## Original content
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گفت ما اول فرشته بوده ایم 
راه طاعت را بجان پیموده ایم
سالکان راه را محرم بدیم 
ساکنان عرش را همدم بدیم
پیشهٔ اول کجا از دل رود 
مهر اول کی ز دل بیرون شود
در سفر گر روم بینی یا ختن 
از دل تو کی رود حب الوطن
ما هم از مستان این می بوده ایم 
عاشقان درگه وی بوده ایم
ناف ما بر مهر او ببریده اند 
عشق او در جان ما کاریده اند
روز نیکو دیده ایم از روزگار 
آب رحمت خورده ایم اندر بهار
نی که ما را دست فضلش کاشتست 
از عدم ما را نه او بر داشتست
ای بسا کز وی نوازش دیده ایم 
در گلستان رضا گردیده ایم
بر سر ما دست رحمت می نهاد 
چشمه های لطف از ما می گشاد
وقت طفلی ام که بودم شیرجو 
گاهوارم را کی جنبانید او
از کی خوردم شیر غیر شیر او 
کی مرا پرورد جز تدبیر او
خوی کان با شیر رفت اندر وجود 
کی توان آن را ز مردم واگشود
گر عتابی کرد دریای کرم 
بسته کی گردند درهای کرم
اصل نقدش داد و لطف و بخششست 
قهر بر وی چون غباری از غشست
از برای لطف عالم را بساخت 
ذره ها را آفتاب او نواخت
فرقت از قهرش اگر آبستنست 
بهر قدر وصل او دانستنست
تا دهد جان را فراقش گوشمال 
جان بداند قدر ایام وصال
گفت پیغامبر که حق فرموده است 
قصد من از خلق احسان بوده است
آفریدم تا ز من سودی کنند 
تا ز شهدم دست آلودی کنند
نه برای آنک تا سودی کنم 
وز برهنه من قبایی بر کنم
چند روزی که ز پیشم رانده ست 
چشم من در روی خوبش مانده ست
کز چنان رویی چنین قهر ای عجب 
هر کسی مشغول گشته در سبب
من سبب را ننگرم کان حادثست 
زانک حادث حادثی را باعثست
لطف سابق را نظاره می کنم 
هرچه آن حادث دو پاره می کنم
ترک سجده از حسد گیرم که بود 
آن حسد از عشق خیزد نه از جحود
هر حسد از دوستی خیزد یقین 
که شود با دوست غیری همنشین
هست شرط دوستی غیرت پزی 
همچو شرط عطسه گفتن دیر زی
چونک بر نطعش جز این بازی نبود 
گفت بازی کن چه دانم در فزود
آن یکی بازی که بد من باختم 
خویشتن را در بلا انداختم
در بلا هم می چشم لذات او 
مات اویم مات اویم مات او
چون رهاند خویشتن را ای سره 
هیچ کس در شش جهت از ششدره
جزو شش از کل شش چون وا رهد 
خاصه که بی چون مرورا کژ نهد
هر که در شش او درون آتشست 
اوش برهاند که خلاق ششست
خود اگر کفرست و گر ایمان او 
دست باف حضرتست و آن او

