M6:613 — وقت آن آمد که من عریان شوم / نقش بگذارم سراسر جان شوم

Translation: The time has come for me to become naked (uryān), To cast off form (naqsh), and become entirely soul (jān). Meaning: The speaker declares their readiness to shed all outward appearances and conventional coverings, desiring to be utterly transformed into pure, unadulterated spiritual essence.

This beyt from the Masnavi (M6:613) is a decisive and unreserved declaration: an announcement of readiness for a state of 'complete annihilation' (fanā-ye kāmel) in the path of love. Mawlānā declares: The time has come for me to become naked. To become naked here means to strip oneself of all form and appearance, of everything that speaks of one's ego (khudī), of everything termed 'honor' (nāmūs). As he states elsewhere, Love and honor, my brother, are not compatible. These two are irreconcilable. If one is bound by honor and selfhood, one cannot claim to be a lover. Love, undoubtedly, is a lesson in self-emptying.

When Mawlānā says, To cast off form, and become entirely soul, his intent for 'form' (naqsh) is the outward appearance, meaning the body and our consciousness of the body. Our soul (jān) is the meaning, and the body is a form seated upon this meaning. The poet here yearns for liberation from this form and from bodily awareness. He wishes to 'extinguish the lamp of thought' (cherāgh-e fekr) and remove all veils that have fallen upon the soul. It is as if he wishes to speak directly, without any intermediary—even without the intermediary of the body—to his Beloved. Just as in sleep we have a body but no awareness of it, Mawlānā here seeks to attain a state beyond all physical consciousness.

This act of becoming naked and unreserved is a prelude to entering the sanctuary of love, where 'shame and modesty' (sharm o ḥayā) must also be cast aside. In subsequent verses, he continues: O enemy of shame and thought, come / For I have torn the veil of shame and modesty. This is a particular etiquette of love. Outside the circle of love, in the realm of reason (ʿāqilī), shame and modesty are among the most fundamental ethical qualities; a shameless person is the most unethical of people. Yet, love tears the veils of shame and modesty between the lover and the Beloved. This is not a place for reservations; it is not a place for cautiousness. The lover must, without hesitation or concern, reveal their entire being.

In the same vein, the Beloved in this state might be called 'hard-hearted,' as appears in the next verse: O you who have bound the soul's sleep with enchantment / O hard-hearted beloved, you are unique in the world. This too is a consequence of the lover's unreserved speech. Hafez says: Boasting of love and complaining of the beloved, what a false boast! / Such lovers are worthy of separation. But the difference here lies in the fact that in the state of love, the lover both complains to the Beloved and expresses humility and annihilation; these are all of the same essence. The lover's complaint is not out of protest or grievance, but out of utter immediacy and absolute intimacy. The lover shares everything of themselves, both sweetness and bitterness, with the Beloved, and this itself is the pinnacle of a true relationship. Metaphorical love, rightly called the qanṭarat al-ḥaqīqa (bridge to Reality), serves as a training ground for being sculpted and emptied of self, so that one, purified and refined, may become ready for presence in the court of the Lord of Lords.

Key takeaways

• This verse is a declaration of 'complete annihilation' (fanā-ye kāmel) in love, signifying liberation from self and outward identities.
• Love and 'honor' (nāmūs—self-esteem, reputation) are incompatible; love demands self-emptying.
• 'Casting off form' (naqsh gozārdan) means relinquishing the bodily form and physical awareness to become 'pure soul' (jān-e maḥż).
• Love tears the veils of 'shame and modesty' (sharm o ḥayā) between lover and Beloved; in this state, unreserved speech and absolute intimacy prevail.
• The lover's complaint to the Beloved is not a protest but arises from the peak of intimacy and immediacy.