Both Farid al-Din Attar in the Mosibat Nameh and Jalal al-Din Rumi in the Masnavi utilize the legendary sword of Ali ibn Abi Talib, Dhulfiqar, to illustrate that outward spiritual instruments or lineages are useless without inner transformation.

Key Similarities:

• Inner Power over Outward Tool: Both poets argue that possessing the legendary sword (or any external symbol of authority, knowledge, or heritage) requires the corresponding 'arm of the Lion' (spiritual strength and bravery) to be of any real use.
• Sufi Application: Both utilize the allegory to critique individuals who boast of external heritage (like inheriting Sufi lineages or spiritual titles) but lack the actual spiritual state (hal) or capacity.

Structural and Contextual Differences:

• Attar's Focus (Mosibat Nameh): Attar uses the story as a metapoetic assertion. He argues that just as wielding Dhulfiqar requires Ali's strength, writing a divinely inspired work like the Mosibat Nameh...