In Book Six, Section 46 of the Masnavi, Rumi revisits the theme of post-mortem regret, asserting that the departed do not mourn the event of death itself, but rather their failure to properly prepare for it. He explains that their sorrow stems from having prioritized worldly illusions and superficial attachments over the pursuit of enduring spiritual sustenance. This reinforces Rumi's consistent teaching that death serves to expose the true value of one's earthly actions and the tragedy of lost spiritual opportunity.

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## Original content
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راست گفته ست آن سپهدار بشر 
که هر آنک کرد از دنیا گذر
نیستش درد و دریغ و غبن موت 
بلک هستش صد دریغ از بهر فوت
که چرا قبله نکردم مرگ را 
مخزن هر دولت و هر برگ را
قبله کردم من همه عمر از حول 
آن خیالاتی که گم شد در اجل
حسرت آن مردگان از مرگ نیست 
زانست کاندر نقشها کردیم ایست
ما ندیدیم این که آن نقش است و کف 
کف ز دریا جنبد و یابد علف
چونک بحر افکند کفها را به بر 
تو بگورستان رو آن کفها نگر
پس بگو کو جنبش و جولانتان 
بحر افکندست در بحرانتان
تا بگویندت به لب نی بل به حال 
که ز دریا کن نه از ما این سؤال
نقش چون کف کی بجنبد بی ز موج 
خاک بی بادی کجا آید بر اوج
چون غبار نقش دیدی باد بین 
کف چو دیدی قلزم ایجاد بین
هین ببین کز تو نظر آید به کار 
باقیت شحمی و لحمی پود و تار
شحم تو در شمعها نفزود تاب 
لحم تو مخمور را نامد کباب
در گداز این جمله تن را در بصر 
در نظر رو در نظر رو در نظر
یک نظر دو گز همی بیند ز راه 
یک نظر دو کون دید و روی شاه
در میان این دو فرقی بی شمار 
سرمه جو والله اعلم بالسرار
چون شنیدی شرح بحر نیستی 
کوش دایم تا برین بحر ایستی
چونک اصل کارگاه آن نیستیست 
که خلا و بی نشانست و تهیست
جمله استادان پی اظهار کار 
نیستی جویند و جای انکسار
لاجرم استاد استادان صمد 
کارگاهش نیستی و لا بود
هر کجا این نیستی افزون ترست 
کار حق و کارگاهش آن سرست
نیستی چون هست بالایین طبق 
بر همه بردند درویشان سبق
خاصه درویشی که شد بی جسم و مال 
کار فقر جسم دارد نه سؤال
سایل آن باشد که مال او گداخت 
قانع آن باشد که جسم خویش باخت
پس ز درد اکنون شکایت بر مدار 
کوست سوی نیست اسپی راهوار
این قدر گفتیم باقی فکر کن 
فکر اگر جامد بود رو ذکر کن
ذکر آرد فکر را در اهتزاز 
ذکر را خورشید این افسرده ساز
اصل خود جذبه است لیک ای خواجه تاش 
کار کن موقوف آن جذبه مباش
زانک ترک کار چون نازی بود 
ناز کی در خورد جانبازی بود
نه قبول اندیش نه رد ای غلام 
امر را و نهی را می بین مدام
مرغ جذبه ناگهان پرد ز عش 
چون بدیدی صبح شمع آنگه بکش
چشمها چون شد گذاره نور اوست 
مغزها می بیند او در عین پوست
بیند اندر ذره خورشید بقا 
بیند اندر قطره کل بحر را

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## English translation
Truly spoke that commander of mankind (the Prophet),
That whoever passes from this world,
Has no pain, regret, or grief for death;
Rather, they have a hundred regrets for what they missed out on,
Saying, 'Why did I not make death my qibla (focus),
The treasure-house of every fortune and provision?
All my life, out of cross-eyed illusion, I made my qibla
Those phantoms that vanished at the time of death.'
The regret of those dead is not because of death;
It is because: 'We stopped at the mere forms.'
We did not see that those forms are but foam,
The foam moves from the sea and finds its sustenance.
When the sea casts the foam upon the shore,
You go to the graveyard and look at that foam.
Then say to them, 'Where is your movement and commotion?
The sea has cast you into your crisis.'
So that they may tell you, not with lips but by their state,
'Ask this question of the sea, not of us!'
How can form, like foam, move without a wave?
How can dust rise to the zenith without the wind?
When you see the dust of form, look for the wind;
When you see the foam, look at the ocean of creation.
Beware, see that what comes to use from you is your vision,
The rest of you is just fat and flesh, warp and weft.
Your fat has not added light to the candles,
Your flesh has not become roast meat for the drunkard.
Melt away this whole body into vision,
Go into vision, go into vision, go into vision!
One vision sees but two yards of the road;
Another vision has seen the two worlds and the face of the King.
Between these two is a countless difference;
Seek the collyrium, and God knows the secrets best.
Since you have heard the description of the sea of non-existence,
Strive constantly so that you may stand upon this sea.
Because the foundation of the workshop is that non-existence,
Which is void, traceless, and empty.
All masters, to manifest their work,
Seek non-existence and a place of brokenness.
Therefore, the Master of Masters, the Eternal (Samad),
His workshop is non-existence and naught (la).
Wherever this non-existence is greater,
God's work and His workshop are more apparent there.
Since non-existence is the highest level,
The dervishes have surpassed everyone.
Especially the dervish who became free of body and wealth;
The work of poverty deals with the body, not with begging.
A beggar is one whose wealth has melted away;
A contented one is he who has lost his own body.
So now, do not complain about pain,
For it is an ambling steed towards non-existence.
This much we have said; think upon the rest.
If thought is frozen, go and make dhikr (remembrance).
Dhikr brings thought into vibration;
Make dhikr the sun for this frozen one.
The root itself is divine attraction; but, O companion,
Keep working and do not wait merely for that attraction.
Because abandoning work is like acting with coquetry;
How can coquetry befit risking one's life?
Think neither of acceptance nor rejection, O slave;
Constantly look only upon the command and the prohibition.
The bird of attraction suddenly flies from the nest;
When you see the morning, then extinguish the candle.
When the eyes become a passage, it is His light;
He sees the kernels right within the shell.
He sees the sun of eternity within an atom;
He sees the whole sea within a drop.

دفتر ششم - بخش ۴۶ - لیس للماضین هم الموت انما لهم حسرة الفوت / Book Six - Section 46 - 'The departed have no sorrow of death; rather, they have the sorrow of lost opportunity'

In Book Five of the Masnavi, Rumi emphasizes that the deceased do not mourn the loss of physical existence, but rather their spiritual unpreparedness. In Section 72, Rumi explicitly asserts that 'no dead person is full of regret from death; his regret is that his provisions were few' (هیچ مرده نیست پر حسرت ز مرگ / حسرتش آنست کش کم بود برگ). This directly echoes his earlier discourse in Section 30, where he interprets the prophetic tradition that every deceased person wishes they had died sooner to either accelerate their reward or truncate their sins. By connecting these sections, Rumi systematically redefines death not as a tragedy, but as a sobering awakening to the true value of one's spiritual provisions.

The Concept of Post-Mortem Regret in Book Five of the Masnavi

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