M6:4133 — یک خلافی نی میان این عیون / آنچنان که هست در علم ظنون

Translation: No contradiction exists among these eyes (or sources), / Unlike what is found in the science of conjectures. Meaning: This verse asserts that true mystical insight and perception are free from contradiction, contrasting sharply with conjectural and intellectual sciences, which are inherently prone to doubt and disagreement.

This stirring verse unveils a fundamental truth: the profound distinction between intuitive mystical insight and mere rational argumentation. Here, Mawlana asserts that amongst these 'eyes' (ʿuyūn)—these insightful gazes, these clear springs of unmediated knowledge—there is 'no contradiction' (yak khilāf-i nī). However, this unity is absent in the 'science of conjectures' (ʿilm-i ẓunūn), which is founded upon opinion, supposition, and surmise. What, then, is this crucial difference?

ʿIlm-i ẓunūn is precisely the knowledge of the mercantile intellect, the speculative reason I have often discussed; an intellect that is 'lame' (lang) when it comes to discerning matters of ultimate, eternal felicity. This intellect recoils from metaphysics and the transcendent; from Kant to contemporary analytical philosophers, it has largely capitulated before certainty, confining itself to the realm of probability and conjecture. Naturally, in such a science, disagreement and speculation are endless. Each individual, relying on their own conjecture, carves out a path and offers an opinion, often contradictory to others. Hafez witnesses this and laments, proclaiming that a 'new world must be built, and a new human created.' Yet, Mawlana sees the world as perfect, stating: 'Since I am ever at peace with this Father, / This world appears to me as paradise.' Contradiction and crookedness, for Mawlana, stem from the distorted perception of the observer, not from any inherent flaw in the cosmos.

So, what is the way forward? Mawlana here points to the path that transcends conjectures and leads to 'certainty' (yaqīn) and 'arrival' (wuṣūl). This path is one of 'submission' (taslīm)—submission to a 'guide to growth' (pīr-e rashād), not merely an 'old man of the times' (pīr-e gardūn). A guide seasoned not by years, but by spiritual journey and insight. As I have stressed, 'submission is the condition, not a long journey.' Without a guide, we are lost in the 'darkness' (ẓulumāt), just as 'if the blind have found their way with a staff, / It is under the protection of the clear-sighted.' The ʿuyūn are the eyes of these clear-sighted ones, whose vision, being direct and unclouded, converges upon a singular truth. Consequently, there is no contradiction in their perception. This unity of intuition stands in stark contrast to the plurality and contradiction inherent in the science of conjectures. This is the promise of the Masnavi: guidance toward certainty and an experience that dispels all doubt and surmise.

Key takeaways

• Mystical intuition, unlike intellectual sciences, is free from contradiction and disagreement.
• The 'eyes' (ʿuyūn) refer to the unified, convergent insight of mystics who drink from the spring of truth.
• The 'science of conjectures' (ʿilm-i ẓunūn) symbolizes knowledge based solely on supposition and argumentation, leading to endless disputes.
• The path to certainty and liberation from conjectures is submission (taslīm) to a true guide (pīr-e rashād).
• Mawlana perceives the world as flawless, attributing contradiction to defects in the observer, not in existence itself.
• Pure reason is 'lame' for ultimate truths and can only find its way under the guidance of the clear-sighted.