In Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, as the hare leads the arrogant lion to the well where the fabricated rival supposedly resides, Rumi weaves a profound Sufi lesson on spiritual seclusion. When asked by the lion about his rival, the hare explains that the rival dwells securely in the well. Rumi elevates this narrative detail into an allegory, asserting that the truly wise choose the 'depth of the well'—a metaphor for isolation—because 'in solitude lie the heart's purities.' Rumi contrasts the physical darkness of the well with the spiritual 'darknesses of mankind,' warning that entangling oneself with the masses and seeking worldly association will ultimately lead to spiritual ruin. Concurrently, the hare continues his cunning deception by feigning intense fear of the imaginary rival, convincing the proud lion to carry him forward to peer into the water, perfectly setting his trap.

The Metaphor of the Well and Spiritual Seclusion in the Masnavi

In Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the fable of the lion and the beasts reaches its climax when the hare leads the arrogant king to a well, claiming a rival lion resides there. Looking into the water, the lion sees his own reflection holding the hare and, mistaking it for his enemy, leaps in to attack. He drowns in the very well he intended for his foe. Rumi elevates this narrative into a profound psychological and spiritual metaphor: the perceived enemy in the well is merely a reflection of the lion's own aggression, injustice, and unchecked ego. Rumi teaches that the flaws and injustices we violently condemn in others are often projections of our own lower nature. By blindly attacking the mirror of the world, we ultimately destroy ourselves, as the lion fell victim to the trap of his own disposition.

The Lion's Demise and the Metaphor of the Reflection in the Masnavi

In Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, after the lion is swayed by the hare's fabricated story, the seemingly weak hare guides the mighty beast toward a well. Rumi highlights the paradox of this scene—comparing the hare's cunning to a straw sweeping away a mountain, or a mosquito splitting Nimrod's skull—to demonstrate how the seemingly insignificant can overcome the arrogant. Rumi then expands this narrative into a profound warning about spiritual deception and the limits of perception. He explains that when divine decree (*qaza*) descends, it induces a state of 'intoxication' that fundamentally distorts one's senses. In this spiritually blind state, a person is bound to the superficial 'outer skin' of reality, becoming unable to distinguish friend from foe, or deadly poison from sweet sugar. The lion's arrogant failure to recognize the hare's fatal trap serves as a powerful allegory for this divine blinding, illustrating that without humble supplication to God, even the strongest intellect can be led to destruction.

The Hare's Trap and the Metaphor of Divine Intoxication in the Masnavi

In Book One, Section 65 of the Masnavi, the hare successfully executes the next phase of his plan by leading the angry lion toward a well he had previously chosen as a trap. This narrative event illustrates the hare's strategic cunning in defeating the physically superior lion, serving as an allegory for how intellect and strategy can overcome blind arrogance and brute force.

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## Original content
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گفت بسم الله بیا تا او کجاست 
پیش در شو گر همی گویی تو راست
تا سزای او و صد چون او دهم 
ور دروغست این سزای تو دهم
اندر آمد چون قلاووزی به پیش 
تا برد او را به سوی دام خویش
سوی چاهی کو نشانش کرده بود 
چاه مغ را دام جانش کرده بود
می‌شدند این هر دو تا نزدیک چاه 
اینت خرگوشی چو آبی زیر کاه
آب کاهی را به هامون می‌برد 
آب کوهی را عجب چون می‌برد
دام مکر او کمند شیر بود 
طرفه خرگوشی که شیری می‌ربود
موسیی فرعون را با رود نیل 
می‌کشد با لشکر و جمع ثقیل
پشه‌ای نمرود را با نیم پر 
می‌شکافد بی‌محابا درز سر
حال آن کو قول دشمن را شنود 
بین جزای آنک شد یار حسود
حال فرعونی که هامان را شنود 
حال نمرودی که شیطان را شنود
دشمن ار چه دوستانه گویدت 
دام دان گر چه ز دانه گویدت
گر ترا قندی دهد آن زهر دان 
گر بتن لطفی کند آن قهر دان
چون قضا آید نبینی غیر پوست 
دشمنان را باز نشناسی ز دوست
چون چنین شد ابتهال آغاز کن 
ناله و تسبیح و روزه ساز کن
ناله می‌کن کای تو علام الغیوب 
زیر سنگ مکر بد ما را مکوب
گر سگی کردیم ای شیرآفرین 
شیر را مگمار بر ما زین کمین
آب خوش را صورت آتش مده 
اندر آتش صورت آبی منه
از شراب قهر چون مستی دهی 
نیستها را صورت هستی دهی
چیست مستی بند چشم از دید چشم 
تا نماند سنگ گوهر پشم یشم
چیست مستی حسها مبدل شدن 
چوب گز اندر نظر صندل شدن

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## English translation
He said, "In God's name, come; where is he? Go ahead if you are telling the truth, so that I may give him, and a hundred like him, their due; and if this is a lie, I shall give you your due."

The hare went ahead like a guide, to lead him toward his own trap, toward the well he had pointed out; he had made that deep well a snare for his soul.

The two of them went on until they came near the well. What a hare: like water hidden beneath straw. Water carries straw out to the plain; how strange that it should carry off a mountain.

The snare of his cunning was a noose for the lion; a wondrous hare, stealing away a lion.

A Moses draws Pharaoh to the River Nile, with his army and heavy host. A mosquito, with half a wing, fearlessly splits open Nimrod's skull.

See the state of one who listens to an enemy's speech; see the recompense of one who became the companion of the envious. See the state of a Pharaoh who listened to Haman; the state of a Nimrod who listened to Satan.

Though an enemy speaks to you as a friend, know it as a trap, even if he speaks of grain. If he gives you sugar, know it as poison; if he shows kindness to your body, know it as wrath.

When divine decree arrives, you see nothing but the outer skin; you no longer recognize enemies from friends. When it has become like this, begin supplication: make lamentation, glorification, and fasting.

Cry out: "O Knower of the unseen, do not crush us under the stone of evil cunning. If we have behaved like dogs, O Creator of lions, do not appoint the lion over us from this ambush.

Do not give sweet water the form of fire; do not place the form of water within fire. When You give intoxication from the wine of wrath, You give nonexistences the form of existence.

What is intoxication? The eye being bound from the eye's seeing, until stone, jewel, wool, and jade no longer remain distinct. What is intoxication? The senses being transformed, a tamarisk stick appearing as sandalwood to sight."

دفتر اول - بخش ۶۵ - جواب گفتن شیر خرگوش را و روان شدن با او / Book One - Section 65 - The Lion Answering the Hare and Going with Him

In Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, after intentionally delaying his arrival, the hare finally approaches the infuriated lion. When the angry lion dismisses the possibility of a valid excuse from a perceived fool, the hare cautiously pleads for him to listen. The hare concocts a clever, fabricated story, claiming that he and a companion hare were en route to present themselves as the daily tribute, but were intercepted by another fierce lion on the road. Playing on the king's pride and territorial instincts, the hare reports that this rival lion mocked the king's sovereignty and seized the companion hare as a pledge. By inventing this formidable usurper, the hare successfully shifts the lion's wrath away from his own tardiness and redirects it toward an imagined rival, setting the psychological trap that will ultimately lead to the tyrant's downfall.

The Hare's Fabricated Excuse to the Lion in the Masnavi

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