M1:205 — چونک زشت و ناخوش و رخ‌زرد شد / اندک‌اندک در دل او سرد شد

Translation: As he grew ugly, unpleasant, and pale-faced, Little by little, her heart grew cold towards him. Meaning: This verse describes how the goldsmith's deteriorating appearance caused the maid's superficial affection for him to gradually wane and eventually die out.

This verse marks the climax of a story through which Mevlana unveils the truth about superficial, or 'colored,' loves. Here, the divine physician — a symbol of divine wisdom and providence — shrewdly orchestrates the goldsmith's gradual physical decay. The goldsmith, ensnared by ambition and wealth, having abandoned his family, remains oblivious that his journey is to his death, and the golden robe a recompense for his lifeblood.

As beauty and vitality depart from the goldsmith's face, transforming him into someone 'ugly, unpleasant, and pale-faced,' the maid's affection, built upon these transient 'colors,' also 'little by little, grew cold towards him.' This gradual cooling of the heart is not merely a narrative event; it is a profound allegory for the inevitable fate of any love not rooted in the 'Everlasting Living One.' Immediately following this verse, Mevlana delivers his overarching conclusion: «عشق‌هایی کز پی رنگی بود / عشق نبود عاقبت ننگی بود» (Love that arises from a 'color' is not true love; in the end, it is a disgrace). This 'color' can be beauty, wealth, status, or any other perishable and fleeting attribute.

From my perspective, Mevlana here not only contrasts with Hafez, who sees the lover abiding in the Beloved's locks (as in: «تا دل هرزه‌گرد من رفت به چین زلف او / زان سفر دراز خود عزم وطن نمی‌کند» — 'Since my vagrant heart went into her hair, from that long journey it intends not to return home') and finds no suffering in that lostness; but he also teaches us that anything in this world bearing the hue of transience cannot be our eternal Beloved. This is an existential understanding: the world is founded on impermanence, and all within it tends towards decay. If we tie our hearts to the ephemeral, the demise of that beloved will entail the demise of our love. This resonates with the idea that 'this world is a mountain, and our deeds are the echoes; the echoes return to us' (M1:215); the recompense for our actions and the nature of our love ultimately revert to us.

Therefore, this verse itself is a lesson about 'love for the dead,' which Mevlana emphasizes 'is not enduring.' By 'dead,' he means any perishable and transient matter, not necessarily something that has physically died. 'For the dead does not come towards us' (M1:209); what perishes does not return and cannot be the source of eternal love. This is why Mevlana sees salvation in 'love for the living' and states: «عشق آن زنده گزین کو باقی است / وز شراب جان‌فزایت ساقی است» (Choose the love of the Living One who is everlasting, and who is your cup-bearer of life-enhancing wine).

At the end of this section of the Masnavi, Mevlana offers a message of hope. Although he speaks of the transience of 'colored' loves, he rejects despair. For those who, thinking 'what relation has dust to the pure world?' see themselves distant from God's threshold, Mevlana explicitly declares: «تو مگو ما را بدان شه بار نیست / با کریمان کارها دشوار نیست» (Do not say we have no access to that King; with the Generous Ones, tasks are not difficult). He praises God not by the attribute of 'justice,' which is understated even in Ash'arite theology, but by 'generosity' (karam). Generosity is a bestowal beyond desert, and it is this divine karam that keeps hope alive in the mystic's heart. The Masnavi, in my interpretation, is a 'book of hope,' and this verse, despite its superficial bitterness, sets the stage for that profound divine hope.

Key takeaways

• Love based on 'color' and transient qualities (beauty, wealth, status) is inherently unstable and ultimately leads to coldness and disgrace.
• What is 'dead' (perishable and decaying) in this world cannot be the source of eternal love.
• Divine wisdom sometimes uses apparent suffering and decay to bring about inner purification and healing.
• Unlike some mystics, Mevlana never permits despair; he consistently presents the path of love for the Generous God as open.
• Divine 'generosity' (karam) is the most emphasized attribute of God in the Masnavi, offering hope and the possibility of union to all.
• This verse serves as a foundational point for distinguishing between superficial, fleeting love and true love for the 'Everlasting Living One'.