M6:3690 — سر استثناست این حزم و حذر / زانکه خر را بز نماید این قدر

Translation: This caution and prudence is the head of exceptions; For destiny makes a donkey appear as a goat. Meaning: Rumi asserts that while prudence is necessary, one should never place absolute faith in worldly causes or one's own plans, as divine destiny can often invert realities, bringing forth outcomes contrary to expectation.

This verse is one of those pivotal lines where Rumi delves into the essence of uncertainty and discontinuity in the world. I would say, without shame, that Rumi here uncovers a point that many contemporary Western philosophers have only recently come to grasp: the instability and fragility of our certainty regarding the laws of nature and history.

Rumi tells us that caution and prudence, while necessary, are themselves the head of exceptions. That is, precisely at the moment when you believe you have exercised the utmost caution and planned everything meticulously, it is then that divine destiny can 'make a donkey appear as a goat.' This is neither sophistry nor a denial of reality, but rather an acknowledgment of the pervasive power and will of an agent beyond human contrivance. It is His work to 'reverse perceptions' (تقلیب ابصار) and alter outcomes, for He is the one who turns hearts (قلب).

The Masnavi, in numerous instances, illustrates how our plans fail. How often have we seen an arrow shot to the right go left; gone hunting for a deer only to find ourselves snared by a pig; dug a pit for others and fallen into it ourselves; or expected wealth from a marriage only to plunge into debt. These are all testimonies that causes and effects do not unconditionally lead to our anticipated results. Absolute reliance on worldly causes is a form of folly, for it blinds us to the 'secret agent' (خفیه‌کار) behind these transformations.

Thus, this verse offers us three profound layers of understanding: 1. Scientific Humility: Rumi implies that the scientific laws we discover, with all their mathematical and empirical precision, do not possess absolute certainty. Our eyes have only recently opened to the truth that these blueprints and predictions can be fragile. We ought to lament for those who imagine nature to be permanently and definitively understood. 2. Practical Humility: In individual and collective life, we are not the 'masters' of this world. The reins of everything are not entirely in our hands. The outcomes of our actions are not guaranteed, and the future of history is not fixed or predetermined. Karl Popper, in his critique of Marxism, attributed Marx’s erroneous predictions to his 'poverty of imagination,' as Marx could not conceive that 'a pebble might fall under the wheels of the train of history and derail it.' This 'historical determinism,' which guarantees the future, is nothing more than an illusion, just as Fukuyama erred with his 'End of History.' 3. Theological Insight: Rumi views these gaps and discontinuities not as signs of weakness, but as indicators of the presence and will of another. It is as if an overwhelming force holds the reins of this universe, at times not wishing for a certain event to occur, or desiring it to unfold differently. This is the profound insight of Nahj al-Balagha, which states: «عَرَفتُ اللهَ بِفَسخِ العَزائِمِ وَ نَقضِ الهِمَم» — I recognized God through the dissolution of resolves and the breaking of intentions. The world does not stand on its own; it has a rider who steers its reins wherever He wishes, even if this 'horse' seems to defy our command. Here, we must not rely on the 'donkey's tail,' for the 'cause-turner' is like a donkey's tail, itself subservient to another rider.

Key takeaways

• Uncertainty Principle: Absolute reliance on worldly causes is a heedlessness of a higher will.
• Principle of Exception: Even at the height of prudence, destiny can invert realities.
• Practical Humility: We are not masters of the world; the outcomes of our actions are not guaranteed.
• Scientific Humility: Scientific laws lack absolute certainty, and predictions are fragile.
• Critique of Determinism: Historical and personal determinism is an illusion; the future is not fixed.
• Divine Agency: Discontinuities in causality are signs of God's constant presence and will.