M6:3511 — زین سبب درخواست از حق مصطفی / زشت را هم زشت و حق را حق‌نما

Translation: For this reason, the Prophet Mustafa sought from God To show the ugly as ugly, and the truth as truth-manifesting.

Meaning: This verse states that, given God's power to veil truths and transform hearts, the Prophet Muhammad requested a clear, unadulterated vision of reality, so he might perceive things as they truly are and avoid error and regret.

I have often stated in my exegesis of the Mathnawi that Mowlana views the world as a stage for the direct will and action of the Divine Presence. It is God who orchestrates the cosmos, and His 'cunning' (makr) is the origin of all cunning. This is deeply understood from the noble Quranic verse, "They schemed, and God schemed, and God is the best of schemers." This divine 'scheming' is not to be understood as negative human deception, but as God's absolute power to alter the appearance of truths and to play with the veils of perception; He constricts the heart of one with qabḍ (contraction) and expands the breast of another with basṭ (expansion). Mowlana calls God a saḥḥāra (magician) who performs siḥr-i ḥalāl (lawful magic), alternately contracting and expanding the eye of the heart.

Within this intellectual framework, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) uttered a famous supplication, which Sufis perpetually narrate: Rabbī arinā al-ashyāʾ kamā hī – "My Lord, show us things as they truly are." The beyt in question directly refers to this prayer: "For this reason, the Prophet Mustafa sought from God / To show the ugly as ugly, and the truth as truth-manifesting." The phrase "for this reason" (zīn sabab) directly links to God's power of qabḍ and basṭ of the heart's eye and His siḥr-i ḥalāl. The Prophet knows that God can make the moon appear as a nightmare and the bottom of a well as a garden. It is for this reason that he seeks pure truth-manifestation, to avoid falling into error. This request stems not from suspicion of God, but from an awareness of His absolute power and humanity's need for unveiled insight, lest one stray on the path of spiritual journey and life.

This supplication is made so that, at life's end, when "turning the page" (referring to the next beyt: "Lest when You turn the page at the end / I fall into distress from regret"), one does not experience regret and agitation. If one perceives truth as falsehood and ugliness as beauty, their actions will be based on error, and the ultimate outcome of such distorted vision will be distress and sorrow. Thus, this is a prayer for the soundness of the soul and insight, for a good outcome in both action and perception. Mowlana connects this issue to hawā-o-hawā (base desires). In this very section of the Mathnawi, he explains how hawā imprisons humans and strips away their shame. Through this prayer, the Prophet simultaneously seeks the removal of both inner and outer veils.

Key takeaways

• God is the absolute orchestrator of the cosmos, possessing unparalleled power to veil and unveil truths.
• Divine 'cunning' (makr) signifies God's power to alter the manifestation of realities, not negative human deception.
• The Prophet's prayer, Rabbī arinā al-ashyāʾ kamā hī (show us things as they are), forms the foundation of this verse.
• The purpose of this request is to avoid error and regret at life's end, and to maintain sound insight throughout life.
• Human desires (hawā-o-hawā) act as inner veils, preventing clear perception of truth, and this prayer seeks their removal.