M6:422 — در دل شحنه چو حق الهام داد / که چنین صورت بساز از بهر داد

Translation: When the Truth inspired the heart of the magistrate That such a form should be devised for justice.

Meaning: Mowlana suggests that the forms and methods of justice devised by human authorities are not merely human constructs but are divinely inspired by God.

This couplet touches upon one of Mowlana’s most profound and, frankly, challenging insights regarding divine decree and retribution—an idea I, myself, find difficult to fully embrace, yet one must attend to it and comprehend it within its context. This beyt arises from Mowlana’s broader discourse on free will and human responsibility, where he emphatically states that one should never attribute the consequences of one's actions to fate, divine decree, or mere luck. Any suffering that befalls a human being is a direct consequence of their own deeds, not ill fortune.

In this vein, Mowlana takes a further step, declaring: “Actions are given form in the Unseen.” This implies that every action, in the realm of the unseen, possesses its inherent form and its corresponding retribution. It is as if punishment is not merely a human convention we devise to regulate society; rather, God has determined these forms in the unseen and, at the opportune moment, inspires them into human hearts. His example is the punishment for theft. He asks, “Is not a thief hanged?” and immediately clarifies that hanging bears no resemblance to the act of stealing itself. Yet, this is “the image of the All-Knowing God in the Unseen” that has been prescribed for that particular act. This divine inspiration descends upon the heart of the shahna (magistrate or law enforcer) so that he may “devise such a form for justice.”

Thus, from Mowlana's perspective, even these punishments, which we perceive as human and conventional, possess a divine origin. God is the “Wisest of Judges” (ahkam al-hakemin), and it is He who knows how to align any action with its appropriate retribution. This viewpoint establishes an intrinsic link between an act and its recompense, in contrast to a purely conventional understanding where the relationship between crime and punishment is merely arbitrary and posited. For Mowlana, punishment is, as it were, the natural effect of its cause—the act itself; just as barley yields barley and no other seed. This notion is, admittedly, difficult to accept, especially considering that the standards of punishment have varied throughout history and across cultures, and continue to evolve with human thought. However, Mowlana views this through the lens of prophetic teachings and unseen inspirations.

The core insight here is the emphasis on individual responsibility and the intrinsic retribution of actions. Mowlana is not denying human free will. Rather, he is asserting that even when human rulers, by their own choice, establish forms of justice, their origins lie in divine inspirations. This perspective precludes excuses, compelling individuals to “lay the crime upon themselves” and “reconcile with the justice of the Truth.” This is precisely the internal conflict that a free human being experiences in confronting both divine and human laws, a conflict that must ultimately be resolved within.

Key takeaways

• Forms of justice and punishment are divinely inspired in the hearts of magistrates, not merely human contracts.
• An intrinsic and real connection exists between human actions and their retribution, ordained by God.
• Mowlana suggests that even human judicial measures are rooted in divine inspiration, not solely human reason or societal agreement.
• Responsibility for one's deeds lies squarely with the doer and should not be blamed on luck, fate, or external factors.
• God is the Wisest of Judges, and no retribution or punishment decreed by Him is erroneous or unjust.