M1:3103 — تنگ‌تر آمد خیالات از عدم / زان سبب باشد خیال اسباب غم

Translation: Imaginations/forms emerged narrower from non-being (adam); For that reason, imagination/form is the cause of sorrow. Meaning: This verse explains that mental forms and images (khiyālāt) originate from the boundless realm of pure abstraction (adam). However, because they are inherently limited and constrained, they carry within themselves the seed of sorrow.

This verse opens a window onto one of Rumi's most profound ontological and epistemological discussions, a topic holding special significance in his intellectual system, directly linked to the 'perfection of formlessness' (kamāl-e bi-ṣūratī) and the 'realm of non-being' (ʿālam-e ʿadam). When we speak of khiyāl (imagination/form), following the philosophical tradition post-Suhrawardi, our minds often turn to two distinct domains: khiyāl-e muttaṣil (individual mental imagery) and khiyāl-e munfaṣil (the detached, cosmic realm of archetypal forms). Rumi, although not explicitly employing these technical distinctions, sometimes alludes to khiyāl as an independent, objective realm, and at other times to the subjective thoughts and illusions passing through individuals' minds.

Here, Rumi points to a three-tiered cosmology: 1. The Realm of ʿAdam (Non-being / Pure Abstraction): As I have often stated, this is the realm of pure abstract entities (mujarradāt), a domain beyond khiyāl (imagination/form) and ḥiss (sense perception). This is the highest and most expansive plane of existence, formless and shapeless. In my estimation, Rumi may have drawn this 'nowhere-land' (hīchestān) from Eastern traditions like Hinduism and Buddhism; a 'nothing' that signifies not an emptiness, but absolute richness and pure formlessness. It is an awe-inspiring station where God, the Absolute Being, resides. 2. The Realm of Khiyālāt (Imaginations / Forms): This realm emerges from that absolute ʿadam, but it is 'narrower' (tang-tar) and more limited. This 'narrowing' is precisely the point of departure for sorrow. When the infinite formless takes on form and constraint, even if it is a subtle, imaginative form, it is diminished from its original expanse and openness. This limitation, this cutting off from a boundless root, is the very separation that the reed laments at the beginning of the Masnavi. In other words, every form and constraint, however elevated, reduces the absolute freedom of formlessness, and this deficiency, from Rumi's perspective, is the essence and cause of sorrow. 3. The Realm of Ḥiss va Rang (Sense and Color): This is the material and perceptible world, even more limited and constrained than the two preceding realms.

Therefore, sorrow arises not from a lack of awareness, but from form itself. From Rumi's perspective, every form and قالب, even if it is a product of imagination, signifies limitation and a descent from the unconstrained expansiveness of the realm of ʿadam. This sorrow is not worldly or melancholic; rather, it is a 'green sorrow' (gham-e sabz) that stems from the perception of distance from absolute formlessness. This is the sense of alienation (ghurbat) that every human being, knowingly or unknowingly, experiences; the feeling of being a guest in a world that is not their true homeland. Liberation from this sorrow is possible not by eliminating imagination, but by transcending it towards that very formlessness, for, as he states: 'The forms of the world are but the ocean's foam / Pass beyond the foam, if you are of the pure heart.'

Key takeaways

• Sorrow originates from the limitation inherent in forms, even imaginative ones, not merely in the material world.
• Rumi's cosmology posits three realms: ʿadam (formless), khiyāl (narrower), and ḥiss (narrowest).
• Imagination/form diminishes the expanse of ʿadam, and this reduction is the essence of sorrow.
• The sorrow here is a 'green sorrow,' a spiritual grief arising from the perception of distance from absolute formlessness.
• 'Emerging narrower' implies being constrained and cut off from the boundless root of existence; this is the reed's separation.