M6:3137 — هرچه در وی می‌نماید عکس اوست / هم‌چو عکس ماه اندر آب جوست

Translation: Whatever appears in him is His reflection; Like the moon's image in a flowing stream. Meaning: This verse conveys that human existence serves as a mirror reflecting divine attributes, rather than being their source, much like the moon's image shimmering in a stream.

This verse is among the master-verses in which Rumi describes the human condition in the most exquisite terms. He portrays humanity not as possessing divine attributes, but as the astrolabe of those attributes—an instrument that points to the exalted qualities of God without being those qualities themselves. I have often argued that religious language is fundamentally metaphorical, and here Rumi brilliantly employs this metaphor to unveil truth. We are not made of literal dust, nor did God literally breathe into clay like a potter; these are all parables. These are visions that Moses saw in a dream and the Prophet Muhammad reiterated, and now we are the inheritors of this cup, entrusted with its stewardship, to interpret it in a manner befitting our age.

The analogy of the astrolabe here is highly illuminating. The astrolabe, that ancient star-finder used by our ancestors to calculate the altitude, longitude, and latitude of celestial bodies, merely shows; it does not bring the heavens themselves into our presence. Humanity is likewise: “Adam is the astrolabe of divine attributes; Adam’s description is the manifestation of His signs.” It is through humanity that we can grasp the high and exalted attributes of God, but no more than an astrolabe reveals. Whatever becomes manifest in him (Adam) is His reflection and echo, precisely like the image of the moon shimmering in a flowing stream.

The real moon is in the sky, in its lofty position, but its image is seen in the flowing water. This image is not the moon itself, yet it indicates the moon's presence and cannot exist without the moon. This illustrates the utmost proximity and, at the same time, the ultimate distinction. In our being, we see His reflection, not His essence. This metaphor delicately expresses the Oneness of God's actions (Tawhid al-Af’ali) without leading to predestination (Jabr) or making humanity a partner to God.

But Rumi does not stop there. He continues by speaking of the “spiderweb patterns” on humanity’s astrolabe—the intricate and complex lines etched onto astrolabes that only astrologers could read and comprehend. Humanity, too, possesses such cryptic lines, which, if one could decipher them, would lead to the truth of humanity and, subsequently, to the truth of God, whom Adam manifests. These “spiderweb patterns” convey tidings of the “wheel of the unseen” and the “sun of the spirit.”

Alas, this “astrolabe of guidance”—this true guide—“has fallen into the hands of the common folk without an astrologer.” This means humanity, with all its enigmatic lines, has been left among people without proper guidance. It is like an X-ray image falling into the hands of ordinary people, where only a physician can read and interpret it, or Chinese script which, for someone who does not know the language, is merely patterns, not meaning. This is why Rumi emphasizes, “God gave this astrology to the prophets; the unseen requires an eye that sees the unseen.” The prophets are those divine astrologers to whom God granted the science of reading humanity’s existence, so they could decipher this complex astrolabe and, through it, unlock the secrets of the higher realms for us. Here, Rumi’s epistemology, through his own self-understanding, reaches its zenith: humanity is the locus of existence's secrets, but the unveiling of these secrets requires the 'eye that sees the unseen'.

Key takeaways

• Humanity is the astrolabe of divine attributes, meaning a reflector and indicator, not the source or possessor of those attributes.
• Human existence is a mirror that reflects God's qualities, much like the moon's image in a flowing stream.
• Religious language is metaphorical and symbolic; existential truths must be understood beyond superficial interpretations.
• On human existence, 'spiderweb patterns' of divine secrets are etched, which only 'astrologers' (prophets and mystics) can read.
• This verse emphasizes self-knowledge, as understanding humanity as a manifestation of divine attributes is a gateway to knowing God.