M6:2977 — یک مهی مهمان فرزندان خویش / بود و زان پس کس ندیدش رنگ بیش

Translation: For a month he was a guest to his own children, / And after that, no one saw his visage again. Meaning: This verse describes the temporary return of the father to his children, only for him to disappear once more, never to be seen again.

In this verse, Rumi speaks of Abdul-Qaws and his temporary return to his children. A crucial point, hinted at by the preceding verse, is the word mutavārī (متواری), which is frequently—and mistakenly—translated in modern journalistic parlance as "fugitive" or "runaway." That is an error. Mutavārī stems from the root warā (وری), signifying "to be hidden" or "to conceal." Abdul-Qaws became mutavārī; he became hidden, not that he fled. This distinction is vital for understanding the state of mystics and spiritual travelers, who sometimes disappear from public view, not because they are escaping, but because they have entered a different realm of being.

After nine years, as Rumi puts it, he returned ʿāriya (عاریه)—that is, temporarily, not permanently. This return made him "a guest to his own children for a month" (yak mahī mehmān farzandān-i khwīsh), and after this brief period, "no one saw his visage again" (v-az ān pas kas nadīd-ash rang bīsh). It is as if they were given a brief taste of union, however short, to know that such a union is possible, only for him to then retreat once more behind the veil of absence. This second disappearance is described as being carried away by pariyān (پریان)—beings of a different genus, hidden from ordinary human sight. Rumi likens this sudden departure and absence to "how the spirit is snatched away by the wound of a spear" (ke rabāyad rūḥ rā zakhm-i sanān); just as the soul is abruptly separated from the body by a sword's blow, so too does he vanish from his children's sight.

This act of hiding and disappearing, though narrated within a story, has deep roots in Rumi's epistemology. Sometimes, Truth, or the People of Truth, manifest for a fleeting moment and then return to the hidden realm. This is itself a type of wiṣāl (union) and firāq (separation): a separation that follows a brief union, intensifying longing. Furthermore, this verse alludes to the idea that the dwellers of Paradise and Truth become of the genus of Paradise and Truth, rather than merely entering it. When Abdul-Qaws becomes kindred with the pariyān and becomes hidden, it suggests that to enter another realm, one must become of the same essence as that realm, not simply remain its guest. This inner transformation and "genus-identification" with the realm of Truth is a condition for sustained presence within it.

Key takeaways

• The term mutavārī (متواری) in the Masnavi means 'hidden,' not 'fugitive.'
• Abdul-Qaws's return was ʿāriya (عاریه), or temporary, indicating a brief experience of union followed by renewed absence.
• This disappearance symbolizes joining the unseen realm and becoming 'kindred' with beings hidden from human sight.
• The manifestation and subsequent concealment of the People of Truth intensifies longing for full union.
• To truly inhabit the realm of Truth, one must become of its essence, not merely remain its guest.