M6:745 — زانک پیش از مرگ او کردست نقل / این بمردن فهم آید نه به عقل

Translation: For before his death, his (soul) has already made the transfer; This (truth) is understood through dying (to self), not through intellect. Meaning:* This couplet asserts that the true mystic's soul has already ascended to a higher realm before physical death. This profound realization comes not through mere intellectual reasoning, but through an inner "dying" to the ego and worldly attachments—an existential transformation.

I have always emphasized that some individuals in this world live two lives, not merely a physical and earthly existence. They walk upon the earth, yet their heads are in the heavens; their bodies are among us, but their souls reside in the highest realm (malāʾ-i aʿlā). This existential duality, in fact, brings forth the true meaning of life and results in an inner joy and richness. Just as Bahlūl, who appeared mad on the surface, was inwardly wiser than the wise; he cast a crazy life upon himself, but beneath it, a rational life lay hidden. This meaning of life is precisely having a hidden chamber of existence where true reality and felicity are experienced.

Mowlana explicitly unveils this secret in this couplet, stating: "For before his death, his (soul) has already made the transfer." This "transfer" (naql) refers to the journey and relocation of the soul—a transfer to a higher realm, to a sacred dominion, before physical death even arrives. This is precisely what Imam Ali (AS) said about the saints of God: "Their souls are attached to the highest realm (arwāḥuhum mutaʿalliqatun bi’l-malāʾ al-aʿlā)," while their bodies remain on earth. Such a person, even if they die, their soul does not transfer, for it has already taken residence there and requires no new change of location.

However, Mowlana, in the second hemistich, provides the key to understanding this truth: "This (truth) is understood through dying (to self), not through intellect." This is a profoundly deep and fundamental point. The comprehension of this spiritual transfer, this "two lives," and this attachment to the malāʾ-i aʿlā, is not possible through mere rational intellect. Intellect's function is analysis, argumentation; its task is to grasp concepts and reach logical conclusions. But this "understanding" (fahm) of which Mowlana speaks is of a different kind; it is an understanding that arises from "dying." "Dying" here does not mean physical death, but rather an existential transformation, a symbolic death to the base and limited self, to the commanding ego (nafs-i ammāra), to worldly attachments.

If you wish to see the truth of the Resurrection, you must yourself become the Resurrection. Mowlana says elsewhere: "Become the Resurrection, see the Resurrection." Seeing the truth is conditional upon becoming that truth. This existential "congruity" (tajānus) and "affinity" (sankhiyat) is the key to unlocking the doors of the unseen world. One cannot merely enter the gathering of the Beloved through intellect and argumentation. We must ourselves "become of the essence of the soul" (az jins-i jān), become "worthy of the Beloved" (lāyiq-i jānān). This is not a "dress code" or a set of external manners that, by observing, grants us entry; rather, it is a change in inner nature that causes the path to be "open" or "closed" to us. The realm of the soul seeks souls and admits souls into itself. This is the essence of "You must entirely become soul, so that you may be worthy of the Beloved." This dying and this transformation is, in fact, the spiritual journey itself and the path to spiritual union.

Key takeaways

• The authentic human experience involves a dual existence: a physical presence on earth coupled with a spiritual attachment to the highest heavens.
• Profound truths are grasped through inner transformation and a "dying" to the limited self, not through mere intellectual reasoning or argumentation.
• The soul's "transfer" to a higher realm before physical death signifies the mystic's perfection in gnosis and spiritual union.
• Access to the Beloved (Jānān) requires an existential congruity and becoming "of the essence of the soul"; mere knowledge is insufficient.
• This inner "dying" is a spiritual journey that unlocks doors of intuitive perception, transcending rational understanding.