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## English translation
He said: We were angels at first; we had traversed the road of obedience with our soul. We were confidants of the travelers on the path; we were companions of the dwellers of the Throne. How can a first calling leave the heart? When does a first love go out of the heart? If, on a journey, you see Rum or Khutan, when does love of homeland leave your heart? We too were once among the intoxicated with this wine; we were lovers at His threshold. Our navel cord was cut on love for Him; His love was planted in our soul. We had seen fair days from fortune; in spring we had drunk the water of mercy. Was it not His hand of grace that planted us? Was it not He who raised us up from nonexistence? How often we had seen kindness from Him; we had wandered in the rose-garden of His good pleasure. He would place the hand of mercy on our head; He would open springs of gentleness from us. In my infancy, when I was seeking milk, who rocked my cradle but He? From whom did I drink milk other than His milk? Who raised me except His governance? A disposition that entered existence with the milk: how can it be detached from a person? If the ocean of generosity made a rebuke, when are the doors of generosity closed? The true coin of Him is giving, kindness, and bounty; wrath in relation to Him is like a dust-cloud from adulteration. He made the world for the sake of kindness; His sun cherished the atoms. If separation from His wrath is pregnant, it is so that the worth of union with Him may be known, so that His separation may cuff the soul and the soul may know the worth of the days of union. The Prophet said that God has declared: My intention in creation was beneficence. I created so that they might gain benefit from Me, so that they might put their hands into My honey; not so that I might gain a benefit, or take a cloak from one who is naked. For the few days He has driven me from before Him, my eye has remained fixed on His beautiful face. From such a face, such wrath: how strange! Everyone has become occupied with causes. I do not look at the cause, for it is originated; for an originated thing is the cause of another originated thing. I gaze on the prior kindness; whatever is originated, I split it in two. Suppose my leaving prostration was from envy: that envy arises from love, not from denial. Every envy surely arises from affection, when someone else becomes the beloved friend's companion. The condition of friendship is enduring jealousy, just as the condition of a sneeze is saying, 'Live long.' Since on His gaming-board there was no play but this, He said, 'Play'; what do I know of any increase? I lost that one game that there was, and cast myself into affliction. Even in affliction I taste His delights; I am checkmated by Him, checkmated by Him, checkmated by Him. O noble one, how can anyone free himself from a six-doored trap in the six directions? How can a part of the six escape from the whole of the six, especially when the Formless One sets it crooked? Whoever is inside His six is in fire; He will rescue him, for He is the Creator of the six. Whether it is disbelief or faith, it is woven by His Presence's hand, and is His.

دفتر دوم - بخش ۶۴ - باز جواب گفتن ابلیس معاویه را / Book Two - Section 64 - Iblis Answering Mu'awiya Again

## Original content
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این حدیثش همچو دودست ای اله 
دست گیر ار نه گلیمم شد سیاه
من به حجت بر نیایم با بلیس 
کوست فتنهٔ هر شریف و هر خسیس
آدمی کو علم الاسما بگست 
در تک چون برق این سگ بی تکست
از بهشت انداختش بر روی خاک 
چون سمک در شست او شد از سماک
نوحهٔ انا ظلمنا می زدی 
نیست دستان و فسونش را حدی
اندرون هر حدیث او شرست 
صد هزاران سحر در وی مضمرست
مردی مردان ببندد در نفس 
در زن و در مرد افروزد هوس
ای بلیس خلق سوز فتنه جو 
بر چیم بیدار کردی راست گو

</div>

## English translation
This speech of his is like smoke, O God; take my hand, otherwise my blanket will be blackened. I cannot come out victorious in argument against Iblīs, for he is the sedition of every noble and every base person. Adam, who spread abroad the Knowledge of the Names, was without recourse against the lightning-like rush of this dog. He cast him from Paradise onto the face of the earth; like a fish (samak) he fell into his hook from the height of Simāk. He was crying the lament, "We have wronged ourselves"; there is no limit to Iblīs's tricks and spells. Inside every speech of his there is evil; hundreds of thousands of sorceries are concealed in it. He binds the manliness of men in a single breath; he inflames desire in women and men. O Iblīs, creation-burning, sedition-seeking one, tell the truth: why did you wake me?

دفتر دوم - بخش ۶۸ - نالیدن معاویه به حضرت حق تعالی از ابلیس و نصرت خواستن / Book Two - Section 68 - Mu'awiya Lamenting to God Almighty About Iblis and Seeking Help

