M6:1517 — چون معلم زد صبی را شد تلف / بر معلم نیست چیزی لا تخف

Translation: If a teacher strikes a child and the child is lost (dies), / Nothing is upon the teacher; fear not. Meaning: This verse, drawing on a specific legal judgment, states that if a teacher disciplines a child for their education and the child unfortunately dies as a result, the teacher bears no legal responsibility. This is because the teacher's action is not for personal gain but as a trustee for the child's upbringing.

This verse is one of those instances where Rumi, in his characteristic fashion, leverages a seemingly simple legal ruling or narrative to illuminate a profound mystical truth. We must not linger on the literal meaning of this legal precept or judge it by contemporary standards of justice; Rumi fully understands that the Masnavi is the “shop of the poor-in-spirit” (faqr), not of jurists (fiqh). This example is merely a tool to convey a greater meaning: the distinction between khodi (selfhood) and bi-khodi (selflessness).

Rumi initiates the narrative by comparing a father and a teacher. If a father disciplines his child and the child dies, the father is held liable for blood money. Why? Because the father typically acts “for his own sake” (bahr-i kār-i khwīsh); his discipline stems from personal desires and self-interest: “Why did you not obey me? Why did you not become what I wanted?” However, in the case of the teacher, Rumi issues a different ruling: “Nothing is upon the teacher; fear not.” If a student perishes as a result of a teacher’s discipline, the teacher is not liable for blood money or compensation. What accounts for this difference? Rumi himself explains: “For that teacher proved to be a deputy and a trustee.” The teacher, unlike the father in this example, possesses no khodi. He is an intermediary and trustee of truth; a trustee of an education whose goal is the student’s growth and perfection, not the gratification of personal desires. His action is not his own action.

This is where we arrive at the very essence of Rumi’s message: “So sever your selfhood, O Dhū al-Faqār / Become selfless, a dervish annihilated.” This legal ruling is merely a means to invite self-purification and liberation from khodi. One must empty oneself so completely, become so “selfless” (bi-khod), that one’s actions no longer originate from oneself, but rather manifest as a trustee and deputy through whom the will of the Absolute Truth is revealed. It is in this state that “When you become selfless, whatever you do / Is Mā ramayta idh ramayta, you are safe.” Indeed, this is the famous Quranic verse (Q 8:17) which states to the Prophet: “You did not throw when you threw, but God threw.” This apparent paradox is indicative of a deep mystical reality: the apparent agent is human, but the true Agent is God. This is the station of fanā (annihilation) and bi-khodi, where the actions of the servant become the actions of God.

Rumi employs this same logic elsewhere in the Masnavi, in the story of Imam Ali’s encounter with Ibn Muljam (a story historically inaccurate, but utilized by Rumi): Ali reportedly tells his assassin: “You were an instrument of God, the agent was the hand of God / How can I cast blame and aspersion upon the hand of God?” This is the epitome of tawakkul (trust in God) and fanā; seeing the hand of God behind every action, even that of an enemy.

Thus, the lesson of this verse, transcending a mere legal ruling, is an invitation to live in a state of selflessness and annihilation. Rumi considers himself a jurist and issues fatwas, yet he explicitly declares that the Masnavi is the “shop of faqr,” not of fiqh. Fiqh serves to organize the world, but faqr and ishq are paths to the afterlife and to Truth. Therefore, wherever the Masnavi refers to fiqh, its purpose is not to explain jurisprudence, but to use it as a bridge to cross into the boundless world of meaning and gnosis.

Key takeaways

• Human actions are of two kinds: for 'selfhood' (khodi) or for Truth; only actions stemming from selflessness (bi-khodi) are truly valid.
• Rumi's purpose in presenting a legal ruling is to offer a mystical lesson on fanā (annihilation) and emptying oneself of ego.
• Selflessness is the stage where human actions transform into divine actions, as the Quran states in Mā ramayta idh ramayta.
• The teacher in this example symbolizes a trustee and deputy who has transcended self and performs actions for the sake of another, for the sake of Truth.
• The Masnavi is not a book of jurisprudence (fiqh); rather, it is the 'shop of spiritual poverty' (faqr). Legal precepts serve only as tools to access deeper gnosis.