M5:3130 — تو روا داری روا باشد که حق / هم‌چو معزول آید از حکم سبق

Rumi here addresses a common misconception about divine predetermination (جف القلم — 'the pen has dried'). Some might interpret 'the pen has dried' to mean that God has set everything in stone and then withdrawn, becoming indifferent to human actions. This couplet refutes that idea vigorously. Rumi asks the reader, 'Would you consider it acceptable for God to be like a deposed ruler, stripped of His authority to judge and differentiate, simply because He has issued a decree?'

The surrounding verses emphasize that 'the pen has dried' actually means that consequences are fixed: good actions lead to good outcomes, and evil actions lead to evil outcomes. It's not that God is uninvolved, but rather that His justice and the natural order of cause and effect are immutable. To suggest otherwise, to imply that God is 'dismissed from His decree,' would be to deny His active role in maintaining justice and distinguishing between right and wrong, which is an absurd proposition for a believer. God's pre-ordained knowledge and wisdom establish the laws of the universe, but this doesn't make Him a passive observer; rather, it underscores the certainty of His justice.