M6:2981 — مهرها را جمله جنس مهر خوان / قهرها را جمله جنس قهر دان

Translation: All loves, consider them of the genus Love; All wrath, know it to be of the genus Wrath.

This couplet presents one of Mawlana’s fundamental propositions regarding existence and the true nature of emotions and spiritual states. When he instructs us to 'consider all loves of the genus Love,' it does not merely mean that various forms of affection fall under a general category of 'love.' Rather, Mawlana is asserting that every manifestation, every drop of affection, originates from a singular, boundless ocean of 'Love' and is of the very essence of that infinite sea. The same holds true for wrath. All forms of anger, rage, or wrath are not disparate, isolated phenomena; they are emanations from a unified core of 'Wrath,' as if Wrath itself possesses a mine from which these manifestations are extracted.

This idea is not dissimilar to the views of ancient thinkers, perhaps even the Platonists, who believed that the truths of the cosmos have their own mines and storehouses, from which various forms of phenomena emerge. Love, therefore, originates from the 'storehouse of Paradise,' and wrath from the 'mine of Hell.' This is a profound ontological perspective, positing that love and wrath are not accidental or contingent occurrences, but are rooted in enduring realities within existence. This truth of 'genus' or 'kind-ness' is not limited to emotions; Mawlana clarifies in preceding and succeeding verses that 'the dweller of Paradise is of the genus Paradise.' This statement is immensely significant: we often imagine ourselves entering Paradise, when the deeper truth is that we become Paradise itself. The dwellers of Paradise are of the essence of Paradise. This mirrors our perception of time and space in this world; we believe ourselves to be 'in' them, when in fact, we are time-bound and space-bound. It is our faculty of imagination that constructs the illusion of 'container and contained,' placing things in illusory positions.

Just as when I say, 'I am in joy,' it means 'I am joyful,' not that joy is a space I have entered. By the same analogy, the dwellers of Paradise become Paradise, and the dwellers of Hell become Hell. The burning fire of Hell is not external to us; it is we ourselves who consume ourselves. The blessings of Paradise, its houris and gardens, are likewise not external entities but come to fruition within our very being. Naturally, these truths are not manifest in this world of concealment, this 'abode of delusion.' We sometimes perceive Paradise as Hell and Hell as Paradise because veils obscure reality. But on the day when 'secrets are tried' (yawma tubla as-sarā'ir) and mysteries are unveiled, the inner truth of individuals will become clear, revealing whose core ignites in flames and whose essence is a fragrant rose garden.

From this very principle of 'genus' also arises the rule that 'like attracts like.' Mawlana states, 'The heedless brings forth the heedless, for they are of the same kind in intellect.' This means that reckless individuals attract other reckless ones; noble individuals attract nobility. Goodness has an attraction that draws its own kind, and evil does likewise. This principle is active at all levels of existence, demonstrating that nothing in this world is rootless or without lineage; everything arises from its own kind and is drawn towards its own kind.

Key takeaways

• All manifestations of love and wrath are not accidental, but emanations from a single, unified source, being of their own kind.
• Love originates from the 'storehouse of Paradise' and wrath from the 'mine of Hell'; these truths are rooted in existence itself.
• Paradise and Hell are not external places; we ourselves become Paradise or Hell, as these are our intrinsic states.
• Our perception of time, space, and emotional states (like joy) as 'containers and contained' is an illusion of our imagination; we are these phenomena.
• This world is an 'abode of delusion' where truths are veiled, but on the day when 'secrets are tried,' inner reality will be revealed.
• The principle of 'genus' explains why like attracts like; goodness draws goodness, and evil draws evil.