In Book Four of the Masnavi, after Pharaoh succumbs to Haman's counsel and rejects the divine path, Moses reveals that Pharaoh's worldly authority is merely a 'borrowed lordship' (khudawandi-yi 'ariyat). Moses explains that power granted by the common people lacks genuine substance, comparing it to a loan that can be easily taken back. Rumi uses this episode to illustrate that worldly power disconnected from divine truth is illusory, urging the spiritual seeker to surrender such temporary, superficial authority back to God in order to attain true spiritual reality.