Both Hakim Sana'i (in *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*) and Jalal al-Din Rumi (in the *Masnavi*) conceptualize the human condition through a fundamental duality, though they employ different frameworks and metaphors:

* **Sana'i's Tripartite Soul:** Sana'i divides the human soul (*nafs-e ensani*) into sensory/animal (*nafsi*), intellectual (*aqli*), and material (*hayulani*) elements. This composition traps the soul within the material world, causing it to oscillate between seeking the Divine (*amr*) and engaging in worldly affairs (*khalq*).
* **Rumi's Tripartite Creation:** Rumi uses a famous Hadith to describe three classes of creation: angels (pure intellect/divine), beasts (pure lust/sensory), and humans (a mixture of both). He metaphorically describes the human as 'half angel and half donkey,' locked in a perpetual spiritual conflict where overcoming lust elevates them above angels, while succumbing to it degrades them below beasts.

Despite differences in terminology, both poets agree th...

Comparison of Human Duality in Sana'i's Hadiqat and Rumi's Masnavi

In Section 29 of the *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sanai outlines a psychological and spiritual model contrasting the lower sensory soul (*nafs-e hissi*) with the rational spirit (*ruh-e aqli*). He uses the architectural metaphor of a house: the sensory soul is a house with five doors, representing the five physical senses, which he associates with the hypocrite (*munafiq*) due to its susceptibility to worldly distractions. Conversely, the rational spirit has only a single passage, representing spiritual unity and alignment (*muwafiq*). While the five senses act as a temporary trap, the intellect (*aql*) and soul (*jan*) remain the human's eternal guides.

The Contrast Between the Five-Doored Nafs and Single-Passage Intellect in Sanai's Hadiqat

In Section 42 of the *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sanai employs the architectural and domestic allegory of the internal house thief (*dozd-e khāneh*) to represent the *nafs* (the lower soul or ego). Sanai contrasts an external thief, who can only steal superficial, minor household items, with the internal thief, who is far more dangerous because they reside within the house and can plunder the seeker's most precious spiritual assets—their heart (*del*) and faith (*din*). While the individual feels secure because their visible possessions seem intact, this internal thief quietly drains the hidden spiritual treasury. Sanai warns that harboring the *nafs* is like sleeping while a leopard and a mouse coexist within, leaving the seeker completely vulnerable to the deceptive machinations of Satan.

The Metaphor of the Nafs as the Internal House Thief in Sanai's Hadiqat

In Section 57 of *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sanai illustrates the Sufi method of disciplining the lower self (*nafs*) through a dialogue between an ascetic of Basra and his *nafs*. The *nafs* repeatedly prompts the ascetic with worldly demands for food, clothing, and future plans. In response, the ascetic systematically subverts these desires by offering reminders of mortality: death, a shroud, and the grave. This poem highlights the spiritual necessity of active resistance to the self's impulses, demonstrating that true renunciation of the world (*zuhd*) is achieved by confronting and denying the *nafs* through constant awareness of death.

Disciplining the Nafs Through Reminders of Mortality in Sanai's Hadiqat

In *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sana'i conceptualizes the human soul (*nafs-e ensani*) as a tripartite structure composed of animal/sensory (*nafsi*), intellectual (*aqli*), and material (*hayulani*) elements. This composition places the human soul in a state of constant tension; it is trapped within the material world, leading to a dual nature where it oscillates between striving toward the Divine (*amr*) and engaging in worldly matters (*khalq*).

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## Original content
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هست ترکیب نفس انسانی 
نفسی و عقلی و هیولانی
از دل و جان و نیروی فایت 
حد او حی ناطق مایت
گل و دل دان سرشتهٔ آدم 
این برآن آن برین شده درهم
هرچه جز مردمند یک رنگند 
یا همه صلح یا همه جنگند
روح انسان عجایبیست عظیم 
آدم از روح یافت این تعظیم
بلعجب روح روح انسانیست 
که در این دیوخانه زندانیست
گاه با امر سوی حق یازد 
گاه با خلق خالکی بازد
فلکی زیر دست او پیوست 
او خود از دست خویش هفت بدست
پایی اندر تن و یکی در جان 
متحیر بمانده چون مرجان
گل و دل آدمی چو نخچیر است 
هم زبونست و هم زبون گیرست
گاه عاجز ضعیف تن ز تبی 
گاه همچون سبع پر از شغبی
تن ضعیف و قوی دل آدمی است 
آفریده تن از گل آدمی است
لیک دارد میان گل گوهر 
نیست از خلق مر ورا همسر
اعتقاد ترا به خیر و به شر 
جز قیامت مباد قیمت گر
نیست از بهر طامع و خایف 
هیچ قیمت گری چنو منصف
نفخهٔ صور سور مردانست 
هرکه زان سور خورد مرد آنست
راز اگر چون زمین نگهداری 
آسمان وار بهره برداری
روی دل را خرد روان آمد 
بهرهٔ چار طبع جان آمد
روح چون رفت خانه پاک بماند 
کالبد در مغاک خاک بماند
هرکه زین جرعه طافح و ثملست 
عقل او شب چراغ روز دلست
در شب وصل پرده گر باشد 
راز در روز پرده در باشد
روز باشد قوی دل و غماز 
با ضعیفان به شب به آید راز
زانکه مقلوب روز زور بود 
مرغ عیسی به روز کور بود

