M6:2588 — تا از آن رخنه برون ناید بلا / غیر آن رخنه بسی دارد قضا

Translation: Lest from that one crevice calamity should emerge; Fate holds many other crevices beyond that one. Meaning: This verse warns that trying to prevent one perceived trouble through force or injustice will only invite other calamities, as divine decree operates through countless avenues.

In this verse, Rumi, speaking through the voice of a jester or dervish, imparts a profound and wise lesson to a tyrannical ruler. The ruler, under the misguided belief that the dervish is a source of calamity, tortures him in an attempt to identify and seal off a 'crevice' of danger. However, the dervish explains that such methods are fundamentally flawed, failing not only to avert calamity but actually creating new avenues for disaster.

I understand this couplet within Rumi's broader discourse on 'haste in revenge' versus 'deliberation in divine discipline.' Rumi distinguishes between anger arising from base nature and a 'false appetite' for retribution, and the divine decree, which permits no such haste. The ruler seeks to 'close off' a superficial crevice, operating under the simplistic assumption that resolving this one perceived threat will bring order. Yet, the world and its divine decree are not so straightforward. In Rumi's view, divine providence (qazā) is an intricate web of connections and cause-and-effect relationships. By closing one channel through oppression, one does not eliminate danger; rather, one opens countless other crevices. Why? Because oppression itself becomes a new source of calamity.

As I have often emphasized, 'The remedy for averting calamity is not injustice; the remedy is kindness, forgiveness, and generosity.' This verse is an articulation of that very truth. You cannot safeguard the world from misfortune through tyranny and vengeance. Such actions are akin to a 'false appetite' that compels one to hasten in eating or retaliating, whereas a 'true appetite' is patient and deliberate. A ruler who, out of anger and the intoxication of power, immediately resorts to punishment and revenge, does so for fear that if he delays, his wrath will subside, and he will lose the 'pleasure of vengeance.' History is replete with examples of dictators who, in the throes of rage, blinded or killed their own children or close associates, only to be overtaken by futile regret upon regaining sobriety.

Thus, the dervish is essentially telling the ruler: in your attempt to avert calamity, you are yourself creating it. By closing one crevice, which may not even be a true source of danger, you provoke divine providence to send calamities through its myriad other avenues. This is a lesson in governance: a lesson in forbearance, in avoiding oppression, and in understanding the workings of divine decree. The world is so complex and interconnected that only through kindness, forgiveness, and charity can 'new calamities' be averted, not by 'burning the dervish' or 'blinding the eye of clemency.' This verse represents the pinnacle of wisdom in managing affairs and a profound insight into spiritual cause and effect.

Key takeaways

• Oppression and injustice create new calamities, even when intended to avert existing ones.
• Closing one perceived 'crevice' of danger through violence opens numerous other pathways for fate to bring misfortune.
• Haste in seeking revenge is a sign of primal anger and a 'false appetite,' not divine wisdom.
• The true remedy for averting calamity is not tyranny, but kindness, forgiveness, and generosity.
• The world and divine providence are too complex to be safeguarded from evil through coercive and simplistic actions.