M6:3038 — چشم من چون دید روی آن قباد / کثرت اعداد از چشمم فتاد

Translation: When my eye beheld the face of that great one, the multitude of numbers fell from my eye. Meaning: This verse describes how the presence of a single, spiritually powerful and resolute individual can render the apparent multitude and numerical superiority of adversaries insignificant and null.

I take this verse as evidence for the profound truth that the world, and what we perceive of it, is not merely an objective reality existing outside us, but rather a manifestation of our inner states. When the minister beheld the face of that Qobād, that great man (Ja'far Tayyār), suddenly, "the multitude of numbers fell from my eye." This expression is exceptionally precise and deep; it does not say that the numbers ceased to exist, but that they fell from my eye. This means my gaze, my insight, my perception changed. What was previously a terrifying multitude and count, in the light of that singular presence, became nothing and void.

Mowlana, further elaborating this point, explains that this fall of numbers arises from nothing other than jam'iyat (inner unity or composure). The jam'iyat-i khāṭir bestowed upon Ja'far by the hand of God is that very assurance, steadfastness, and resilience which makes one person equivalent to an entire nation or army. This is the same light that, when it manifested on the mountain, turned the mountain to dakk and caused Moses to faint; it did not annihilate the mountain, but shattered Moses' perception of it. This is an inner visionary experience that transforms everything in the observer's sight.

The issue is not the power of numbers, but the power of meaning. Mowlana states: Many stars there are, but if the Sun be one / Before it their foundation is undone. Thousands of stars are "nothing" and "dissolved" before one sun. This is a clear example of the same phenomenon that occurs in the presence of a human being possessing jam'iyat. Similarly, thousands of mice are ineffective against one cat, because No jam'iyat is within their souls. They lack inner cohesion and unity. Physical multitude, if devoid of spiritual unity, is nothing but fishār, meaning babble and meaninglessness. Bodies are "on the wind," like names that are conventional and transient. This is precisely the point I have made repeatedly: "effacement is needed, not grammar here, know this." The effacement of the multitude of numbers is the result of my effacement before the Unique One.

This is a lesson for us: if we seek power and steadfastness, we must seek it within ourselves; in jam'iyat-i khāṭir, in the unity of the soul. This is the "self-knowledge" that Mowlana calls the "root of the root of the root of religion." Whoever attains this jam'iyat becomes a world unto themselves, and external multitudes collapse in their eyes. This is not predestination, but the very essence of free will, that one should be freed from the chains of observing appearances and numbers, and connect with the essence of existence.

Key takeaways

• True power resides in jam'iyat-i khāṭir (inner unity and composure), not in external multitude or numerical count.
• One's perception of the world is shaped by inner states; the presence of a spiritually resolute individual can diminish external multitudes in the observer's eye.
• Physical bodies and outward manifestations, disconnected from meaning and spiritual unity, are transient and "on the wind" like mere names.
• The verse emphasizes the importance of the "effacement" of appearances before inner "meaning," akin to God's manifestation on Mount Sinai that shattered Moses' perception.
• Liberation from the bondage of numbers and appearances signifies attaining existential freedom and a deeper understanding of reality.