My Beloved bound me hand and foot and put me in the deep sea. Then those who were standing on the shore(. . . the Beloved Himself) exclaimed to me to see that my clothes did not get wet.
The man has been created weak’. (29, Al-Nisa).
Verily We have created the man for a struggle. (4, Al-Balad).
(The human-beings should) fear Allah, believe, and do good works
(93, Al-Maida).
TRADITION “The faith lies mid-way between compulsion and discretion”.
The above first two verses of the Quran, as translated state the inherent handicaps of the man. The third verse briefly refers to his duties to Allah, to self and to his fellow-beings, and their range is quite spacious. For performances of his duties his discretion is not unrestricted. Often times he has to obey the dictates of his fate or destiny. Finally due to no provocation on his part Satan is declared to be his inveterate enemy, and strangely enough he is authorised by Allah to work against the man. To facilitate his nefarious activities material desires have been implanted in the man and they are known as his ‘nafs’. It is against all these odds in the background that the man has been created primarily to worship Allah as His humble bondman and to work his way towards reunion with Him. To attain to it he has to obey the Quranic orders in full inspite of his inherent weakness. The above verse under comment refers to this position of the man. Would it not be anything short of a miracle if the poor chap, “bound hand and foot”, as stated by the poet, succeeds in his mission?
In the above note I have presented only one side of the picture which is relevant to the verse.
درمیان قعر دریا تختہ بندہ کردۂ،
باز میگوئی کہ دامن ترمکن ہشیار باش
(Roomi)
You have put me on a plant and set it adrift in the sea. You have then warned me to see that my clothes do not get drenched with water
القاہ فی الیم مکتو نا و قال لہ،
ایاکَ ایاکَ آں بتل الماءِ
(Mansur)
He put him in sea with his hands tied and then warned him that he should not get wet.

My Love bound me and threw me in waters deep,
Standing on the bank He kept saying now dry you must keep.