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## English translation
The composition of the human soul is
Animative, intellectual, and material;
From heart and soul and fleeting power,
Its definition is a living, rational, dying being.
Know clay and heart as Adam's molded form,
This upon that, that upon this, intermingled.
Whatever is other than human is of one hue,
Either all peace or all war.
The human spirit is a great marvel,
Adam attained this reverence from the spirit.
The greatest marvel is the human spirit,
Which is imprisoned in this demon-house.
Sometimes by Divine command it reaches for the Truth,
Sometimes it plays in the dust with creation.
The heavens are continually subjugated by it,
Yet it is helpless at its own hands.
One foot in the body and one in the soul,
It remains perplexed like coral.
The clay and heart of man are like prey,
It is both the subjugated and the captor.
Sometimes weak and frail of body from a fever,
Sometimes like a wild beast full of tumult.
Man's body is weak and his heart is strong,
Man's body is created out of clay.
But within the clay he possesses a jewel,
Among creation he has no equal.
Your belief in good and evil,
Let nothing appraise it but the Resurrection.
For the greedy and the fearful,
There is no appraiser as just as that.
The blast of the trumpet is a feast for men of God,
Whoever partakes of that feast is truly a man.
If you keep a secret like the earth,
You will reap a harvest like the sky.
For the face of the heart, intellect became the flowing spirit,
The portion of the four natures became the soul.
When the spirit departs, the house is left clean,
The body remains in the hollow of the earth.
Whoever is brimming and intoxicated from this sip,
His intellect is the night-lamp for the heart's day.
If in the night of union there is a veil,
The secret during the day will tear the veil.
The day is bold-hearted and a talebearer,
With the weak, secrets are better kept at night.
Because the reverse of day (ruz) is force (zur),
The bird of Jesus (the bat) is blind by day.

بخش ۳۷ - در انسانی و حیوانی گوید / Section 37 - On the Human and Animal, He Speaks

In Section 6 of the *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sana'i outlines the hierarchical relationship between the Universal Soul (*Nafs-e Kull*) and the Universal Intellect (*Aql-e Kull*). Drawing on Islamic Neoplatonism, he portrays the Universal Soul as the direct receptacle of the Intellect's emanation, describing it as constantly "taking effect from the light of the Intellect." Sana'i uses the metaphor of the Prophet Muhammad (Mustafa) and his companion Abu Bakr (Siddiq) to symbolize the Intellect as the primary source of divine guidance and the Soul as its faithful recipient and supporter. In this cosmological framework, the Universal Soul serves as a vital intermediary (*mutawassit*) between the higher realm of pure, formless intelligence and the lower material world, simultaneously receiving spiritual illumination and transmitting it into phenomenal existence.

The Receptivity of Universal Soul (Nafs-e Kull) to Universal Intellect (Aql-e Kull) in Sana'i's Cosmology

In his cosmological framework presented in *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sana'i describes the 'animal soul' (روح حیوانی) as an intermediate stage of consciousness. This soul is associated with sensory knowledge and outward forms ('علم صورت و صفت'). While it possesses a degree of practical reflection ('فکرت'), it falls short of true spiritual gnosis ('معرفت'). Sana'i uses the metaphor of spring to illustrate that the animal soul is lively and youthful, yet ultimately deceptive and incomplete without the guidance of a higher, perfected spiritual intellect.

Sana'i's Concept of the Animal Soul (روح حیوانی)

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Sana'i's Concept of the Human Soul (نفس انسانی)

In Section 13 of *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sana'i explores the human soul and its various faculties. He differentiates between the five external senses, which become inactive and rest during sleep, and the internal faculties (such as memory, digestion, and distribution), which remain vigilant and active. Sana'i emphasizes that these inner faculties work tirelessly to maintain the body's health and well-being even when the conscious mind and external senses are suspended.

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