In Farid ud-Din Attar's Elahi Nameh, the twelfth tale of Sultan Mahmud and the old woman highlights the themes of royal humility, empathy, and spiritual accountability. When Mahmud offers to carry a heavy sack for an old woman on his horse, his horse quickly outpaces her. The old woman warns him that if he does not keep pace with her in this world, she will not stand with him on Judgment Day. This allegorically teaches that a ruler's assistance to the weak must not be a mere gesture of convenience; rather, true leadership requires walking alongside and matching the pace of the most vulnerable subjects to ensure genuine justice and spiritual salvation.