In Book One, Section 16 of the *Masnavi*, Rumi introduces the metaphor of a granary infested by a mouse to illustrate the mechanics of spiritual attrition. The granary represents the seeker's soul or their accumulation of good deeds and spiritual practices (symbolized by wheat), while the hidden mouse symbolizes the lower self (*nafs*) or deceptive external influences (such as the deceitful vizier). Just as a mouse secretly consumes stored grain, the unchecked ego steadily drains a person's spiritual merits. Rumi teaches that before attempting to accumulate more good deeds, one must first identify and eliminate this inner thief; otherwise, spiritual efforts are continuously undermined and wasted.

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## Original content
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دل بدو دادند ترسایان تمام 
خود چه باشد قوت تقلید عام
در درون سینه مهرش کاشتند 
نایب عیسیش می پنداشتند
او به سر دجال یک چشم لعین 
ای خدا فریاد رس نعم المعین
صد هزاران دام و دانه ست ای خدا 
ما چو مرغان حریص بی نوا
دم بدم ما بستهٔ دام نویم 
هر یکی گر باز و سیمرغی شویم
می رهانی هر دمی ما را و باز 
سوی دامی می رویم ای بی نیاز
ما درین انبار گندم می کنیم 
گندم جمع آمده گم می کنیم
می نیندیشیم آخر ما بهوش 
کین خلل در گندمست از مکر موش
موش تا انبار ما حفره زدست 
وز فنش انبار ما ویران شدست
اول ای جان دفع شر موش کن 
وانگهان در جمع گندم جوش کن
بشنو از اخبار آن صدر الصدور 
لا صلوة تم الا بالحضور
گر نه موشی دزد در انبار ماست 
گندم اعمال چل ساله کجاست
ریزه ریزه صدق هر روزه چرا 
جمع می ناید درین انبار ما
بس ستارهٔ آتش از آهن جهید 
وان دل سوزیده پذرفت و کشید
لیک در ظلمت یکی دزدی نهان 
می نهد انگشت بر استارگان
می کشد استارگان را یک به یک 
تا که نفروزد چراغی از فلک
گر هزاران دام باشد در قدم 
چون تو با مایی نباشد هیچ غم
چون عنایاتت بود با ما مقیم 
کی بود بیمی از آن دزد لئیم
هر شبی از دام تن ارواح را 
می رهانی می کنی الواح را
می رهند ارواح هر شب زین قفس 
فارغان نه حاکم و محکوم کس
شب ز زندان بی خبر زندانیان 
شب ز دولت بی خبر سلطانیان
نه غم و اندیشهٔ سود و زیان 
نه خیال این فلان و آن فلان
حال عارف این بود بی خواب هم 
گفت ایزد «هم رقود» زین مرم
خفته از احوال دنیا روز و شب 
چون قلم در پنجهٔ تقلیب رب
آنک او پنجه نبیند در رقم 
فعل پندارد بجنبش از قلم
شمه ای زین حال عارف وا نمود 
عقل را هم خواب حسی در ربود
رفته در صحرای بی چون جانشان 
روحشان آسوده و ابدانشان
وز صفیری باز دام اندر کشی 
جمله را در داد و در داور کشی
چونک نور صبحدم سر بر زند 
کرکس زرین گردون پر زند
فالق الاصباح اسرافیل وار 
جمله را در صورت آرد زان دیار
روحهای منبسط را تن کند 
هر تنی را باز آبستن کند
اسپ جانها را کند عاری ز زین 
سر النوم اخ الموتست این
لیک بهر آنک روز آیند باز 
بر نهد بر پایشان بند دراز
تا که روزش واکشد زان مرغزار 
وز چراگاه آردش در زیر بار
کاش چون اصحاب کهف این روح را 
حفظ کردی یا چو کشتی نوح را
تا ازین طوفان بیداری و هوش 
وا رهیدی این ضمیر و چشم و گوش
ای بسی اصحاب کهف اندر جهان 
پهلوی تو پیش تو هست این زمان
یار با او غار با او در سرود 
مهر بر چشمست و بر گوشت چه سود

