M6:3063 — کوه قاف ار پیش آید بهرسد / هم‌چو کوه طور نورش بر درد

Translation: Should Mount Qaf appear before it, it would be shattered; Just as Mount Sinai, its light would rend it asunder. Meaning: This verse speaks to the overwhelming, unbearable power of divine light, which even the mightiest and most steadfast mountains cannot withstand and are reduced to dust, yet the body of the mystic can bear it.

In this beyt and the preceding and subsequent verses, Mowlana articulates a profound mystical paradox; one that distinguishes between the material world and the world of meaning, and between humanity's apparent and inner capacities. The previous verse, addressing Moses, states that the garment he wears is the garment of the trustworthy mystic (ʿārif-i amīn), for the light of the soul has been woven into its fabric and, through the light of patience, it has gained the strength to confront divine light. Now, this beyt takes the matter a step further, declaring that even colossal mountains like 'Mount Qaf' (the legendary mountain in Persian literature, symbolizing grandeur and steadfastness) and 'Mount Sinai' (the site of God's epiphany to Moses, referenced in the Quran as 'Moses fell down senseless' and 'He made it level with the ground') lack the capacity to bear this light. This is not ordinary light, but the light of God's countenance, a mere particle of which can pulverize a mountain.

I find that Mowlana here emphasizes the 'ihtimāl' (capacity or endurance) of the bodies of the rijāl-i Ilāhī (divine men). These bodies, despite their outward fragility compared to the mountain's majesty, acquire the ability to withstand a light that causes Mount Sinai to be shattered and Mount Qaf to be rent asunder—all due to the inner light of the soul and patience. It is here that Mowlana, with astonishing metaphor, says that what Sinai cannot bear, a 'qārūra' can contain within itself. 'Qārūra' means a glass vessel; that is, a delicate glass container can sometimes hold something from which a mountain crumbles. This is an allusion to the body of the mystic which, despite its apparent thinness and vulnerability, becomes the vehicle and channel for divine light due to its transparency, subtlety, and unique inner capacity.

This point clearly demonstrates the superiority of the inner over the outer, and the value of humanity's intrinsic spiritual power over physical and material strengths. What mountains are not built for, is hidden within a gem of humanity. This is the very secret of humanity, wherein man becomes the manifestation of Divine Names and gains the capacity to receive epiphanies that transcend the understanding or endurance of inanimate nature. The mountain is a site of epiphany, but the mystic, in a way, becomes a source of epiphany and a bearer of light.

Key takeaways

• The immense and unbearable power of divine light, capable of shattering even the mightiest mountains.
• The paradox of capacity: the subtle body of the mystic can endure light that colossal mountains cannot.
• The superiority of humanity's inner, spiritual essence over the apparent grandeur and solidity of nature.
• The metaphor of 'qārūra' (glass vessel) for the mystic's body, indicating its ability to bear divine light due to inner subtlety and transparency.
• Mowlana locates human greatness in the reception and reflection of divine manifestations, not in material strength.