In Book Two, Section 70 of the Masnavi, Rumi explores the distinction between truth and falsehood through Mu'awiya's dialogue with Iblis. Citing a prophetic hadith ('Falsehood is a doubt in the hearts, while truth is a tranquil joy'), Rumi explains that the human heart naturally finds peace in truth and becomes restless or disturbed by lies. A spiritually healthy heart acts as a touchstone (محک), intuitively distinguishing the 'taste' of truth from the deception of falsehood. If the heart is spiritually sick, however, it loses this discerning palate.

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گفت غیر راستی نرهاندت 
داد سوی راستی می خواندت
راست گو تا وا رهی از چنگ من 
مکر ننشاند غبار جنگ من
گفت چون دانی دروغ و راست را 
ای خیال اندیش پر اندیشه ها
گفت پیغامبر نشانی داده است 
قلب و نیکو را محک بنهاده است
گفته است الکذب ریب فی القلوب 
گفت الصدق طمانین طروب
دل نیارامد ز گفتار دروغ 
آب و روغن هیچ نفروزد فروغ
در حدیث راست آرام دلست 
راستیها دانهٔ دام دلست
دل مگر رنجور باشد بد دهان 
که نداند چاشنی این و آن
چون شود از رنج و علت دل سلیم 
طعم کذب و راست را باشد علیم
حرص آدم چون سوی گندم فزود 
از دل آدم سلیمی را ربود
پس دروغ و عشوه ات را گوش کرد 
غره گشت و زهر قاتل نوش کرد
کزدم از گندم ندانست آن نفس 
می پرد تمییز از مست هوس
خلق مست آرزواند و هوا 
زان پذیرااند دستان تو را
هر که خود را از هوا خو باز کرد 
چشم خود را آشنای راز کرد

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## English translation
He said: Nothing but truthfulness will free you; justice calls you toward truthfulness. Speak truth, so that you may be released from my grasp; cunning will not settle the dust of my battle. He said: How do you know falsehood and truth, O fantasy-minded one, full of thoughts? He said: The Prophet has given a sign; he has set a touchstone for the counterfeit and the good. He said: 'Falsehood is unease in hearts'; he said: 'Truth is tranquil, joyful reassurance.' The heart finds no rest in lying speech; water and oil never kindle a flame. In truthful discourse there is rest for the heart; truths are the grain of the heart's snare. Unless the heart is sick and has a bad palate, so that it cannot know the taste of this and that. When the heart becomes sound from sickness and malady, it knows the taste of falsehood and truth. When Adam's greed increased toward the wheat, it robbed Adam's heart of soundness. Then he listened to your lie and blandishment; he was deceived and drank deadly poison. At that moment the self did not know scorpion from wheat; discernment flies away from one drunk with desire. People are drunk with cravings and passion; for that reason they accept your stratagems. Whoever has weaned himself from the habit of passion has made his eye acquainted with the secret.

دفتر دوم - بخش ۷۰ - باز الحاح کردن معاویه ابلیس را / Book Two - Section 70 - Mu'awiya Again Urging Iblis

In Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the danger of worldly deception is explored through the metaphors of counterfeit gold and the alluring "cries of ghouls." Rumi warns that the material world tempts individuals with false gold, representing the hollow desires for wealth, rank, and reputation. To avoid being drawn to spiritual ruin—like a traveler lured away from a caravan by the familiar voices of ghouls—a seeker must possess an inner "touchstone" to discern true spiritual gold from worldly counterfeit. If one lacks this intrinsic discernment, Rumi advises pledging oneself to a wise spiritual guide or "knower." Ultimately, he urges the seeker to silence these inward voices of ego in order to enter the "workshop of nonexistence," a state where the true Craftsman (God) can be perceived beyond the veil of physical creation.

