M6:629 — تا نمی‌بینم همی‌بینم شود / وین ندانمهات می‌دانم بود

Translation: Until that which I don't see becomes what I truly see; And these 'I don't knows' of yours become 'I know'.

Meaning: Mowlana, addressing the seeker ensnared by doubt, urges them to open their inner eye so that the unsaid may be heard, the unseen perceived, and all uncertainties transformed into certainties.

Mowlana, in these verses, addresses someone he calls 'O Imposter' (Ey Mozavvar) – an imposter who has closed his eyes and perpetually repeats 'I don't know this and that.' In my view, this 'Mozavvar' can represent the self-opinionated and skeptical intellect, or even philosophers who are lost in the abyss of skepticism and deprived of certainty. Mowlana diagnoses this individual with two ailments: the 'plague of deceit' (vabā-ye zarq), which signifies hypocrisy and pretense, and 'deprivation' (mahrumi) from truth and union.

The cure for these ailments is to 'enter the world of the Ever-Living and Self-Subsisting' (dar jahān-e hayy o qayyumi darā). This is a profoundly deep expression; it doesn't merely mean to believe in God as 'Hayy o Qayyum.' Rather, one must perceive the world itself as 'Hayy o Qayyum.' One must recognize the attribute of God's life permeating all beings in the cosmos. This is what we call tawhīd-e ṣifātī (the unity of attributes): the belief that every virtuous attribute you observe in the world is a spark of that same attribute within the Divine Essence. Life, beauty, knowledge – all originate from Him.

That deprived and ailing eye, which only sees the 'bow' but fails to recognize the 'archer,' is an eye trapped in skepticism. Mowlana invites you to transcend this cognitive narrowness so that 'that which I don't see, I shall come to see,' and 'these 'I don't knows' shall become 'I know'.' This represents a leap from ignorance to knowledge, and from blindness to insight. This state is the 'certainty' (yaqīn) that the Masnavi promises, a promise that has often receded into the background in modern philosophies.

Yet, Mowlana goes even further. He states that upon reaching this station of certainty and insight, the seeker becomes intoxicated. However, one must not remain merely in this state of intoxication. The higher station is to become 'one who imparts intoxication' (mastī-bakhsh). This means moving from a stage where you yourself are intoxicated by the wine of knowledge, to a stage where you become the wine itself, intoxicating others. This is the transition from 'fickleness' (talavvun – changing colors and fluctuating states) to 'steadfastness' (istivā – equilibrium and permanent stability). This progression—from doubt to certainty, from blindness to insight, and finally from self-intoxication to imparting intoxication—reveals the profound depth of Mowlana's spiritual message.

Key takeaways

• Mowlana calls out the 'Imposter' (skeptical and hypocritical individual) to open their inner eye and escape the 'plague of deceit and deprivation.'
• The call to perceive the world as 'Ever-Living and Self-Subsisting' implies recognizing God's life and attributes immanent in all existence (Unity of Attributes).
• This couplet promises a transformation from 'not seeing' to 'seeing' and from 'not knowing' to 'knowing,' signifying a transition from doubt to certainty and from inner blindness to true insight.
• Mowlana urges the seeker to move beyond merely being intoxicated by knowledge to the higher station of 'imparting intoxication,' sharing this spiritual wine with others.
• Mowlana's spiritual message emphasizes moving from the fickleness and oscillation of spiritual states to a permanent equilibrium and steadfastness in knowledge and inner experience.