In Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, the lion tasks a wolf with dividing their prey: a wild ox, a goat, and a hare. The wolf suggests a proportional split, assigning the largest animal to the lion and smaller ones to himself and the fox. The lion, however, kills the wolf for his audacity in maintaining a sense of duality—the 'I and we' ($$من و ما$$)—in the presence of the King. Rumi explains that this story is an allegory for the spiritual path, where the seeker must undergo fana (annihilation of the ego) before the Divine. To retain one's 'selfhood' in the presence of God is a form of spiritual rejection. Rumi emphasizes that true existence is found only by passing beyond the 'no' ($$لا$$) of the individual self into the 'except' ($$الا$$) of the Divine Face, echoing the Quranic principle that everything perishes except the Divine.

The Wolf's Self-Assertion and the Metaphor of Annihilation in the Masnavi

In Rumi's Masnavi, the story of the lion, the wolf, and the fox hunting together serves as a profound allegory of the human ego (*nafs*) in relation to the Divine. When the lion tests the wolf by asking him to divide the prey, the wolf's partition based on size and personal ownership reflects the ego's insolence (*bi-adabi*) and its failure to recognize the absolute oneness of the divine presence. By asserting a division between 'me' and 'thee' (*ma o to*), the wolf demonstrates a dualistic self-existence that must be annihilated. This metaphor underscores the spiritual danger of ego-assertion and highlights the necessity of absolute self-effacement (*fana*) before God.

The Metaphor of the Wolf's Division of the Prey in the Masnavi

In Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the fable of the lion, the wolf, and the fox begins with the three animals embarking on a joint hunting expedition. The poem emphasizes that the supreme lion had no actual need for the weaker animals' assistance but permitted them to accompany him as an act of grace and honor. This scenario serves as a Sufi allegory for the relationship between the self-sufficient Divine and humanity. God does not require human exertion or partnership, yet He graciously allows individuals to participate in spiritual and worldly efforts, bestowing dignity upon them. This initial grace sets the stage for the subsequent tests of the ego (represented by the wolf) and spiritual humility (represented by the fox).

Google

## Original content
<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right; line-height: 2; margin-top: 0.5rem;">

شیر و گرگ و روبهی بهر شکار 
رفته بودند از طلب در کوهسار
تا به پشت همدگر بر صیدها 
سخت بر بندند بار قیدها
هر سه با هم اندر آن صحرای ژرف 
صیدها گیرند بسیار و شگرف
گرچه زیشان شیر نر را ننگ بود 
لیک کرد اکرام و همراهی نمود
این چنین شه را ز لشکر زحمتست 
لیک همره شد جماعت رحمتست
این چنین مه را ز اختر ننگهاست 
او میان اختران بهر سخاست
امر شاورهم پیمبر را رسید 
گرچه رایی نیست رایش را ندید
در ترازو جو رفیق زر شدست 
نه از آن که جو چو زر جوهر شدست
روح قالب را کنون همره شدست 
مدتی سگ حارس درگه شدست
چونک رفتند این جماعت سوی کوه 
در رکاب شیر با فر و شکوه
گاو کوهی و بز و خرگوش زفت 
یافتند و کار ایشان پیش رفت
هر که باشد در پی شیر حراب 
کم نیاید روز و شب او را کباب
چون ز که در پیشه آوردندشان 
کشته و مجروح و اندر خون کشان
گرگ و روبه را طمع بود اندر آن 
که رود قسمت به عدل خسروان
عکس طمع هر دوشان بر شیر زد 
شیر دانست آن طمعها را سند
هر که باشد شیر اسرار و امیر 
او بداند هر چه اندیشد ضمیر
هین نگه دار ای دل اندیشه‌خو 
دل ز اندیشهٔ بدی در پیش او
داند و خر را همی‌راند خموش 
در رخت خندد برای روی‌پوش
شیر چون دانست آن وسواسشان 
وا نگفت و داشت آن دم پاسشان
لیک با خود گفت بنمایم سزا 
مر شما را ای خسیسان گدا
مر شما را بس نیامد رای من 
ظنتان اینست در اعطای من
ای عقول و رایتان از رای من 
از عطاهای جهان‌آرای من
نقش با نقاش چه سگالد دگر 
چون سگالش اوش بخشید و خبر
این چنین ظن خسیسانه بمن 
مر شما را بود ننگان زمن
ظانین بالله ظن السؤ را 
گر نبرم سر بود عین خطا
وا رهانم چرخ را از ننگتان 
تا بماند در جهان این داستان
شیر با این فکر می‌زد خنده فاش 
بر تبسمهای شیر ایمن مباش
مال دنیا شد تبسمهای حق 
کرد ما را مست و مغرور و خلق
فقر و رنجوری بهستت ای سند 
کان تبسم دام خود را بر کند

</div>

## English translation
A lion, a wolf, and a fox had gone hunting,
impelled by seeking, into the mountains,
so that, with one another's backing, upon the prey
they might tightly load the burdens of fetters.
All three together in that deep wilderness
caught many remarkable kinds of game.

Although such company was a disgrace to the male lion,
yet he honored them and accompanied them.
For such a king, an army is a burden,
yet he became their companion, for community is mercy.
For such a moon, the stars are disgraces,
yet he is among the stars out of generosity.

