M6:1363 — در مزارع طالب دخلی که نیست / در مغارس طالب نخلی که نیست

Translation: In the fields, they seek a harvest that is not yet there; in the plantations, they seek a palm tree that is not yet there. Meaning: This couplet highlights the inherent human inclination to constantly pursue what is non-existent or merely potential, signifying our perpetual journey towards the future and the unmanifest.

I maintain that this couplet represents a pivotal point in understanding Rumi's perspective on the nature of human striving. Here, through everyday examples like farming and planting, Rumi alludes to a profound truth: the essence of our existence lies in the pursuit of "non-existents" (niist-hā), not merely what is already "existent" (hast-hā). This is precisely what I have consistently emphasized as the force that propels humanity towards the future and worlds yet to come.

He states that every intelligent person, day and night, searches for something that is not yet. This means we seek a "harvest" (dakhl) that has not yet sprouted in the field, or a "palm tree" (nakhl) that has not yet been planted or borne fruit in the grove. This inclination towards "non-existence" is not, for Rumi, merely a deficiency or a lack; rather, these niist-hā are, in truth, "potential existents" that we, through our efforts, draw forth from the "treasury of non-being" (khazana-ye ʿadam) and bring into existence. It is a fundamental truth that until the current "existent" perishes and becomes incomplete, the "future" and new "existents" will not emerge.

From Rumi's perspective, this "non-existence" that we pursue is the very reservoir and mine of divine creation. As he declares: «زانکه کان و مخزن صنع خدا / نیست غیر نیستی در انجلا» (For the mine and treasury of God's making is naught but non-existence manifest). It is non-existence itself that becomes the locus of new creations. We seek profit not yet earned, knowledge we do not yet possess, forbearance we have not yet attained. This movement towards what is not, in essence, is a journey towards infinite possibilities and divine manifestations. It is as if the realm of non-being is a vast storehouse where all these unmanifested beings reside, and we reach into it to draw them out and make them existent.

This pursuit of niist-hā ultimately approaches the Sufi meaning of poverty (faqr) and non-being (ʿadam). When an individual becomes aware that all these desired niist-hā arise from the treasure of ʿadam and become existent, they can then take a further step and accept their own "self-annihilation" (fanā-ye khwīsh) and "own non-being" (ʿadam-e khwīsh). In that state, one finds oneself as a "non-existent" before the "Absolute Existent" and, from this very non-existence, experiences the entirety of "existence" within oneself. This is not a critique of humanity, but rather an elucidation of its nature—a nature that is perpetually engaged in creation, bringing forth from non-being into being. Rumi further emphasizes this point in later verses, stating: «بر عدم باشم نه بر موجود مست / زانکه معشوق عدم وافی‌تر است» (I remain in non-being, not intoxicated by the existent / For the Beloved of non-being is more faithful). This illustrates his fidelity to the realm of the potential and the future.

Key takeaways

• Human nature is to seek the "non-existent" and potential, not to merely settle for existing realities.
• What does not yet exist, in Rumi's view, is not absolute nothingness but "potential existents" awaiting manifestation.
• This "non-existence" is itself the "treasury of God's making" and the source of new divine creations.
• The movement towards niist-hā is a manifestation of humanity's existential essence in creating and expanding being.
• This pursuit has Sufi roots, leading to the acceptance of one's "own non-being" and finding "Absolute Being" in annihilation.