In Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, the deliberate poisoning of the goldsmith by the divine physician in "The King and the Handmaiden" presents a challenging moral paradox. Rumi directly addresses this tension by providing a theological defense, asserting that the act "was not out of hope, nor out of fear" but executed strictly by "command and divine inspiration." To contextualize this, Rumi draws a parallel to the Quranic figure of Khidr, whose seemingly destructive actions—such as taking a youth's life or scuttling a boat—were driven by infallible divine foresight beyond human comprehension. Rumi posits that a true spiritual master acts entirely as God's deputy, meaning "his hand is the hand of God." This narrative segment underscores a core Sufi tenet: divine justice transcends human morality, and what appears to the limited intellect as harsh cruelty is often a profound manifestation of spiritual purification.