M6:1374 — گر انیس لا نه‌ای ای جان به سر / در کمین لا چرایی منتظر

Translation: If you are not intimate with Non-being, O soul at its wit's end, / Why are you waiting in ambush for Non-being? Meaning: This verse points to a paradox in human behavior: people constantly seek what is absent or non-existent in their worldly endeavors, yet they recoil from the spiritual non-existence or self-annihilation (fanā) that Rumi advocates, even though these two are inwardly connected.

In this profound verse, Rumi touches upon a fundamental ontological and psychological point, rooted in what I call our 'inverted perception.' With a subtle argument, which can be termed a 'gentle stratagem' (ḥīlat-i laṭīf), he invites us to embrace spiritual annihilation (fanā) and non-being. He challenges us: look, you have been pursuing non-being your entire life. Every artisan, every entrepreneur, when undertaking a task, seeks something that is not. A builder searches for unbuilt land, a carpenter for a house without a door, a water-carrier for an empty jug. All of them, in essence, lie 'in ambush for Non-being,' awaiting what has not yet come into existence.

So, why is it that when the name 'non-existence' (ʿadam or nīstī) is mentioned, particularly in the realm of spirituality and fanā, everyone flees from it? You who have cast your hook into the 'sea of Non-being' (baḥr-i lā), detaching your heart from your current possessions (shast-i dil dar baḥr-i lā afkandey), and from this very non-being have reaped hundreds of thousands of gains (both material and spiritual), why do you now avoid it? Rumi here builds a bridge between the 'non-being' we seek in the material world (things that are not yet, which we wish to create) and the 'non-being' of mysticism (the annihilation of the self, Sufi poverty). He seeks to show that these two forms of non-being ultimately converge; both, in their own way, deal with 'la' and 'ʿadam'.

Indeed, 'la' and 'non-being' are the intimate companions (anīs) of our desires and aspirations. If your hope and desire are set on 'non-being,' why do you then shun it? This is a 'magic of the world' that inverts being and non-being in our perception. We call 'barg' (having, true existence) 'marg' (death) and flee from it, even though it is this 'death' that leads us to true 'barg' and eternal life. This is the 'divine trickery' or 'enchantment of divine craft' (saḥr-i ṣanʿat-i ilāhī) that Rumi speaks of; this heedlessness (ghaflat) has so blinded us that our inclination is towards 'living at the bottom of the well,' whereas liberation from this well is true freedom and paradise. Rumi urges us to cast aside this veil of heedlessness and perceive non-being in its true station and dignity, for that non-being is the sea of desire (baḥr-i murād) that holds countless aspirations and conquests within itself.

Key takeaways

• Humanity inherently seeks the non-existence of things it wishes to create or acquire, yet shies away from mystical non-existence (fanā).
• Rumi, through his 'gentle stratagem,' bridges material non-being (what is not yet, which we seek) and spiritual non-being (the annihilation of self).
• ‘Lā’ (Non-being) and ‘ʿadam’ (non-existence) are the intimate companions of our desires; we cast our heart and capital into the sea of non-being to gain what we seek.
• The 'magic of the world' and 'divine enchantment' cause us to perceive true existence as non-existence and non-existence as existence.
• We flee from the very non-being which is the 'sea of desire' and the source of countless achievements, preferring to remain 'at the bottom of the well' of worldly life.