M6:1128 — هست هفصدساله راه آن حقب / که بکرد او عزم در سیران حب

Translation: That seven-hundred-year-long path of time, He resolved to traverse in a journey of love. Meaning: This verse signifies the capacity to traverse an immensely long journey in a very short duration, propelled by the potent force of love and genuine resolve.

This verse emerges from Mawlana's profound discourse on the “backward-going horse,” a potent metaphor for our unruly nafs (carnal soul) and earthly desires. If left unchecked, these impulses lead us astray from our true destination. However, Mawlana, in contrast to some ascetic Sufis who advocate for the eradication of such desires, proposes a method of taming and redirecting them. He argues against slaying or abandoning the recalcitrant horse of the nafs; rather, one must skillfully turn its “tail” – its primal urges – towards the true spiritual destination. This echoes the Freudian concept of “sublimation,” which Mawlana articulated centuries prior: when carnal appetites are restrained from base worldly pursuits, that very energy soars towards noble intellect and the pursuit of truth.

In this spiritual journey, the tamed nafs and refined desires act as a swift and forward-moving horse. Mawlana then refers to the story of Moses and his journey to the Majma' al-Bahrayn (the Confluence of the Two Seas), which was an arduous and lengthy path. Yet, for Moses, who was a “fast-moving” (گرم‌رو) traveler, that formidable journey seemed as brief as the width of a rug. This swiftness of travel is a manifestation of profound “resolve” (himmat), a resolve that dissolves obstacles and collapses time.

This specific verse amplifies that very point: That seven-hundred-year-long path of time, / He resolved to traverse in a journey of love. The duration of that journey, which in worldly terms would span seven hundred years – the long periods (ahqāb) that, according to the Quran, infidels are condemned to, where time stretches endlessly and dully – this very prolonged path is traversed by the sincere wayfarers of truth, the “chivalrous riders” (shahsavārān), through a “journey of love” (sayrān-i hobb). This is an amorous movement, an existential journey rooted in divine affection, accomplished so swiftly that it is as if they have merely stepped from one side of a rug to the other.

Here, the distinction between the journey of the “body” and the journey of the “soul” becomes clear. If Moses’ physical resolve and determination could traverse a seven-hundred-year path in an instant, then his “soul’s journey was to the highest heavens” (Sayr-i jānash tā be ‘Illīyīn būd); meaning, the voyage of his spirit was exponentially swifter, ascending to the zenith of ‘Illīyīn. This speed, this acceleration, this “flight” – a deeply rooted concept in Mawlana’s thought, as the Masnavi is fundamentally a book for the flight of the soul, not for lamentation – all spring from the boundless power of “love.” Love shatters the confines of time and space, removes all barriers, and renders wusul (arrival) and yaqin (certainty) possible in an instant. In this path, there is no room for uttering “alas” or regretting the past; for the lover is perpetually an “Ibn al-Waqt” (child of the moment), living in the present, flying with utmost yearning towards the Beloved.

Key takeaways

• The path of love collapses time and space, enabling a 700-year journey to occur in an instant.
• Love's power can tame the “backward-going nafs” and earthly desires, transforming them into instruments for spiritual ascent.
• This verse emphasizes the principle of “sublimation,” redirecting psychic energies towards higher, nobler goals.
• Swiftness in the journey towards God is directly correlated with spiritual resolve (himmat) and the “journey of love” (sayrān-i hobb).
• The ultimate goal of spiritual striving is the soul's flight to ‘Illīyīn, transcending all temporal and spatial limitations.