In Book Four of the Masnavi, Rumi presents a central cosmological and psychological doctrine: the physical universe is the external form (surat) of the Universal Intellect (Aql-e Koll), which acts as the spiritual father of humanity.

According to this concept, a person's subjective experience of the world directly reflects their spiritual alignment with the Universal Intellect:

• Disharmony and Grief: If an individual acts crookedly or displays ingratitude (kofran) toward the Universal Intellect, the world turns hostile and grief-inducing, appearing as a dog (sag) or dirt and mud (ab o gel). Rumi compares this to a child who has wronged their father; the father's face, once a source of comfort, now only increases the child's guilt and sorrow, making it unbearable to look at him.
• Harmony and Paradise: Conversely, making peace with this spiritual father transforms the world into a paradise (jannat) in the seeker's perception, where the mundane elements of wate...