December 17, 2013
The “Wedding Day” of Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi
Divine favor is one thing, but personal effort is another. The prophets did not attain prophethood through personal effort -- they gained that fortune through Divine grace. Yet Allaah still required the prophets to live a life of personal effort and virtue. This was for the sake of the common people, so they could put reliance on the prophets and their words. The gaze of ordinary people cannot penetrate into the inward heart—they see only the outward show. Yet, following those externals, through the Divine blessings bestowed on those forms, people find the way to the internal.
(adapted from A.J. Arberry’s translation of Fihi Ma Fihi
by Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi, p. 315)
***
December 17, 1273 was the day of Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi’s passing on the solar calendar. (The Islamic calender is lunar based and shifts every year.) In many Sufi orders, the day a saint or sincere lover of the Beloved passes from the body is called one’s “Wedding Day.” This day is regarded as one of sacred union, where the veils of this world that separate us from the Beloved are completely surpassed. Jalaal ud-Diin’s order was discreet, some say an open secret to those serious in seeking the Sufi way; but on his Wedding Day, members of the order take to the streets to publicly pay honor to this great saint. As someone who transcended the ego, Jalaal ud-Diin would not encourage displays that glorified the particulars of his life. But he would welcome using public displays that point to lessons others can embrace to direct or deepen their surrender to Truth. In this vein, I’ll use this day of tribute to explore a core thread of his life and teachings: the importance of Divine grace (or favor) over personal effort.
Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi makes a clear distinction between Divine grace and personal effort. In distinguishing the two, he uses the prophets as a means of explanation. Some context may be helpful to those not familiar with Islam’s approach to prophets. The Abrahamic line of prophets come to completion in Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), who is regarded as the Seal of the Prophets. Ibraahiim (a.s.), also known as Abraham, is also a noted figure because the spiritual covenant and friendship with the Beloved are established through him. Thus, Divine grace (friendship with the Beloved being among the “highest” forms of grace) and revelation of the Beloved’s will are among the spiritual gifts bestowed upon and through the lives the prophets. And the spiritual lineage of these blessings continue beyond the age of the prophets through saints such as Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi, a spiritual inheritance still available today.
Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi writes:
“I was a hidden treasure,” Allaah says, “and I wished
to be known.” So It created this world of darkness for
Its Light to become visible. So, too, It manifested the
prophets and the saints, saying, “Go forth with My
Attributes into My creation.” ( Fihi Ma Fihi p. 143)
He also states that: “The prophets and the saints, therefore, remind us of our original state; they do not implant anything new.” ( Fihi Ma Fihi p. 61) Some teach that our original state is one that emanates from, flows within, and dissolves into Divine grace. But so many humans, throughout the ages, have turned away from this state. So as a mercy, to remind us, the Beloved sends forth prophets and saints dressed in Divine Attributes to remind us of the purpose of creation, and our “individual” purpose within this more expansive purpose.
To this end, “The prophets and the saints forsake their own desire and follow the desire of Allaah. Whatever Allaah commands, they do.” ( Fihi Ma Fihi p. 297) This is where personal effort comes into play. Islam, and other spiritual traditions, is explicitly clear that Divine grace can only be given, not earned or bought. It calls for surrender to the Beloved, which is what Islam means. Many conceptually acknowledge this, but if you look beyond the surface of how many live -– particularly in money-oriented societies -- many of us reduce spirituality to a clever (sometimes subtle) game of barter and exchange. That if I live by prescribed moral codes, exert the personal effort to do right, then (in exchange) I should receive the blessings of Divine grace. So often we look to exert, even if with good intention, personal effort to gain Divine grace. This differs from what Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi, a saint, professes.
As the opening statement declares: The prophets did not attain prophethood through personal effort. The same principle applies to saints “attaining” sainthood. And some would affirm there are fewer jewels more precious than prophethood and sainthood. Instead, they gained that fortune through Divine grace. A better translation may state that prophethood and sainthood are bestowed through Divine grace. Yet Allaah still required the prophets to live a life of personal effort and virtue. So personal effort is not removed from the equation, but instead of being exerted to gain grace, personal effort is required to remove the self-imposed barriers we hold to Divine grace. I am reminded of an oft-quoted remark by Jalaal ud-Diin: “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” More often than not, this calls for using personal effort to overcome ego-based desires.
One of the main reasons The gaze of ordinary people cannot penetrate into the inward heart is because we are looking outward to fulfill our desires. The overwhelming majority of desires (some say all desires) seek to be fulfilled by outward things. Thus, for most people, they see only the outward show, in negligence of the inner reality. Most moral codes and virtues seek to address this dynamic by restraining one’s desires, which diminishes the ego’s “need” to be pleasurably satisfied.
In Islam, this restraint is addressed through discipline:
The prophets and saints do not shirk discipline. Their
first discipline is to slay this self that is controlled by
desires and lusts. That is the “Greater Jihad (Holy
War).” When they achieve this, and establish
themselves in the station of security, then wrong and
right become revealed to them. ( Fihi Ma Fihi p. 237)
It is in the station of security, being beyond the pull seeking the fulfillment of desires, that we are given the Divine grace of being shown what is right and wrong. This goes beyond a mere conceptual mind-based discernment of morality, because when you know in your heart that something is right, you do it -- no matter what. And, in turn, when you know in your heart that something is wrong, you don’t do it -- no matter what. In this way of following those externals of moral restraint and virtue, the way to the internal (the heart wherein the Omniscience of the Beloved rests) is revealed. And the prophets and saints are drawn through these same challenges of moving beyond the bondage of ego-based desires to be external examples that remind the masses of humanity of our original state.
Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi affirms: “For Allaah has promised that anyone who chooses the right road and practices right action, following the sacred law and the way of the prophets and saints, shall be granted happiness, illumination and life.” ( Fihi Ma Fihi p. 370) This promise is acknowledged by other prophets and saints, and even other spiritual traditions. It may, at first, be tricky to embrace this path of right personal effort without framing it within a dynamic of barter and exchange. But perseverance in right personal effort will eventually chip away the impressions within the mind that frame conditions for receiving Divine grace. When that, and other barriers to such grace are removed, we find the river of mercy that our life flows upon pours into that endless ocean of Divine grace: a place the prophets and saints say is our True Home.
As we remember the passing of Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi, may we remember this constant lesson his life demonstrates and invites us to embrace...
