul for divine union. Estestqā was an illness ancient physicians attributed to the liver, causing insatiable thirst. Jowʿ al-baqar refers to an extreme hunger where a person cannot be satisfied by any food, constantly eating like a cow. Rumi, through these similes, is essentially saying: “I am both thirsty and hungry.” This is not a literal physical state but the spiritual condition of a lover whose entire being has become an intense longing; a longing that is never sated, and this insatiability itself is the essence of divine love. Even if the lover considers himself “unworthy” (nāderkhor) or “unqualified” for this grace, he appeals with utmost insistence to the “general benevolence” (loṭf-e ʿāmm) of the Beloved. As Rumi famously declares: “God’s bestowal does not require qualification.” He relies on the expansive mercy of God, which shines upon all, without reason or precondition, even transforming impurities into light and beauty. This universal radiance of mercy is like the sun that “shines on impurities (ḥadath),” suffering no harm, but rather drying those very impurities, transforming them into fuel, then light and heat. Ultimately, these impurities become part of the soil from which plants, narcissus, and jasmine sprout. This divine “alchemy” is an instance of “hakadhā yamḥū al-ilāhu al-sayyiʾāt” (Thus does God efface evil deeds); meaning, God obliterates impurities and transforms them into good deeds. So, if God does this with mere impurities, how could He not do so with His “unworthy” lover? This insatiable yearning stems from a profound hope in the Beloved’s infinite mercy.

Key takeaways

• This verse expresses the lover's insatiable spiritual thirst and hunger for divine union, not a physical desire.
• At this stage, Rumi transcends superficial narratives, speaking through the voice of the “absolute lover” and “divine love.”
• The insatiability of this love is a sign of its greatness and boundlessness, not a flaw or deficiency.
• The Divine Beloved bestows grace regardless of the lover's merit or worthiness; 'God's bestowal does not require qualification.'
• Divine mercy, like the sun, transforms impurities into purity and light, symbolizing the 'effacement of evil deeds' and their conversion into good deeds.