M1:229 — تا بماند جانت خندان تا ابد / همچو جانِ پاکِ احمد با احد

Translation: So that your soul may remain laughing eternally, Like the pure soul of Ahmad (the Prophet) with the One (Ahad). Meaning: This verse promises everlasting joy for the soul that achieves full submission to the divine will, likening this state to the perpetual and pure union of Prophet Muhammad's soul with God's singular essence.

I believe this verse beautifully encapsulates the essence of submission and contentment that lies at the heart of Rumi's mysticism. This statement follows the same logic we observe in the story of Ishmael's (or Isaac's) sacrifice; Rumi repeatedly reminds us that in the face of divine command, the only acceptable response is "submission and submission and submission." He declares: "Like Ishmael, lay down your head before Him / Joyful and laughing, give your soul before His blade." This is not an invitation to death in a literal sense, but an invitation to a different kind of life: a life achieved by transcending the self and perishing in the Beloved's will.

The "laughing soul" (jān-e khāndān) that remains eternally joyful is not the result of avoiding hardship, but rather the consequence of unconditionally embracing it. This is precisely the "green sorrow" I have spoken of, a sorrow that ultimately leads to spiritual rapture and flight. Rumi never equates submission with despair or crushing grief. On the contrary, he posits the "laughing soul" as the fruit of this submission, a state in which even death transforms into eternal union and joy. True lovers, those Rumi speaks of, drink the "wine of life" only when they allow themselves to be "slain" by their Beloved; this slaying is not an execution, but a liberation from the prison of selfhood.

Rumi emphasizes that this divine command does not stem from "lust" or base desire, but from the execution of a hidden wisdom. "The King did not shed that blood for lust / So abandon your ill-will and strife." This submission, far from generating impurity and opacity, leads the soul to its ultimate purity and clarity. In such a station, no "adulteration" or blemish can destroy the "refinement" and purity achieved through this submission.

The supreme example and archetype of this state is the "pure soul of Ahmad," which has always been in union with "Ahad" (the One), and this union is the source of his eternal and boundless joy. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) embodies the perfection of submission and contentment, and thus, his soul remained eternally laughing in an unblemished and everlasting union with the One God. Through this analogy, Rumi presents this path not only for the chosen few, but for every soul prepared to vanish in the will of the Truth. This is the invitation to "selflessness" (bi-khodī), where the soul is liberated from the confines of the "self" and merges into the ocean of "Ahad"; yet, this effacement is not annihilation, but the highest and most eternal existence.

Key takeaways

• The soul's eternal joy is the result of complete submission to the Divine Will, not avoidance of suffering.
• In Rumi's view, dying in the path of the Beloved is not an end, but the beginning of eternal union and life.
• True submission purifies the soul to its utmost clarity, freeing it from all impurities.
• The Prophet Muhammad's soul's union with "Ahad" serves as an archetype of perfect submission and a source of boundless joy.