## Original content
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گفت امیر او را که اینها راستست 
لیک بخش تو ازینها کاستست
صد هزاران را چو من تو ره زدی 
حفره کردی در خزینه آمدی
آتشی از تو نسوزم چاره نیست 
کیست کز دست تو جامه‌ش پاره نیست
طبعت ای آتش چو سوزانیدنیست 
تا نسوزانی تو چیزی چاره نیست
لعنت این باشد که سوزانت کند 
اوستاد جمله دزدانت کند
با خدا گفتی شنیدی روبرو 
من چه باشم پیش مکرت ای عدو
معرفتهای تو چون بانگ صفیر 
بانگ مرغانست لیکن مرغ گیر
صد هزاران مرغ را آن ره زدست 
مرغ غره کآشنایی آمدست
در هوا چون بشنود بانگ صفیر 
از هوا آید شود اینجا اسیر
قوم نوح از مکر تو در نوحه‌اند 
دل کباب و سینه شرحه شرحه‌اند
عاد را تو باد دادی در جهان 
در فکندی در عذاب و اندهان
از تو بود آن سنگسار قوم لوط 
در سیاهابه ز تو خوردند غوط
مغز نمرود از تو آمد ریخته 
ای هزاران فتنه‌ها انگیخته
عقل فرعون ذکی فیلسوف 
کور گشت از تو نیابید او وقوف
بولهب هم از تو نااهلی شده 
بوالحکم هم از تو بوجهلی شده
ای برین شطرنج بهر یاد را 
مات کرده صد هزار استاد را
ای ز فرزین‌بندهای مشکلت 
سوخته دلها سیه گشته دلت
بحر مکری تو خلایق قطره‌ای 
تو چو کوهی وین سلیمان ذره‌ای
کی رهد از مکر تو ای مختصم 
غرق طوفانیم الا من عصم
بس ستارهٔ سعد از تو محترق 
بس سپاه و جمع از تو مفترق

</div>

## English translation
The Amir said to him: These things are true, but your portion in them falls short. You have waylaid hundreds of thousands like me; you dug a breach and entered the treasury. There is no remedy: I cannot but be burned by a fire from you; who is there whose garment has not been torn by your hand? Your nature, O fire, is to burn; until you burn something, there is no remedy. This is the curse: that it makes you a burner; it makes you master of all thieves. You spoke with God and heard Him face to face; what am I before your cunning, O enemy? Your kinds of knowledge are like the whistle-call: it is the sound of birds, but it is a bird-catcher. That call has waylaid hundreds of thousands of birds; the deluded bird thinks a familiar one has come. When it hears the whistle in the air, it comes down from the air and becomes captive here. The people of Noah are wailing because of your trickery; hearts are roasted and breasts are torn piece by piece. You gave the people of Aad to the wind in the world; you cast them into torment and sorrows. The stoning of the people of Lot was from you; because of you they plunged into the black water. Nimrod’s brain came to be scattered because of you, O you who have stirred up thousands of seditions. Pharaoh’s keen, philosophizing intellect was blinded by you; he found no awareness. Abu Lahab too became unworthy through you; Abu al-Hakam too became Abu Jahl through you. O you who, on this chessboard, for mere play, have checkmated a hundred thousand masters. O you by whose difficult queen-traps hearts have burned and your own heart has blackened. You are an ocean of cunning; creatures are a drop. You are like a mountain, and this Solomon is a mote. Who can escape your cunning, O adversary? We are drowned in the flood except the one whom He protects. Many a fortunate star has been burned up by you; many an army and company has been scattered by you.

دفتر دوم - بخش ۶۵ - باز تقریر کردن معاویه با ابلیس مکر او را / Book Two - Section 65 - Mu'awiya Again Recounting to Iblis His Deceit

