M6:1966 — لاابالی عشق باشد نی خرد / عقل آن جوید کز آن سودی برد

Translation: Love is heedless, not intellect; Intellect seeks that from which it may gain a profit. Meaning: This couplet articulates the fundamental difference between love and intellect: love acts without calculation or fear of consequence, whereas intellect is perpetually driven by the pursuit of gain and self-interest.

This luminous couplet by Mawlana, appearing in one of the most condensed and mature sections of the Mathnavi, not only defines love and intellect but also clarifies their relationship to each other and even to the concept of religion itself. These verses, like a furnace of fire, conceal treasures of gnosis within them.

I firmly believe that Mawlana establishes a profound antithesis between 'love' (ʿishq) and 'intellect' (ʿaql) here. He posits that intellect, as we understand it—both theoretical and practical—is perpetually self-interested, mercantile, and cautious. Intellect never ventures down a path of despair, meaning it avoids any course where the probability of loss is high or where there is no hope of gain. It proceeds cautiously, calculates profit and loss at every step, and shies away from risky endeavors. Intellect is a calculating merchant, averse to danger, seeking only that from which it can derive benefit.

Love, however, transcends these equations entirely. Love is lā-ubālī, heedless and carefree, indifferent to profit and loss, unconcerned with hope or despair. It is love that 'rushes headlong towards that side' (kān taraf bar sar davad), meaning it charges into places others flee from and fear. Risk-taking is inherent in love's very essence. It endures suffering 'like a stone under a millstone' (dar balā chun sang zīr-i āsiyā), and as Hafez says, 'Love is the vocation of daring, hardship-enduring rogues.'

Mawlana describes love as 'stubborn, that has no back' (sakht-rūʾī ke nadārad hīch posht). Many commentators have interpreted 'having no back' as being defenseless or unsupported. However, I find this interpretation forced and believe Mawlana is pointing to one of the deepest characteristics of love, and indeed of the divine essence itself, as he also says in the Divan-e Shams: 'How could love itself have a back? It is all face, all face.' Love, like silence and God, is single-faced and without hypocrisy. Its existence is transparent and unified; it has no facade or hidden interior. This echoes the famous anecdote of Imam Ali (as), who, when asked about the 'Face of God' (wajh-Allāh), lit a fire and asked, 'Where is the fire's face?' The Jewish man replied, 'It is all face.' Ali then asked, 'And its back?' The man answered, 'It has no back.' Ali then said, 'The Face of God is likewise.' Love, too, is entirely 'face' and has no 'back.'

Love 'killed the desire for gain within itself' (bahr-i jūʾī rā darūn-i khīsh kusht); it has extinguished the urge to seek profit and advantage. It 'gives purely, not seeking reward' (pāk mībāzad, nabāshad muzd-jū), meaning it is devoid of any ulterior motive, cause, or expectation. This is precisely like God, who bestows existence without cause: 'I did not create to gain anything, but to bestow generosity upon My servants.' These 'bestowers' (vahhābān) also give without cause. Love, too, receives existence and blessings purely from God and is ready to give purely in return—that is, without any expectation. This is 'generosity' (futūwat) that is without cause; it transcends every 'religion' (millat).

Why does it transcend religion? Because religion, according to the Qur'an, is itself a transaction: 'Shall I not guide you to a commerce that will save you from a painful torment?' Religion teaches its followers to seek either 'grace' (faḍl) or 'salvation' (khalāṣ) from punishment. The prayer 'Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire' precisely encompasses this grace and salvation. But 'the purely self-sacrificing are special offerings' (pāk-bāzān-and qurbānān-i khāṣṣ); they operate beyond the canopy of shari'a. They have opened a path called the path of generosity, in which they do not transact with God in a mercantile fashion. They 'neither test God nor engage in profit and loss' (na Khodā rā imtihānī mīkonand, na dar sūd va ziyānī mīzanand). Testing God, as Jesus (as) said in response to Satan, is not the work of servants, let alone lovers. The Beloved cannot and should not be tested. This statement by Mawlana beautifully delineates the boundary between transactional faith and gnostic love.

Key takeaways

• Love is reckless and heedless of profit and loss, unlike intellect, which perpetually seeks advantage.
• For Mawlana, courage and risk-taking are intrinsic to love; a fearful person cannot be a lover.
• Love has 'killed the desire for gain' within itself and 'gives purely,' meaning it bestows without any motive or expectation.
• Mawlana describes love as 'stubborn, that has no back,' signifying that love is unified and without hypocrisy, possessing no separate front or back.
• The selfless devotion of a lover transcends the bounds of 'religion' (millat), as religion often aims for reward or salvation, while love is unconditional.
• Lovers never test God or engage in transactional dealings of profit and loss with Him, as these are characteristics of the mercantile intellect.