M6:199 — لیک گر بودیش لطف ما سبق / کی بدی این بددلی با جذب حق

Translation: But had he been graced by Our prior favor (loṭf-i mā sabaq), / how could this faintheartedness (baddelī) persist, despite the pull of Truth (jazb-i ḥaqq)?

Meaning: Rumi questions how one could exhibit hesitation or cowardice in expressing their faith if they were truly touched by God's pre-eternal grace and felt the irresistible attraction of the Divine.

I read this verse here within the context of the story of Abū Ṭālib, the Prophet’s uncle, and this is precisely where Rumi delves into a subtle point. Abū Ṭālib, despite his devotion to the Prophet, refrained from openly declaring his faith. His fear was of what the Arabs would say; lest they accuse him of abandoning the ancestral religion for the sake of an orphan child he had raised. In response to the Prophet's call to pronounce the shahāda (testimony of faith), he famously stated that any secret that passes two lips becomes public, and he was worried about being disgraced and humiliated amongst the Arabs.

But Rumi immediately pronounces a definitive judgment. He states that if God’s prior grace (loṭf-i mā sabaq) had encompassed Abū Ṭālib, and if the relentless pull of Truth (jazb-i ḥaqq) had truly taken hold of him, it would have been impossible for such faintheartedness and hesitation to remain in his heart. The courage of faith arises from the attraction of Truth; where the pursuit of truth is concerned, one must be freed from the clamor of people. This verse reveals how Rumi links divine will (prior grace and the pull of Truth) with human weakness of will (faintheartedness).

I do not consider this point exclusive to Abū Ṭālib. This is a more general diagnosis. Rumi intends to convey that in any era, humans may, out of fear of public opinion, the blame of others, or even to gain praise and admiration, abandon their true beliefs or resort to hypocrisy. These six individuals sitting here might represent a city or a nation. But the truth is that genuine faith, when imbued with the attraction of Truth, holds no fear of such reproaches. Courage, truly, manifests itself here.

It is at this very juncture that Rumi immediately turns to the issue of human free will (ikhtiyār). Following this verse, Rumi raises his hands in supplication to God, saying: "O aid, You who aid the distressed! / From these two branches of wicked choices (ikhtiyārāt-i khabīth)." This indicates Rumi's full awareness of the difficulty of choice and the power of temptation inherent in "wicked choices," and how, even on the path of truth, one's foot can become mired in the mud of doubt, hesitation, and cowardice. The "trust" (amānat) that was offered to humans in the Quran, which mountains and seas refused to bear, is, in Rumi's interpretation, precisely this free will. Free will, though a divine gift, can be the source of misguided choices and faintheartedness. Thus, M6:199 is not merely a historical judgment, but a profound entry point into understanding the complex relationship between divine grace and human free will.

Key takeaways

• True faith's courage emanates from the Divine pull (jazb-i ḥaqq), unburdened by fear of human blame or judgment.
• Rumi links human weakness of will (baddelī) to a lack of prior divine grace (loṭf-i mā sabaq) or a failure to respond to the Divine's attraction.
• Rumi's historical judgment on Abu Talib serves as a universal diagnosis of humanity's struggle against social pressure and hypocrisy.
• This verse serves as Rumi's entry point into the fundamental theme of 'free will' (ikhtiyār) and the inherent difficulty of human choices.
• The divine 'trust' (amānat) accepted by humanity is, in Rumi's view, both the gift and the heavy burden of free will and choice.