## Original content
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گفت ابلیسش گشای این عقد را 
من محکم قلب را و نقد را
امتحان شیر و کلبم کرد حق 
امتحان نقد و قلبم کرد حق
قلب را من کی سیه رو کرده ام 
صیرفی ام قیمت او کرده ام
نیکوان را رهنمایی می کنم 
شاخه های خشک را بر می کنم
این علفها می نهم از بهر چیست 
تا پدید آید که حیوان جنس کیست
گرگ از آهو چو زاید کودکی 
هست در گرگیش و آهویی شکی
تو گیاه و استخوان پیشش بریز 
تا کدامین سو کند او گام تیز
گر به سوی استخوان آید سگست 
ور گیا خواهد یقین آهو رگست
قهر و لطفی جفت شد با همدگر 
زاد ازین هر دو جهانی خیر و شر
تو گیاه و استخوان را عرضه کن 
قوت نفس و قوت جان را عرضه کن
گر غذای نفس جوید ابترست 
ور غذای روح خواهد سرورست
گر کند او خدمت تن هست خر 
ور رود در بحر جان یابد گهر
گرچه این دو مختلف خیر و شرند 
لیک این هر دو به یک کار اندرند
انبیا طاعات عرضه می کنند 
دشمنان شهوات عرضه می کنند
نیک را چون بد کنم یزدان نیم 
داعیم من خالق ایشان نیم
خوب را من زشت سازم رب نه ام 
زشت را و خوب را آیینه ام
سوخت هندو آینه از درد را 
کین سیه رو می نماید مرد را
گفت آیینه گناه از من نبود 
جرم او را نه که روی من زدود
او مرا غماز کرد و راست گو 
تا بگویم زشت کو و خوب کو
من گواهم بر گوا زندان کجاست 
اهل زندان نیستم ایزد گواست
هر کجا بینم نهال میوه دار 
تربیتها می کنم من دایه وار
هر کجا بینم درخت تلخ و خشک 
می برم من تا رهد از پشک مشک
خشک گوید باغبان را کای فتی 
مر مرا چه می بری سر بی خطا
باغبان گوید خمش ای زشت خو 
بس نباشد خشکی تو جرم تو
خشک گوید راستم من کژ نیم 
تو چرا بی جرم می بری پیم
باغبان گوید اگر مسعودیی 
کاشکی کژ بودیی تر بودیی
جاذب آب حیاتی گشتیی 
اندر آب زندگی آغشتیی
تخم تو بد بوده است و اصل تو 
با درخت خوش نبوده وصل تو
شاخ تلخ ار با خوشی وصلت کند 
آن خوشی اندر نهادش بر زند

</div>

## English translation
Iblis said to him: 'Loosen these knots. I am the touchstone for the counterfeit and the genuine. God made me the test of lion and dog; God made me the test of genuine coin and counterfeit. When have I blackened the face of the counterfeit? I am an assayer; I have set its value. I guide the good; I uproot the dry branches. Why do I set out these grasses? So that it may become clear what kind of animal the creature is. If a child is born of wolf and gazelle, there is doubt about its wolfishness and gazelle-nature. Cast grass and bone before it, to see toward which side it steps quickly. If it comes toward the bone, it is a dog; if it wants grass, it is surely gazelle-veined. Wrath and grace were coupled together; from these two a world of good and evil was born. Offer grass and bone; offer the nourishment of the nafs and the nourishment of the soul. If it seeks the nafs's food, it is tailless/defective; if it wants the soul's food, it is a lord. If it serves the body, it is an ass; if it goes into the ocean of the soul, it finds a pearl. Though these two, good and evil, are different, both are engaged in one work. The prophets offer acts of obedience; enemies offer lusts. How could I make the good bad? I am not God. I am a summoner; I am not their creator. Do I make the beautiful ugly? I am not the Lord. I am the mirror of both ugly and beautiful. The dark-skinned man burned the mirror out of pain, because it shows a man as black-faced. The mirror said: "The fault was not mine; do not charge him with the crime of having polished my face. He made me an informer and truth-teller, so that I may say where the ugly is and where the beautiful is." I am a witness; where is prison for a witness? I am not one of the prisoners; God is witness. Wherever I see a fruit-bearing sapling, I tend it like a nurse. Wherever I see a bitter, dry tree, I cut it down so that musk may be freed from dung. The dry tree says to the gardener, "O young man, why do you cut me down? My head is without fault." The gardener says, "Be silent, ugly-natured one. Is your dryness itself not enough of a crime?" The dry one says, "I am straight; I am not crooked. Why do you cut my foot without crime?" The gardener says, "If you were blessed, would that you had been crooked but moist. You would have become a drawer of the water of life and been steeped in the water of life. Your seed has been bad, and your origin; you have not been joined to the sweet tree. If a bitter branch is joined to a sweet one, that sweetness strikes into its nature."