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## English translation
The Christians all gave their hearts to him; what, after all, is the strength of the common people's imitation? They planted love for him within their breasts and imagined him to be Jesus's deputy. But he, in his inner head, was the accursed one-eyed Dajjal. O God, come to our aid, excellent Helper. There are hundreds of thousands of traps and baits, O God; we are like poor greedy birds. Moment by moment we are bound in a new trap, even if each of us becomes a falcon or a Simurgh. You free us every moment, and again we go toward a trap, O Self-Sufficient One. We keep putting wheat into this storehouse, and we lose the gathered wheat. At last, while alert, we do not reflect that this loss in the wheat comes from the mouse's trickery. Since the mouse has made a hole into our storehouse, through its craft our storehouse has been ruined. First, dear soul, repel the evil of the mouse; then strive to gather wheat. Hear from the reports of that chief of chiefs: no prayer is complete except with presence. If there is no thieving mouse in our storehouse, where is the wheat of forty years of deeds? Why does the crumb-by-crumb sincerity of each day not gather in this storehouse of ours? Many a fiery spark leapt from the iron, and the burned heart received and drew it in; but in the darkness a hidden thief puts his finger on the sparks, drawing the sparks away one by one so that no lamp may be lit from heaven. If there are thousands of traps underfoot, when You are with us there is no grief at all. When Your favors abide with us, how could there be fear of that vile thief? Every night You free the spirits from the body's trap and make the tablets blank. Every night the spirits are freed from this cage, unoccupied, neither ruling nor ruled by anyone. At night prisoners are unaware of prison; at night kings are unaware of sovereignty. No grief or thought of profit and loss, no imagining of this person and that person. This is the state of the gnostic even without sleep; God said, 'They are asleep': do not turn away from this. Asleep to the conditions of the world by day and night, like a pen in the hand of the Lord's turning. The one who does not see the hand in the writing supposes the act comes from the pen's movement. A trace of this state of the gnostic was shown; sensory sleep carried off the intellect too. Their souls had gone into the desert beyond quality; their spirits were at rest, and so were their bodies. And with a whistle You draw them back into the trap, drawing them all into giving and into judgment before the Judge. When the dawn-light raises its head and the golden vulture of the sky spreads its wing, the Cleaver of the morning, Israfil-like, brings them all from that realm into form. He makes bodies for the expanded spirits; He makes each body pregnant again. He strips the horse of the souls bare of the saddle; this is the secret: sleep is the brother of death. But so that they may return by day, He places a long tether on their feet, so that daytime draws them back from that meadow and brings them from the pasture under the burden. Would that He had preserved this soul like the Companions of the Cave, or like Noah's ark, so that from this flood of wakefulness and consciousness this inner mind, eye, and ear might have been freed. O how many Companions of the Cave there are in the world, beside you, before you, at this very moment. The friend is with him, the cave is with him, in song; but there is a seal on your eye and on your ear, so what use is it?

دفتر اول - بخش ۱۶ - متابعت نصاری وزیر را / Book One - Section 16 - The Christians Following the Vizier

In Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the deceptive vizier's outward piety and inward malice serve as an allegory for the trickery of the *nafs* (the carnal soul or ego). Just as the vizier acts as a "lure and a trap" while superficially preaching religious ordinances to the Christians, the *nafs* secretly introduces hidden, self-serving motives into sincere acts of worship. Rumi illustrates this internal spiritual danger by highlighting the rigorous vigilance of the Prophet Muhammad's Companions. Rather than merely focusing on the external merits of obedience, these discerning followers meticulously investigated the hidden faults and ego-driven impurities within their own spiritual practices. By learning to recognize the subtle deceptions of the *nafs* "atom by atom"—distinguishing truth from hypocrisy as clearly as "a flower from celery"—they demonstrated the profound spiritual discernment required to protect the soul from internal sabotage. This narrative shift moves the focus from the vizier's external deceit to the universal human struggle against the ego.

