M6:1551 — نفخ در وی باقی آمد تا ماب / نفخ حق نبود چو نفخهٔ آن قصاب

Translation: The nafḵẖ (divine breath) remained within him until his ultimate return, for that breath of God was not like the butcher's puff. Meaning: This verse underscores the fundamental distinction between the divine breath, which animates true seekers and endures until their ultimate spiritual homecoming, and the butcher's breath, which serves only a fleeting, material purpose.

In the Masnavi, we frequently encounter narratives that vividly elucidate the true meaning of 'death' and 'life' from Rumi's perspective. This couplet appears within the story of the ghazi (a warrior/ascetic) and his nafs (ego/lower self), followed by the Qadi's judgment of him. The ghazi, a mujahid who has fought countless battles for truth and now sits in ascetic discipline, challenges his nafs: 'When did you ever bid me to goodness, that you now command me to holy war?' The nafs replies: 'You kill me a hundred times a day in this cell; go be killed once and for all!' This response from the nafs makes a profound allusion to the Sufi concept of fanāʾ (annihilation of the self); a death experienced hundreds of thousands of times, in which the seeker 'kills' their false self to attain true life.

Rumi illuminates this spiritual death through the parable of the Prophet Jirjis, who was killed and resurrected many times over. This 'killing' is the annihilation of the animalistic self and the illusory ego, but it stems from the ẕawq-i sanān-i dādgar (the relish of the just spear of the Divine). Such a seeker not only does not flee from wounds but rather 'burns, crying, strike another wound!' It is at this point that the earthly Qadi perceives the ghazi as a 'dead man in a grave' who cannot be prosecuted. However, Rumi, by referring to the truly 'living' (zendeh) — the divine saints (awliyāʾ-i Ilāhī) who are alive through the divine life — differentiates these levels of life and death.

Prior to this verse, Rumi states: 'God killed him, and into his leg He breathed / Swiftly, like a butcher, He peeled his skin.' This killing is a divine act, leading to the insufflation of a new spirit and breath from God, and the 'skinning' of the ego, much like a butcher skins a sheep. However, our couplet, M6:1551, emphasizes the essential difference between this divine nafḵẖ (breath) and the nafḵẖ-i qaṣṣāb (the butcher's puff). As I have frequently mentioned in my lectures, drawing from my own experience, a butcher blows air under a sheep's skin to separate it from the flesh, facilitating the skinning process. This 'butcher's puff' is a purely material act, serving a transient purpose: preparing the carcass for worldly consumption.

Conversely, the nafḵẖ-i ḥaq (divine breath) infused into the souls of divine saints is of an entirely different nature. This breath is life-giving and enduring, remaining within the seeker 'until maʾāb' — until the ultimate return of the soul to its origin and source. This breath is not for the separation of parts and annihilation, but for true union and perpetual existence. The difference between these two types of insufflation is vast: 'One is of 'zīn' (from this world), the other is of 'shīn' (utter defect).' One signifies decay, the other signifies imperishable life. Thus, the life possessed by the divine saints, which Rumi terms 'the living,' originates from this nafḵẖ-i ḥaq; a breath stemming from a divine 'killing,' but not for death, but for eternal life and return to the Beloved. This is the secret of the multiple 'deaths' that ultimately lead to absolute 'life'.

Key takeaways

• The divine breath (nafḵẖ-i ḥaq) differs from the butcher's puff (nafḵẖ-i qaṣṣāb); one is life-giving and eternal, the other material and transient.
• The seeker's repeated 'deaths' (fanāʾ) of the ego are not annihilation, but a prelude to true, eternal life.
• The term maʾāb (ultimate return) signifies the divine breath's ultimate purpose: the soul's journey back to its origin.
• God's 'killing,' though seemingly harsh, leads to the insufflation of a higher life and the stripping away of the false self.
• The divine saints, or 'the living' (zendeh), are those who possess this enduring divine breath and partake in the life of Truth.