M6:2182 — تن بمردت سوی اسرافیل ران / دل فسردت رو به خورشید روان

Translation: If your body has died, drive towards Israfil. If your heart is chilled, go towards the flowing sun. Meaning: Rumi, in this verse, urges the spiritually inert or despondent individual to seek out a life-giving, sun-like source for revival and warmth, thereby overcoming stagnation and despair.

This verse from Rumi is a vital directive for liberation from spiritual stagnation and despair. I believe that in these lines, Rumi calls us to what he terms emʿān-e naẓar—not a superficial glance, but an intense and profound contemplation that opens the path for our despondent spirit. He well knew that many of us carry a 'dead body' and a 'chilled heart,' and for these spiritual ailments, he prescribes a singular remedy: turning towards sources of life and luminosity.

First, he states: 'If your body has died, drive towards Israfil.' Israfil is the angel of resurrection, who with a blast of the trumpet brings the dead back to life. Here, Israfil symbolizes any 'life-giving' presence whose breath can revive our dead souls. Rumi had previously alluded to this point by citing the Prophet's saying, 'Do not shield yourselves from the spring breeze,' which he interpreted not as a natural wind, but as the breath of divine saints. The breath of these great ones instigates a 'resurrection' (qiyāmat) and a 'gathering' (maḥshar) within our souls; it brings us back to life and orchestrates an inner revival.

Then he commands: 'If your heart is chilled, go towards the flowing sun.' This 'chilled heart' is the frozen, depressed heart that has fallen prey to psychological stagnation. To warm this icy heart, one must turn towards a 'flowing sun' (khurshīd-e ravān). The sun symbolizes light, warmth, and life, and its 'flowing' nature evokes continuous movement and dynamism. This 'flowing sun' is a sun-like personality—a spiritual master, a guide, a luminous individual whose very presence and spirit can melt the ice of our souls and deliver us from despair. Just as cold iron cannot be shaped unless it falls into the hands of a 'David-like' figure who can soften it in the furnace of fire, so too must a despondent heart be entrusted to sun-like figures.

Rumi's invitation is to 'make the spring flow' (chashmeh-rā ravān kardan). He considers spiritual stagnation (rakūd-e ravānī) to be the wellspring of grief and weariness (malāl). When the spring of our soul remains stagnant, like water covered with debris, weariness and sorrows overwhelm us. The only way to freedom is to open the path for this spring and let it flow. This flowing begins by turning to these 'Israfils' and 'suns.' This verse, in essence, alludes to the distinction between jān (animal life-force) and ravān (human spirit/psyche) in Rumi's thought; ravān is the jān that has freed itself from the bondage of the body, achieving a state beyond mere animal life, becoming active and dynamic. This 'flowing sun,' in its deeper sense, also refers to this very inner dynamism and liberation, made possible through connection with divine saints. It is thus that grief does not endure within the Gnostics, for the spring of their soul is perpetually in flow and eruption.

Key takeaways

• To escape spiritual stagnation and despondency, one must turn to life-giving and luminous spiritual sources.
• Israfil symbolizes a spiritual master whose breath revives the 'dead body' of the soul.
• The 'flowing sun' refers to a radiant spiritual personality who melts the frozen heart with their warmth.
• The remedy for weariness and sorrow is to make the 'spring of the soul' flow, facilitated by connecting with divine saints.
• This verse serves as a directive for seeking inner awakening and liberation from 'psychological stagnation'.