Expanding on the theme of the preceding verse related to making a show of piety, this verse compares mere lip service in remembrance of the Beloved without the involvement of the heart and mind, coupled with a load of sins carried by the individual, to a broken boat, which will never reach ashore safely. One of the consistently repeated messages of this work pertains to the futility in the pursuit and attainment of the Beloved through lip service. The first line of this verse embodies this message, just as a number other preceding verses convey a similar message – verses one, three, fifty-eight and sixty-eight. The word bhār, which literally means, ‘weight’, ‘load’, ‘burden’ in Gujarati, refers to the sins and transgressions committed by an individual. As mentioned in the explanation of verse fifty-six, the Holy Qur’an describes sin as ẓulm, which means, ‘darkness’, ‘inequity’, ‘oppression’ and ‘transgression’. The second line of the verse, therefore refers to the burden and weight of sin carried by an individual – a load that impedes one’s spiritual progress. …show more content…
In Gujarati, the word mokaḷā means, among other things, ‘unrestrained’, ‘self-willed’, ‘lacking self-control’, ‘wanton’, ‘detached’, ‘disconnected’. Thus, the third line states that while the lips utter the name of the Beloved, the heart is wandering and rambling. In other words, the individual is engaged in verbal dhikr, but the heart is not is not absorbed in dhikr. Imam Aly (AS) warns against this form of absent-minded