The command 'consult them' came to the Prophet,
although no counsel equals his counsel.
In the balance, barley has become companion to gold,
not because barley has become gold in substance.
The spirit has now become companion to the body;
for a while, the dog has become guardian of the gate.

When this company went toward the mountain,
in the retinue of the lion, with pomp and majesty,
they found a wild ox, a goat, and a large hare,
and their affair prospered.
Whoever follows a battling lion
will not lack kebab by day or night.

When they brought them from the mountain into the plain,
slain and wounded and dragged in blood,
the wolf and fox had greed for it,
hoping the division would proceed according to kingly justice.
The reflection of both their greeds struck the lion;
the lion knew the proof of those greedy thoughts.

Whoever is the lion of secrets and the commander
knows whatever the inward mind thinks.
Take care, O thought-prone heart:
guard your heart from evil thought before him.
He knows, and silently keeps driving the donkey;
he laughs in your face as a covering.

When the lion knew their obsessive whisperings,
he did not speak out, and for that moment spared them.
But he said to himself: I will show you what you deserve,
O mean beggars.
Was my judgment not enough for you?
Is this what you suspect about my giving?
O you whose intellects and judgments come from my judgment,
from my world-adorning gifts,
what can the image deliberate apart from the painter,
when he gave it deliberation and awareness?
This base suspicion of me
was a disgrace for you before me.

Those who think evil thoughts of God:
if I do not cut off their heads, it would be sheer error.
I will free the heavens from your disgrace,
so that this story may remain in the world.

The lion was laughing openly with this thought:
do not feel safe before the lion's smiles.
The smiles of God became worldly wealth;
they made us, the creatures, drunk, deluded, and worldly.
Poverty and illness are better for you, O reliable one,
for that smile tears out its own snare.

دفتر اول - بخش ۱۴۲ - رفتن گرگ و روباه در خدمت شیر به شکار / Book One - Section 142 - The Going of the Wolf and the Fox in the Service of the Lion to Hunt

Root URL: https://ganjoor.net/
Source URL: https://ganjoor.net/

This Reference node represents the source used by the Literature-to-1Cademy migration agent.

Ganjoor

The Metaphor of the Lion's Hunting Companions in the Masnavi

## Original content
<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right; line-height: 2; margin-top: 0.5rem;">

گفت شیر ای گرگ این را بخش کن 
معدلت را نو کن ای گرگ کهن
نایب من باش در قسمت‌گری 
تا پدید آید که تو چه گوهری
گفت ای شه گاو وحشی بخش تست 
آن بزرگ و تو بزرگ و زفت و چست
بز مرا که بز میانه‌ست و وسط 
روبها خرگوش بستان بی غلط
شیر گفت ای گرگ چون گفتی بگو 
چونک من باشم تو گویی ما و تو
گرگ خود چه سگ بود کو خویش دید 
پیش چون من شیر بی مثل و ندید
گفت پیش آ ای خری کو خود خرید 
پیشش آمد پنجه زد او را درید
چون ندیدش مغز و تدبیر رشید 
در سیاست پوستش از سر کشید
گفت چون دید منت ز خود نبرد 
این چنین جان را بباید زار مرد
چون نبودی فانی اندر پیش من 
فضل آمد مر ترا گردن زدن
کل شیء هالک جز وجه او 
چون نه‌ای در وجه او هستی مجو
هر که اندر وجه ما باشد فنا 
کل شیء هالک نبود جزا
زانک در الاست او از لا گذشت 
هر که در الاست او فانی نگشت
هر که بر در او من و ما می‌زند 
رد بابست او و بر لا می‌تند

</div>

## English translation
The lion said, “O wolf, divide this; renew justice, old wolf. Be my deputy in apportioning, so that it may become clear what substance you are made of.” He said, “O king, the wild ox is your share: it is large, and you are large, huge, and swift. The goat is mine, since the goat is middle-sized and intermediate; fox, take the hare, without error.” The lion said, “O wolf, what did you say? When I am here, do you speak of ‘we’ and ‘you’? What sort of dog is a wolf, that he should see himself before a lion like me, peerless and unmatched?” He said, “Come forward, you ass who has valued yourself.” He came before him; the lion struck him with his paw and tore him apart. Since he saw in him no brain or rightly guided judgment, he stripped the skin from his head as punishment. He said, “Because he saw me and did not rid himself of selfhood, such a soul must die miserably. Since you were not annihilated before me, beheading came to you as grace. Everything is perishing except His Face; when you are not in His Face, do not seek existence. Whoever is annihilated in Our Face, ‘everything is perishing’ is not his portion. For, in the ‘except,’ he has passed beyond the ‘no’; whoever has not become annihilated in His ‘except’—whoever knocks at His door with ‘I’ and ‘we’—is rejected from the door and keeps weaving in the ‘no.’”

دفتر اول - بخش ۱۴۳ - امتحان کردن شیر گرگ را و گفتن کی پیش آی ای گرگ بخش کن صیدها را میان ما / Book One - Section 143 - The Lion Testing the Wolf and Saying, 'Come Forward, O Wolf, Divide the Prey Between Us'

Learn Before

Related

Learn After