M6:708 — هم‌چنین لب در ندانم باز کرد / می‌ندانم می‌ندانم ساز کرد

Translation: In this manner, he opened his lips to 'I do not know,' / And made 'I do not know, I do not know' his tune. Meaning: This verse refers to a story in which a minstrel, by repeatedly uttering 'I do not know,' outwardly confesses ignorance but inwardly prepares the ground for affirmation and reaching truth.

This verse is a gem that Mevlana has embedded within a profound story about the Turk minstrel and his tune of 'I do not know.' In the presence of an Ajam, the minstrel repeatedly sings 'I do not know': 'I do not know what you want from me, I do not know if you are a moon or an idol.' This repetition, this making 'I do not know, I do not know' his tune, is not merely an admission of ignorance; rather, it is a spiritual and epistemological strategy that Mevlana unveils for us. The minstrel, in response to his critic, states that 'I negated in order to later arrive at affirmation.' This is the crux of the matter.

For years, I have emphasized a fundamental principle in mysticism, and particularly in the Masnavi: tazkiyeh before tahliye—cleansing before adorning. This means one must first remove, first clear the basin of mud, sludge, and superfluities before pouring pure water into it. If this is not done, any water poured will become polluted. This 'I do not know' is precisely that tazkiyeh; it is the removal of false claims, the cleansing of the mind from borrowed knowledge and flimsy certainties. The seeker must empty themselves of presuppositions, of what they presume to know, so that the vessel of their being can be prepared to receive true knowledge.

This negation is not a negative, despairing one. No, this is an affirmative negation. A negation that opens the way for affirmation. Just as Socrates said, 'I know that I know nothing,' this 'I do not know' of Mevlana is a bridge towards a knowledge beyond mere discourse, a knowledge that springs from within, not imposed upon one from without. It is the formlessness (bi-surati) that Mevlana speaks of; becoming empty of mental forms and conceptual molds, so that one can receive the formless manifestation of truth. This is why the ney (reed) is a ney; it is hollow so that the player's breath can enter it and produce a melody.

In essence, this 'I do not know' is not a complaint about the state of the world, just as Mevlana never complains about the architecture of the cosmos; he sees the world 'as a paradise.' This 'I do not know' is about the seeker themselves, about the veils they have placed upon their own vision. For me, this is a great lesson for living in the present moment, and freeing oneself from the bonds of past and future. 'The Sufi is the child of the moment' (Sufi ibnu'l-waqt bashad); and this means, in every moment, to empty oneself of old knowledge and previous claims so as to be ready to receive new truth. This tune of 'I do not know' will ultimately transform into a melody of true knowledge.

Key takeaways

• The 'I do not know' as a tool for negating false claims, creating empty space for true knowledge.
• The purification of the inner self from what one presumes to know is a prerequisite for entering the stage of adornment with pure knowledge.
• This negation is not a negative or despairing one, but an affirmative negation that opens the way for affirmation and profound understanding.
• A journey from apparent ignorance to inner knowing, akin to Socratic 'I know that I know nothing,' but with a mystical flavor.
• Emptying oneself of mental forms is essential for comprehending the 'formlessness' of truth and preparing to receive its manifestations.