M6:1613 — هم‌چنانک بی‌قراری عاشقان / حاصل آمد از قرار دلستان

Translation: Just as the restlessness (bi-qarārī) of lovers Comes forth from the composure (qarār) of the beloved. Meaning: This verse posits that the agitation and impatience of the lover are not due to any deficiency in the beloved, but paradoxically arise from the beloved's profound and unwavering composure. It illuminates a profound truth about the nature of love and the emergence of opposites from a singular origin.

«Just as the restlessness of lovers / Comes forth from the composure of the beloved.» This verse reveals a profound truth about the nature of love and the emergence of opposites from a singular source. Here, Mawlana uses a simple, tangible analogy to elucidate a deeper existential principle: the lover's restlessness is a direct and immediate product of the beloved's 'composure' (qarār). This is not to say the beloved actively causes agitation; rather, the beloved's serenity is so absolute and complete that it stirs tremor and anxiety in the lover's soul.

I believe this is a subtle explanation of love's unity, expressed through two contradictory manifestations. We have a 'single love' (ishq-i wāhid) that reveals itself in the beloved as 'coquetry' (nāz) and 'composure,' and the very same love, when it settles in the lover's soul, manifests as 'need' (niyāz) and 'restlessness.' These are two sides of the same coin, yet they assume completely different countenances. To further clarify this point, Mawlana offers another example: «He, like a mountain, has come to be firm in coquetry / The lovers, like leaves, have come to tremble.» The beloved sits steadfast and unwavering, like a mountain, while the lovers, as if trembling autumn leaves, are set in motion by the storm of love. This contrast of motion and stillness, tremor and stability, arises from a single truth: the beloved's presence.

This phenomenon is not limited to mere restlessness. The beloved's laughter incites the lover's tears, and the beloved's radiance and beauty (their āb-rūy) 'spills' the lover's dignity. This is the sweet scandal that poets like Saʿdi have eloquently described: «At night I weep softly, hoping my secret remains hidden / But to everyone in the world, my hidden cry has reached.» The lover's secret is exposed, not by any flaw in the beloved, but by the intensity of their beauty and coquetry.

These contradictions, these 'hows and whats' (chun o chigūneh) of the world, are all like foam that churns upon the 'ocean without how-or-what' (daryā-yi bī-chun) of existence. Absolute Being is without 'how' or 'what,' yet this simple and boundless Being brings forth these diverse and contradictory manifestations. Mawlana's example of the lover-beloved relationship is, in fact, a general pattern for understanding how multiplicity emerges from unity and how conflict arises from harmony. This is philosophically sound, for such manifestations, though seemingly contradictory, originate from a singular agency that itself resides in a state of 'without-how.' Thus, this verse is an invitation to transcend appearances and perceive the unity and oneness hidden behind all the world's opposites and phenomena.

Key takeaways

• The lover's restlessness is a direct outcome of the beloved's absolute composure.
• Love is a unified reality manifesting as 'need' in the lover and 'coquetry' in the beloved.
• This relationship exemplifies the emergence of opposites and multiplicity from a simple, singular origin (the 'ocean without how-or-what').
• The instability of lovers is vividly depicted as trembling leaves before the beloved's steadfast mountain-like presence.