دفتر دوم - بخش ۶۶ - باز جواب گفتن ابلیس معاویه را / Book Two - Section 66 - Iblis Answering Mu'awiya Again

## Original content
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از بن دندان بگفتش بهر آن 
کردمت بیدار می دان ای فلان
تا رسی اندر جماعت در نماز 
از پی پیغامبر دولت فراز
گر نماز از وقت رفتی مر تو را 
این جهان تاریک گشتی بی ضیا
از غبین و درد رفتی اشکها 
از دو چشم تو مثال مشکها
ذوق دارد هر کسی در طاعتی 
لاجرم نشکیبد از وی ساعتی
آن غبین و درد بودی صد نماز 
کو نماز و کو فروغ آن نیاز

</div>

## English translation
Speaking from the roots of his teeth, he said to him: 'For this purpose, know, O so-and-so, I woke you: so that you might reach the congregational prayer in the wake of the fortune-exalting Prophet. If the prayer had slipped past its appointed time for you, this world would have become dark for you, without radiance. From remorse and pain, tears would have poured from your two eyes like waterskins. Everyone has a savor in some act of obedience; therefore he cannot endure being without it for even an hour. That remorse and pain would have been worth a hundred prayers: what is prayer compared with the radiance of that need?'

دفتر دوم - بخش ۷۳ - راست گفتن ابلیس ضمیر خود را به معاویه / Book Two - Section 73 - Iblis Speaking the Truth of His Mind to Mu'awiya

In Book Two, Section 63 of the Masnavi, Mu'awiya uses the metaphor of a thief pretending to be a watchman to expose the inherent deceit of Iblis. He argues that just as a homeowner cannot trust a thief who breaks in and claims to be guarding the house, a believer cannot trust Iblis when he encourages a righteous act like prayer. Because a thief does not value spiritual rewards or righteous obedience, any apparent good deed suggested by Iblis is merely a cover for a deeper, misguiding plot.

Mu'awiya's Metaphor of Iblis as a Deceptive Watchman in the Masnavi

## Original content
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گفت امیر او را که اینها راستست 
لیک بخش تو ازینها کاستست
صد هزاران را چو من تو ره زدی 
حفره کردی در خزینه آمدی
آتشی از تو نسوزم چاره نیست 
کیست کز دست تو جامه ش پاره نیست
طبعت ای آتش چو سوزانیدنیست 
تا نسوزانی تو چیزی چاره نیست
لعنت این باشد که سوزانت کند 
اوستاد جمله دزدانت کند
با خدا گفتی شنیدی روبرو 
من چه باشم پیش مکرت ای عدو
معرفتهای تو چون بانگ صفیر 
بانگ مرغانست لیکن مرغ گیر
صد هزاران مرغ را آن ره زدست 
مرغ غره کآشنایی آمدست
در هوا چون بشنود بانگ صفیر 
از هوا آید شود اینجا اسیر
قوم نوح از مکر تو در نوحه اند 
دل کباب و سینه شرحه شرحه اند
عاد را تو باد دادی در جهان 
در فکندی در عذاب و اندهان
از تو بود آن سنگسار قوم لوط 
در سیاهابه ز تو خوردند غوط
مغز نمرود از تو آمد ریخته 
ای هزاران فتنه ها انگیخته
عقل فرعون ذکی فیلسوف 
کور گشت از تو نیابید او وقوف
بولهب هم از تو نااهلی شده 
بوالحکم هم از تو بوجهلی شده
ای برین شطرنج بهر یاد را 
مات کرده صد هزار استاد را
ای ز فرزین بندهای مشکلت 
سوخته دلها سیه گشته دلت
بحر مکری تو خلایق قطره ای 
تو چو کوهی وین سلیمان ذره ای
کی رهد از مکر تو ای مختصم 
غرق طوفانیم الا من عصم
بس ستارهٔ سعد از تو محترق 
بس سپاه و جمع از تو مفترق

