In Book 4, Section 98 of the Masnavi, Jalaluddin Rumi explores the famous Hadith Qudsi, 'I was a hidden treasure, and I loved to be known' (Kuntu kanzan makhfiyan). He illustrates this through the metaphor of a house built over a hidden treasure. In this allegory, the 'house' represents the human ego, the physical body, or material attachments, while the 'treasure' symbolizes the divine essence or the soul's realization of God.

Rumi argues that one must 'destroy the house'—meaning to dismantle the ego and worldly attachments—because it is the only way to unearth the infinite spiritual wealth beneath it. He reassures the spiritual seeker not to fear this destruction, as the divine treasure uncovered is so vast that it can 'build hundreds of thousands of houses,' signifying an eternal and infinitely richer spiritual reality that replaces the fragile, temporary ego.