M6:2990 — چیست جنسیت یکی نوع نظر / که بدان یابند ره در هم‌دگر

Translation: What is kinship? It is a kind of gaze, Through which they find a path to one another. Meaning: Rumi explains that kinship and affinity among beings arise from a particular intellectual insight or gaze, enabling them to understand and be drawn to each other.

Here, in this noble verse, Mawlana unveils the concept of jinsiyyat (kinship or affinity) and offers a profoundly deep and revealing definition. What is jinsiyyat? It is not merely belonging to a material kind or species, but rather it is "a kind of nazar"—a certain gaze, an insight, an inner vision through which beings "find a path to one another." This nazar is not physical sight; it is intellectual apprehension and intuitive perception. In our philosophical tradition, we speak of hikmat-i nazari (theoretical wisdom) and ʿulūm-i nazari (theoretical sciences). These terms are rooted in the belief that the human intellect possesses an eye that can perceive and behold the truths of existence.

I maintain that this nazar can be interpreted as the inner eye or the "eye of the intellect." Just as the ancient Greeks derived the word "idea" from "to see," and Arabic roots "ra'y" (opinion/view) in "ru'yat" (vision), these cultures have consistently privileged an intellectual and inner perspective. When we think, we are in fact using our intellectual eye to gaze into the realm of truths, seeking discovery and revelation. Some possess an intellect that is penetrating and sharp-sighted, discerning many truths, while others remain blind in this pursuit.

This nazar is profoundly linked to the concept of hads (intuition) in philosophy. Hads is not to be understood as mere guessing or estimation in common parlance, but as a mental faculty that enables one to arrive at a correct conclusion or truth suddenly, without needing to follow extensive logical steps or premises. This faculty exists in a more perfect and profound form among the prophets, where we call it wahy (revelation)—an immediate beholding of truth without the need for conventional reasoning or thought. Prophets, with their inner eye, perceive truths invisible to others, and this is precisely that nazar.

Thus, jinsiyyat, according to Mawlana, functions like a hidden magnet. It is an inner attraction through which beings, from stars to humans, recognize their kin and are drawn towards them. The tale of the stars gathering before Idris is an example of this very jinsiyyat; for Idris, spiritually, was "of their kind," and this shared gaze and insight opened a path for their connection. Ultimately, Mawlana teaches us that behind all the forms and appearances of this world lies a shared truth and an inner nazar that is the foundation of solidarity and unity, emanating from the Divine Essence that shines within the souls of all beings.

Key takeaways

• True kinship arises not from material commonality, but from an inner insight and intellectual "gaze" (nazar).
• The concept of "nazar" here means "seeing with the eye of the intellect," transcending mere sensory perception.
• This "nazar" is akin to the philosophical faculty of hads (intuitive apprehension) and prophetic wahy (revelation): an unmediated perception of truths.
• The existence of jinsiyyat points to a hidden cosmic system of attraction and sympathy that links all beings.
• The primordial divine gaze, hidden within the souls of all beings, is the foundation of this jinsiyyat and the path to mutual connection.