</div>

## English translation
The Amir said to him, "These things are true,
But your portion of them is diminished.
Hundreds of thousands like me you have waylaid;
You dug a hole and entered the treasury.
You are a fire, there is no help but that I burn from you;
Who is there whose garment is not torn by your hand?
O fire, since your nature is to burn,
You have no choice but to burn something.
This is the curse, that He makes you burning,
And makes you the master of all thieves.
You spoke and listened with God face to face;
What am I before your deceit, O enemy?
Your knowledge is like the fowler's whistle,
It is the cry of birds, but it is the bird-catcher.
It has waylaid hundreds of thousands of birds;
The bird is deluded, thinking, 'A familiar friend has come.'
When it hears the sound of the whistle in the air,
It comes down from the air and becomes captive here.
The people of Noah are in lamentation from your deceit,
Their hearts are roasted and their breasts torn to shreds.
You gave the people of 'Ad to the wind in the world;
You cast them into torment and sorrows.
From you came the stoning of the people of Lot;
Because of you, they plunged into the black water.
Nimrod's brain was spilled by you,
O you who have stirred up thousands of seditions!
The intellect of Pharaoh, the clever philosopher,
Became blind because of you, he found no awareness.
Abu Lahab, too, became unworthy through you;
Abu'l-Hakam, too, became Abu Jahl through you.
O you who on this chessboard, for the sake of mastery,
Have checkmated hundreds of thousands of masters!
O you, from whose difficult stratagems,
Hearts are burned and your own heart has turned black!
You are a sea of deceit, and the creatures are but a drop;
You are like a mountain, and these simple ones are a mote.
Who can escape your deceit, O adversary?
We are drowned in the flood, except for him whom He protects.
Many a lucky star is burned by you;
Many an army and multitude dispersed by you."

## Original content
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گفت هنگام نماز آخر رسید 
سوی مسجد زود می باید دوید
عجلوا الطاعات قبل الفوت گفت 
مصطفی چون در معنی می بسفت
گفت نی نی این غرض نبود تو را 
که بخیری ره نما باشی مرا
دزد آید از نهان در مسکنم 
گویدم که پاسبانی می کنم
من کجا باور کنم آن دزد را 
دزد کی داند ثواب و مزد را

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## English translation
He said: At last the time for prayer has arrived; one must hurry quickly toward the mosque. “Hasten to acts of obedience before the opportunity is lost,” said Mustafa, as he was stringing the pearl of meaning. He said: No, no, this was not your purpose, that you should guide me toward good. A thief comes secretly into my dwelling and says to me, “I am keeping watch.” How could I believe that thief? How would a thief know reward and recompense?

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## Original content
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در خبر آمد که آن معاویه 
خفته بد در قصر در یک زاویه
قصر را از اندرون در بسته بود 
کز زیارتهای مردم خسته بود
ناگهان مردی ورا بیدار کرد 
چشم چون بگشاد پنهان گشت مرد
گفت اندر قصر کس را ره نبود 
کیست کین گستاخی و جرات نمود
گرد برگشت و طلب کرد آن زمان 
تا بیاید زان نهان گشته نشان
او پس در مدبری را دید کو 
در پس پرده نهان می کرد رو
گفت هی تو کیستی نام تو چیست 
گفت نامم فاش ابلیس شقیست
گفت بیدارم چرا کردی بجد 
راست گو با من مگو بر عکس و ضد

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## English translation
It is reported in tradition that the maternal uncle of the believers was asleep in the palace, on a bed in the sleeping-place. He had locked the palace from within, because he was tired of people's visits. Suddenly a man woke him; when he opened his eyes, the man disappeared. He said, 'No one had a way into the palace. Who is this who showed such boldness and daring?' He turned around and searched at once, so that he might find some sign of that hidden one. Behind the door he saw a doomed, ill-fated fellow, hiding his face behind the curtain. He said, 'Hey, you, who are you? What is your name?' He said, 'My name, plainly stated, is Iblis the wretched.' He said, 'Why did you wake me so urgently? Tell me the truth; do not speak to me in inversion and contradiction.'

دفتر دوم - بخش ۶۲ - بیدار کردن ابلیس معاویه را کی خیز وقت نمازست / Book Two - Section 62 - Iblis Waking Mu'awiya, Saying, 'Arise, It Is Time for Prayer'

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Ganjoor

In Book 2 of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, during the confrontation between the ruler Mu'awiya and Iblis (Satan), Mu'awiya firmly rejects the devil's deceptive arguments by employing the metaphors of a highwayman and a false merchant. When Iblis attempts to justify his actions and present himself as a well-meaning buyer of spiritual goods, Mu'awiya immediately sees through the trickery. He argues that a highway robber has no genuine business with a stranger or merchant, asserting that any outward show of being a buyer is pure craftiness. Rumi uses this exchange to illustrate that Satan's offerings and outward appearances of helpfulness are merely sophisticated traps designed to rob the believer of their spiritual wealth. The passage emphasizes the necessity of seeking divine refuge—as Mu'awiya cries out to God—when faced with the relentless envy and deceptive rhetoric of the ultimate adversary.