The Trickery of the Nafs and Spiritual Vigilance in the Masnavi

In Sufi ethics and psychology, **sincerity (ikhlas)** requires purifying one's deeds from all self-interest and dedicating them solely to God. However, Sufis warn that the sincere are in grave danger (*al-mukhliṣūna 'alā khaṭarin 'aẓīm*) because the ego (*nafs*) can secretly co-opt sincerity. When a seeker becomes conscious of their own piety, they fall into **self-regard (khod-bini)**, a form of spiritual self-conceit (*ujb*) that nullifies sincerity. Sana'i teaches that self-awareness of one's virtue is the greatest barrier to witnessing God.

The Sufi Concept of Sincerity and the Danger of Self-Regard

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In Book One of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the Christians' uncritical acceptance of the deceptive vizier illustrates the spiritual dangers of blind imitation (*taqlid*). As the Christians give the vizier their hearts and revere him as the deputy of Jesus, Rumi explicitly questions the weakness of popular imitation (*taqlid-e aam*). He uses this narrative to warn that without genuine spiritual discernment, individuals are easily ensnared by outward appearances and hidden traps, blindly following false guides to their own spiritual detriment.

The Danger of Blind Imitation (Taqlid) in the Masnavi

The Metaphor of the Granary and the Mouse in the Masnavi

In Jalal al-Din Rumi's Masnavi, the parable of the king traveling to the mosque (Book Six, Section 82) provides a profound commentary on religious hypocrisy, superficial devotion, and the deceitful nature of the carnal ego (nafs).

### The Hypocrisy of External Devotion
The king's journey to the mosque is accompanied by guards who beat and injure innocent bystanders to clear his path. An injured, innocent lover (bi-dili) confronts the king, highlighting the contradiction: if this violent oppression is the king's 'good deed' (going to the mosque), then his evil deeds must be unimaginable. This serves as a critique of performing external religious rituals while remaining blind to manifest injustice and oppression.

### The Cunning of the Carnal Ego (Nafs)
Rumi uses the story to transition into a discussion on the danger of the carnal ego (nafs), comparing it to a wolf:
- **The Wolf:** Though a predator and cruel, the wolf acts on pure instinct and lacks the sophisticated trickery, mal...

The Parable of the King Going to the Mosque and the Cunning of the Ego in Masnavi Book Six

In Book One of the *Masnavi*, Jalaluddin Rumi concludes the tale of Imam Ali and his adversary by illustrating the strict standard of sincerity (Ikhlas) required for divine action. Ali explains to the defeated warrior that the moment he was spat upon, his personal anger (nafs) was stirred. Realizing that his motivation was no longer purely for God, but 'half for God and half for passion,' Ali refused to strike. Rumi uses this narrative to teach that any spiritual or righteous act becomes corrupted and invalid if tainted by personal ego or worldly emotion, declaring that 'partnership in the work of God is not permitted' (شرکت اندر کار حق نبود روا).

The Principle of Absolute Sincerity (Ikhlas) and the Avoidance of Egoic Action in the Masnavi

In Book 2 of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the conclusion of the Mosque of Diraar narrative transitions from a historical event to a psychological allegory. After the deceptive mosque is exposed as a 'house of stratagem' and the Prophet Muhammad orders its destruction, Rumi uses this physical demolition to illustrate the necessity of spiritual vigilance. He asserts that insincere actions, much like the 'meat on your hook' that snatches a fish, are traps rather than genuine generosity. Crucially, Rumi warns seekers to test their own intentions against the 'touchstone' of truth, cautioning that anyone can unknowingly construct an internal 'Mosque of Diraar' through ego and hidden hypocrisy. He challenges readers who mock the historical mosque-builders to critically examine themselves, suggesting that without rigorous self-awareness, they may harbor the very same deceit within their own souls.

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