In the Masnavi, the prey's objection to the hare's scheme represents conventional, material-based skepticism against individual spiritual initiative. They warn the hare to keep to his measure (the 'measure of a hare') and accuse him of self-delusion (*mu'jib*) or acting as an instrument of their collective doom (*qada*), reflecting their reliance on physical strength and sensory estimation rather than divine inspiration.

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## Original content
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قوم گفتندش که ای خر گوش‌دار 
خویش را اندازهٔ خرگوش دار
هین چه لافست این که از تو بهتران 
در نیاوردند اندر خاطر آن
معجبی یا خود قضامان در پیست 
ور نه این دم لایق چون تو کیست

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## English translation
The group said to him: "Listen, you donkey! Keep yourself to the measure of a hare. Look, what boasting is this, that those better than you did not even conceive of in their minds? Are you self-deluded, or is it that our doom is chasing us? Otherwise, who is suitable for such talk as yours?"

دفتر اول - بخش ۵۴ - اعتراض نخچیران بر سخن خرگوش / Book One - Section 54 - The Objection of the Prey to the Hare's Words

In Book 1 of the Masnavi, as part of their debate with the lion, the beasts introduce the specific theological argument that human precaution (hazar) is entirely useless against divine destiny (qaza or qadar). They assert that trying to outmaneuver God's predetermined will causes unnecessary agitation and harm, and that actively grappling with the divine decree will only prompt the decree to fight back. This concept serves as the foundational reasoning for their stance on passive trust (tawakkul).

The Futility of Precaution (Hazar) Against Divine Decree (Qaza)

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

## Original content
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گفت ای یاران مرا مهلت دهید 
تا بمکرم از بلا بیرون جهید
تا امان یابد بمکرم جانتان 
ماند این میراث فرزندانتان
هر پیمبر امتان را در جهان 
همچنین تا مخلصی می‌خواندشان
کز فلک راه برون شو دیده بود 
در نظر چون مردمک پیچیده بود
مردمش چون مردمک دیدند خرد 
در بزرگی مردمک کس ره نبرد

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## English translation
He said, 'O companions, give me respite, so that through my stratagem you may escape from calamity; so that through my stratagem your lives may gain safety, and this inheritance may remain for your children. Every prophet in the world likewise called his communities toward deliverance, because he had seen a way of exit from the celestial sphere, while in outward sight he was enfolded like the pupil of the eye. His people saw him as small as the pupil; no one found the way into the greatness of the pupil.'

دفتر اول - بخش ۵۳ - جواب گفتن خرگوش ایشان را / Book One - Section 53 - The Hare Answering Them

## Original content
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گفت ای یاران حقم الهام داد 
مر ضعیفی را قوی رایی فتاد
آنچ حق آموخت مر زنبور را 
آن نباشد شیر را و گور را
خانه‌ها سازد پر از حلوای تر 
حق برو آن علم را بگشاد در
آنچ حق آموخت کرم پیله را 
هیچ پیلی داند آن گون حیله را
آدم خاکی ز حق آموخت علم 
تا به هفتم آسمان افروخت علم
نام و ناموس ملک را در شکست 
کوری آنکس که در حق درشکست
زاهد ششصد هزاران ساله را 
پوزبندی ساخت آن گوساله را
تا نتاند شیر علم دین کشید 
تا نگردد گرد آن قصر مشید
علمهای اهل حس شد پوزبند 
تا نگیرد شیر از آن علم بلند
قطرهٔ دل را یکی گوهر فتاد 
کان به دریاها و گردونها نداد
چند صورت آخر ای صورت‌پرست 
جان بی‌معنیت از صورت نرست
گر بصورت آدمی انسان بدی 
احمد و بوجهل خود یکسان بدی
نقش بر دیوار مثل آدمست 
بنگر از صورت چه چیز او کمست
جان کمست آن صورت با تاب را 
رو بجو آن گوهر کم‌یاب را
شد سر شیران عالم جمله پست 
چون سگ اصحاب را دادند دست
چه زیانستش از آن نقش نفور 
چونک جانش غرق شد در بحر نور
وصف و صورت نیست اندر خامه‌ها 
عالم و عادل بود در نامه‌ها
عالم و عادل همه معنیست بس 
کش نیابی در مکان و پیش و پس
می‌زند بر تن ز سوی لامکان 
می‌نگنجد در فلک خورشید جان

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## English translation
He said, “O friends, God has inspired me; a strong counsel has come to a weak one. What God taught the bee was not given to the lion or the wild ass. It builds houses full of fresh sweetness; God opened the door of that knowledge to it. What God taught the silkworm, does any elephant know such a stratagem? Earth-born Adam learned knowledge from God, until that knowledge lit up the seventh heaven. It shattered the angels’ name and honor; blindness be upon the one who disputed against the Truth. For the ascetic of six hundred thousand years, that calf, it made a muzzle, so that he could not draw the milk of religious knowledge and could not circle that lofty palace. The sciences of the people of sense became a muzzle, so that they might not draw milk from that high knowledge. To the drop of the heart there fell a jewel that He did not give to the seas or the heavens. How long with form, O form-worshipper? Your meaning-less soul has not escaped from form. If a human were human by outward form, Ahmad and Abu Jahl would be the same. A picture on the wall is like a human; look what it lacks in outward form. Soul is what that shining form lacks; go seek that rare jewel. The heads of all the lions of the world were lowered when a hand was given to the dog of the Companions. What harm comes to it from that repellent form, when its soul has been drowned in the sea of light? Description and form are not contained in pens; ‘learned’ and ‘just’ are only in written names. Learned and just are wholly meaning; you will not find that in place, before, or after. It strikes the body from the side of placelessness; the sun of the soul does not fit within the celestial sphere.”

دفتر اول - بخش ۵۵ - جواب خرگوش نخچیران را / Book One - Section 55 - The Hare Answering the Prey

The Prey's Skepticism and the Warning Against Self-Delusion in the Masnavi

In Book 1 of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the fable of the lion and the prey beasts serves as a profound allegorical debate between the Islamic concepts of *tawakkul* (absolute trust in divine providence) and *jahd* (personal exertion or effort). The beasts argue that since God is the ultimate provider and destiny is preordained, human effort is a form of spiritual agitation that challenges the divine decree; therefore, they advocate for passive surrender. The lion, representing the spiritual master or the active intellect, counters this by arguing that God provided humans with limbs and faculties, and failing to use them is an act of ingratitude. He cites the Prophetic tradition to 'trust in God, but tie your camel', presenting a synthesis where human effort is not contradictory to, but rather the practical manifestation of, true trust in God.

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