Mu'awiya's Metaphor of Iblis as a Highwayman and False Merchant in the Masnavi

In Book 2 of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, during the extended interrogation between Mu'awiya and Iblis (Satan), Mu'awiya explains how a believer distinguishes truth from falsehood. When Iblis questions Mu'awiya's ability to discern his deception, Mu'awiya cites a touchstone provided by the Prophet Muhammad: falsehood creates unease and agitation in the heart, whereas truth brings profound tranquility and joyful reassurance. However, Rumi introduces a critical prerequisite for this spiritual intuition: the heart must be healthy and free from the 'sickness' of carnal desire. To illustrate this, Rumi references the story of Adam, explaining that Adam's greed for wheat robbed his heart of its natural soundness, making him susceptible to Satan's lies. The narrative emphasizes that worldly passions and cravings act as a blinding poison, and only those who wean themselves from such desires can truly recognize hidden spiritual realities and avoid being deceived.

The Prophetic Touchstone for Discerning Truth in the Masnavi

In Book 2 of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, during the interrogation of Iblis (Satan), Mu'awiya dismantles the devil's claim of having performed a righteous act by waking him for prayer. Mu'awiya argues that a being's actions are inextricably bound to its inherent nature and disposition. To illustrate this immutable law, he uses a series of vivid metaphors: one cannot extract sweetness from vinegar, gather a mighty army from the cowardly, find the scent of musk in dung, or seek dry bricks in a flowing stream. Because Iblis's fundamental essence is deception and enmity toward spiritual wakefulness, Mu'awiya concludes that Satan is entirely incapable of genuinely guiding anyone toward goodness. Thus, any outward appearance of virtue must inherently be a mask for deeper treachery.

Mu'awiya's Argument of Inherent Nature in the Masnavi

In Book 2 of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the tense interrogation between Mu'awiya and Iblis (Satan) concludes when the devil finally confesses his true motive for waking the ruler for morning prayer. Iblis admits that his action was not an act of piety, but rather a calculated spiritual theft. He explains that if Mu'awiya had overslept and missed the congregational prayer, he would have been consumed by intense grief, shedding tears from profound remorse and spiritual pain. Rumi uses Iblis's admission to highlight a core Sufi concept: the burning need, sorrow, and genuine repentance born from missing a religious duty possess a "radiance" worth more than a hundred routine, mechanical prayers. By waking Mu'awiya, Iblis intentionally deprived him of this highly elevated state of spiritual yearning and sincere need.

Iblis's Confession and the Spiritual Value of Remorse in the Masnavi

In Book 2 of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the confrontation between Mu'awiya and Iblis (Satan) culminates with a profound lesson on the subtleties of spiritual deception. After Iblis confesses that he woke Mu'awiya for prayer solely to deprive him of the deeper spiritual reward of painful remorse, Mu'awiya characterizes the devil as a spider whose web can only ensnare weak, fly-like souls. Mu'awiya identifies himself as a "white falcon" belonging to the divine King, rendering him immune to such fragile traps. This exchange highlights a critical Sufi concept: ultimate spiritual deception often does not manifest as an invitation to obvious sin, but rather as a distraction disguised as a "lesser good." By urging a routine act of piety, Iblis attempted to divert the believer from experiencing a transformative, higher spiritual state, demonstrating that promoting a lesser good is a sophisticated method of driving a soul away from a greater one.

Mu'awiya's Metaphor of the Spider and the Deception of the Lesser Good

دفتر دوم - بخش ۶۳ - از خر افکندن ابلیس معاویه را و روپوش و بهانه کردن و جواب گفتن معاویه او را / Book Two - Section 63 - Iblis Throwing Mu'awiya From His Donkey, Covering Up and Making Excuses, and Mu'awiya Answering Him

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