(1) Rumi has quoted the Qur’an 2:24: “But if ye cannot- and of a surety ye cannot- then fear the fire whose fuel is men and stones, which is prepared for those who reject faith. “
(2) Qur’an has been quoted again, “maasiyah” means disobedience as in (58:8-9) And they hold secret counsels among themselves for iniquity and hostility, and disobedience to the Messenger. And when they come to thee, they salute thee, not as Allah salutes thee, (but in crooked ways): And they say to themselves, “Why does not Allah punish us for our words?” Enough for them is Hell: In it will they burn, and evil is that destination! O ye who believe! When ye hold secret counsel, do it not for iniquity, hostility, and disobedience to the Prophet; but do it for righteousness and self-restraint; and fear Allah, to Whom ye shall be brought back. Ibn-Arabi has explained in Fusus al Hikam: The deviators (57:27) are those who do not submit to Deen and observe it properly. Allah does not accord to the one who does not obey it a law which pleases Him, but the command requires submission. It is proof that the one obligated obeys or opposes the agreement. The one who agrees and is obedient does not need any discourse to prove it. Click for Details.
(3) According to a tradition from Abu Huraira, a young man had come to the mosque, but he did not say his prayer rightly and then said “Salaam” to Hazrat Muhammad (saw). The Prophet admonished him that he had not said his prayer rightly and should have said it again. He committed the same mistake; again, when he came in the presence of the Prophet, he hinted at his mistake for the third time and taught him the right procedure of saying a prayer. Qazi Sajjad has argued that because the young man was wrong in his method, we can’t call him a “raya kar” or a hypocrite. It is just that “raya” here is used to mean false pretension. The young man pretended before Hazrat Muhammad (saw) that he knew how to say a prayer, and even when the Prophet had hinted at the incorrectness of his way, he did not ask the Prophet to teach him the right way but preferred to continue with his faulty one. Rumi has hinted at the false pretentious ego of a disciple. This story’s main theme is that we cannot follow our whims and presumptions in the Divine Law.
(4) Rumi has begun this story concerning Ibn-Arabi and his deep reverence and special affiliation for the 1st Surah (chapter) of the Qur’an: Fatiha-The Opening. A reference to “al Fatiha” may be an indirect suggestion to read Ibn-Arabi’s “Fatuhat al Makkiyah,” which comprises 17000 pages in original and is a complete doctrine of Muslim Shariah with special context to its esoteric dimension. Click for Details.
(5) The reference to ˜Fatiha-The Opening” continues: Dhwaleen are ˜the people who have gone astray™ and they are the Christians according to the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (SAW) reported from Adee bin Haatim (RA). The Qur’an says: (5:77) And do not follow the vain desires of people (i.e., the Christians) who went astray in times gone by, misled many, and have strayed from the Straight Path. Abdur-Rahmaan bin Mahdee said, “Maalik bin Anas (Sahabi) had been asked about the Sunnah, to which he replied, it is whatever has no other name for it except “the Sunnah” and he recited.”And Verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, & follow not [other] paths, for they will separate you from His Path [6: 153]. Rumi has constantly guided us to follow the Way of Sunnah of Hazrat Muhammad (saw) and none other. On many occasions, he advocates following Christ but not Christians.
(6) Constant reliance upon speculative faculty and not exploiting analytical reason shall lead the mind towards pathological deviance: permanent loss to deal with reality in its truest perspective. Such minds are characterized by their dependence upon delusions, be they of grandeur or persecution; sometimes hallucinations also accompany them, and one is hardly able to please anyone, not even one’s self, and is painfully caught in ssa wrench of misery.