Concept

God as Sole Companion and Fear of Him as Sole Possession in Jami's Tale of the Isolated Youth

In this tale from Jami's Haft Awrang, Imam Hasan visits a young recluse who has shut his door on all of God's creatures and sits apart from everyone. When Hasan asks who keeps him company in his solitude, the youth answers that the One who dwells in his heart is his only companion: it is he and God alone, with room for no one to come between them. When asked what wealth his house contains, he replies that his single possession is the fear of God's wrath held in his heart, and that looking around he owns nothing else. The tale distills a Sufi teaching in two paired claims: one who takes God as companion is never truly alone, and piety, understood as fear of God, is the only wealth worth owning. This conviction that divine presence makes solitude complete recurs across Persian tales of hermits and youths withdrawn from the world.

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Updated 2026-07-19

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Humanities

Literature

Persian Literature Prerequisite Course