M6:3089 — نور روی یوسفی وقت عبور / می‌فتادی در شباک هر قصور

Translation: The light of Joseph's face, as he passed by, Fell upon the window of every palace. Meaning: The unparalleled beauty of Joseph, a symbol of divine manifestation, was so pervasive that its radiance would shine into every dwelling, every corner of existence, and be reflected therein.

This beyt, the sixth from the sixth book of the Masnavi, offers a profound and evocative image of the central concept of 'Divine Manifestation' (tajallī-ye ilāhī), which truly shapes the core of Rumi's mystical worldview. Without doubt, Rumi here positions Joseph as a symbol of absolute divine beauty. The light of his face is not merely a physical glow, but a radiance from that 'boundless grace' which pervades the entire cosmos. When Rumi states that this light 'fell upon' (mī-oftādī) even as Joseph passed, it signifies that this manifestation is so potent and penetrating that no veil can conceal it, even in transit. This beauty is inherently self-revealing and radiates in every direction.

I have repeatedly stated that 'the entire cosmos, all of creation, is a mirror of divine beauty.' This is a fundamental tenet in mysticism. The world is not merely an effect from a cause, through which we infer the cause's existence; rather, it is a mirror in which God reveals Himself. As I've emphasized in my lectures, we can look into the world and see the Whole in the part; in this small mirror, we can observe that immense beauty. The phrase 'the window of every palace' (shabāk-e har qasūr) in this beyt precisely represents these 'small mirrors' or 'channels of manifestation.' Every palace or dwelling with a window opening to the outside becomes a vessel for reflecting this sacred light. Every particle of this world, every phenomenon, every being, is a window or a mirror that reflects a ray of divine beauty.

The crucial point is that God 'does not shine overtly' (āshkārā namī-tābad), but rather 'shines from within these mirrors' (az del-e īn āyīnahā mī-tābad). This implies that the Divine Essence is veiled, yet His attributes and names manifest through the phenomena of this world. This is the concept of mir'āt (mirror) which holds a pivotal place in the works of Muhyiddin Ibn al-'Arabi and many mystics after him, and undoubtedly in Rumi's Masnavi. The world is like a vast and expansive mirror through which God reveals Himself to us. And these manifestations are sometimes glorious (jalālī) and sometimes beautiful (jamālī), as Rumi himself expresses: 'Laughter narrates His kindness / Weeping narrates His wrath.'

In the Masnavi, Rumi sometimes recounts the story of Moses, whose face became so radiant after divine manifestations that people could not bear to look upon it, forcing him to veil his face with his cloak. Here too, the story of Joseph, with his unparalleled beauty, is a metaphor for this intensity of light and manifestation that reveals itself through the existence of perfect humans and the pure souls of the world, or indeed through any other being. This 'Joseph-like light' is so penetrating that instead of concentrating in one spot, it casts itself into every opening and reflects therein; as if the entire existence yearns for this beauty and is ready to reflect it. This means divine beauty is ever-present, but its perception depends on the eye that beholds it; eyes that see the world not in heedlessness, but as a mirror for observing the Singular Beauty.

Key takeaways

• The world and all its phenomena serve as mirrors for the manifestation of Divine Beauty.
• Joseph's beauty symbolizes the perfection and pervasive penetration of God's absolute grace.
• Divine light is ever-present and ubiquitous, reflecting from every aperture of existence.
• 'The window of every palace' refers to the diverse capacities of creatures to reflect this light.
• Perceiving this beauty requires an awakened eye that sees multiplicity as a manifestation of unity.