M6:1007 — گر بگویم قیمت این ممتنع / من بسوزم هم بسوزد مستمع

Translation: If I were to state the price of this ineffable (mowtaneʿ) reality, I would burn, and the listener would likewise burn. Meaning: Here, Mowlana declares that the true worth of the human being, an ineffable and priceless gem, lies so far beyond the grasp of words that any attempt to articulate it would lead to the annihilation of both speaker and listener.

This couplet, without a shadow of a doubt, is one of Mowlana’s deepest and most enigmatic allusions to the truth of the human being. Here, Mowlana speaks of īn mowtaneʿ (this ineffable thing)—that which is impossible to articulate or describe. But what is this īn mowtaneʿ? Mowlana himself, quite directly, unveils its meaning by stating: īn mowtaneʿ yaʿnī ādami (this ineffable thing means the human being). This human being, whose worth is ineffable, is precisely what the Holy Quran refers to as aḥsan al-taqwīm: We have certainly created man in the best of stature (Quran, Surah At-Tin, Verse 4). Humanity is fashioned in the most perfect structure and composition, but what is this perfection?

Mowlana explicitly states that this aḥsan al-taqwīm transcends the Divine Throne and lies beyond human thought and comprehension. This is a station, a gem, whose essence even humanity itself cannot fully grasp, let alone others. What happens if one attempts to articulate this price, this worth? Mowlana says: I would burn, and the listener would likewise burn. This burning is not merely a metaphor for difficulty of expression; it is an allusion to annihilation and effacement. The truth of the human being is so sublime and boundless that any entry into the realm of its description cannot be contained by the limited existence of the speaker and listener, leading to the effacement of both.

I confirm that Mowlana here points to that aspect of human truth which transcends all forms and frameworks; it is the bī-ṣūratī (formlessness) that he so often speaks of in the Masnavi, a key to many of his gnoses. Humanity, in its essence, is formless, and this world of forms originates from that formlessness. Water, light, and wind are all symbols of this formlessness—they themselves take no shape, yet they give shape, color, and scent to all things. Humanity, in its true essence, is likewise: formless, yet the source of all forms and meanings.

This beyt also resonates with the concept of rāz-shenāsī (secret-knowing) in mysticism. A rāz (secret) is not an unknown to be solved through reasoning and thought; a rāz is a reality that must be entered into and experienced. The worth of the human being is a rāz, not a masʾaleh (problem). And this secret is so profound that whenever language attempts to express it, that very secret burns the language, rendering it inoperative. This is akin to Wittgenstein’s Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent, but here, silence arises not from the inability of language, but from the grandeur and boundlessness of the essence of human being. This silence itself is the most eloquent cry, for it brings language to annihilation in the face of the glory of truth.

Key takeaways

• The truth of humanity, or ādami, is the Quranic aḥsan al-taqwīm, which lies beyond all description and comprehension.
• Articulating the true worth of humanity is impossible; any attempt to do so leads to the simultaneous 'burning' and annihilation of both speaker and listener.
• This 'burning' signifies that the sublime essence of humanity transcends the limitations of human language and understanding.
• Mowlana emphasizes the bī-ṣūratī (formlessness) of human essence; humanity is a shapeless gem, the origin of all forms and meanings.
• The īn mowtaneʿ is a mystical 'secret' (rāz) to be understood through experience and annihilation, not through intellectual or linguistic analysis.