In Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, during their philosophical debate with the lion, the prey animals reinforce their advocacy for passive trust (tawakkul) by emphasizing the historical futility of human exertion (jahd). They argue that countless past generations devised immense stratagems—powerful enough to uproot mountains—yet remained entirely bound by the allotments eternally preordained by God. Through this reasoning, the beasts assert that all human action ultimately falls away before divine providence. They conclude that worldly "acquisition" is merely an empty name, and personal effort is nothing but an illusion, leaving only the decrees of the Creator intact.