M1:2077 — گر ترشح بیشتر گردد ز غیب / نه هنر ماند درین عالم نه عیب

Translation: Should emanation increase from the Unseen, No virtue would remain in this world, nor any vice.

Meaning: Rumi, from a higher vantage point, suggests that if the divine flow of awareness were to intensify, the very fabric of this world, built upon ethical dualities, would unravel, dissolving the distinctions between good and evil.

This verse lies at the heart of Rumi's profound discussion on the nature of 'envy' (hasad) and its place in the cosmic order. As I have often articulated, we encounter two distinct levels of understanding in the thoughts of mystics, particularly in Rumi's Mathnawi: a 'first-order perspective' that prescribes our moral duties, and a 'second-order perspective' that describes how the universe is governed. From the first perspective, envy is undeniably a reprehensible vice, and Rumi condemns it, tracing its roots to narcissism, greed, and ill-will, and calling upon us to shun it.

However, in the 'second-order perspective,' which this verse exemplifies, Rumi views existence from the divine vantage point. At this level, envy, greed, and other vices are not merely individual evils; they are the very pillars that sustain this world. Rumi concurs with Ghazali that God governs the world through the heedlessness (ghaflat) of its inhabitants; if people's eyes were fully opened to truths and they were completely freed from the chains of heedlessness, life as we know it would no longer be possible. The current cosmic system is founded on this very heedlessness and limitation of awareness. If the veils were entirely lifted, this world would cease to be the world we recognize.

The same logic applies to 'virtue' (honar) and 'vice' (ʿeib). This verse states: "A little emanation comes from that world, so that greed and envy may not depart from this world." This means that only a small measure of truths and insights from the Unseen world emanates into this realm, precisely so that greed and envy (and consequently, other virtues and vices) do not vanish from it. If this 'emanation' (tarashshuḥ) or outpouring of grace from the Unseen, which I call the 'grace of wakefulness,' were to increase, then neither 'virtue' nor 'vice' would remain. This implies that the ethical dualities that form the backbone of human life and our social order would collapse. 'Good' and 'bad' would no longer hold their current meanings, and this world would no longer be this world. This is a description of a cosmic system, not a moral injunction.

This is a point I have also touched upon in discussions of capitalism; the furnace of capitalism is avarice and greed. While morally we praise contentment and condemn greed, from a descriptive perspective, we observe that the capitalist system is built upon this very greed and would collapse without it. This example illustrates how what we consider 'vices' from an individual standpoint can, from a cosmic and sociological perspective, be the very pillars governing the world. This resonates with Hafez's more nuanced view, who said: "Be not sad, my heart, by the taunts of the envious / For perhaps, when you reflect, your good lies within it." Envy, in this deeper view, sometimes brings good and sometimes ill, and until the Day of Judgment, it remains one of the torches that keeps this world illuminated and warm. This verse is not an invitation to immorality, but rather a profound description of the conditions for the persistence of this world with all its imperfections and contradictions.

Key takeaways

• Rumi here synthesizes two levels of perspective: 'individual ethics' (condemnation of envy) and 'cosmic philosophy' (explaining envy's place in the existential order).
• This verse represents Rumi's 'second-order perspective,' which is a description of how the world is governed, not a prescription for individual action.
• If divine grace and awareness were to profusely emanate into this world, ethical distinctions (virtue and vice) would dissolve, and this world would no longer be this world.
• The existence of both vices and virtues in this world is a consequence of a limited emanation of grace from the Unseen; this limitation is a pillar of its stability.
• This insight is deeply intertwined with Rumi's understanding of 'heedlessness' (ghaflat) as essential for God's governance of the world.
• Similar to greed in capitalism, some 'vices' can be necessary pillars for the survival of the system from a cosmic perspective, even if they are condemned ethically.