The Metaphor of the Ghouls' Cries and the Touchstone in the Masnavi

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Ganjoor

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قاضیی بنشاندند و می‌گریست 
گفت نایب قاضیا گریه ز چیست
این نه وقت گریه و فریاد تست 
وقت شادی و مبارک‌باد تست
گفت اه چون حکم راند بی‌دلی 
در میان آن دو عالم جاهلی
آن دو خصم از واقعهٔ خود واقفند 
قاضی مسکین چه داند زان دو بند
جاهلست و غافلست از حالشان 
چون رود در خونشان و مالشان
گفت خصمان عالم‌اند و علتی 
جاهلی تو لیک شمع ملتی
زانک تو علت نداری در میان 
آن فراغت هست نور دیدگان
وان دو عالم را غرضشان کور کرد 
علمشان را علت اندر گور کرد
جهل را بی‌علتی عالم کند 
علم را علت کژ و ظالم کند
تا تو رشوت نستدی بیننده‌ای 
چون طمع کردی ضریر و بنده‌ای
از هوا من خوی را وا کرده‌ام 
لقمه‌های شهوتی کم خورده‌ام
چاشنی‌گیر دلم شد با فروغ 
راست را داند حقیقت از دروغ

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## English translation
They appointed a judge, and he began to weep. The deputy asked, 'O judg...

دفتر دوم - بخش ۷۱ - شکایت قاضی از آفت قضا و جواب گفتن نایب او را / Book Two - Section 71 - The Qadi's Complaint of the Calamity of his Office, and the Answer of his Deputy

Truth as Peace and Falsehood as Doubt in the Masnavi

## Original content
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قاضیی بنشاندند و می گریست 
گفت نایب قاضیا گریه ز چیست
این نه وقت گریه و فریاد تست 
وقت شادی و مبارک باد تست
گفت اه چون حکم راند بی دلی 
در میان آن دو عالم جاهلی
آن دو خصم از واقعهٔ خود واقفند 
قاضی مسکین چه داند زان دو بند
جاهلست و غافلست از حالشان 
چون رود در خونشان و مالشان
گفت خصمان عالم اند و علتی 
جاهلی تو لیک شمع ملتی
زانک تو علت نداری در میان 
آن فراغت هست نور دیدگان
وان دو عالم را غرضشان کور کرد 
علمشان را علت اندر گور کرد
جهل را بی علتی عالم کند 
علم را علت کژ و ظالم کند
تا تو رشوت نستدی بیننده ای 
چون طمع کردی ضریر و بنده ای
از هوا من خوی را وا کرده ام 
لقمه های شهوتی کم خورده ام
چاشنی گیر دلم شد با فروغ 
راست را داند حقیقت از دروغ

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## English translation
A judge was installed, and he was weeping.
His deputy said, "O judge, why do you weep?
This is not the time for weeping and lamentation—
This is your time for joy and congratulation."

He said, "Alas! How shall one without heart pass judgment
Among those two learned ones—I, who am ignorant?
The two litigants are versed in their own affair;
What can the poor judge know of those two claims?
He is ignorant and heedless of their situation—
How then shall he rule on their blood and their wealth?"

The deputy said, "The litigants are learned, yet afflicted;
You are ignorant, but you are the candle of the community.
For you have no self-interest in the matter—
That freedom is the light of the eyes.
Those two learned ones—their desire blinded them,
And their affliction buried their knowledge in the grave.

Ignorance, free of self-interest, becomes the knowing one;
Knowledge, when afflicted by self-interest, becomes crooked and tyrannical.
As long as you have taken no bribe, you are clear-sighted;
Once you grow covetous, you are blind and enslaved.

From vain desire I have freed my nature;
I have eaten fewer morsels of sensual passion.
The tasting-sense of my heart has grown luminous—
It truly knows the straight from the false."

دفتر دوم - بخش ۷۱ - شکایت قاضی از آفت قضا و جواب گفتن نایب او را / Book Two - Section 71 - The Complaint of the Judge About the Affliction of Judgment and His Deputy's Answer to Him

In Book 2 of Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, during the extended interrogation between Mu'awiya and Iblis (Satan), Mu'awiya explains how a believer distinguishes truth from falsehood. When Iblis questions Mu'awiya's ability to discern his deception, Mu'awiya cites a touchstone provided by the Prophet Muhammad: falsehood creates unease and agitation in the heart, whereas truth brings profound tranquility and joyful reassurance. However, Rumi introduces a critical prerequisite for this spiritual intuition: the heart must be healthy and free from the 'sickness' of carnal desire. To illustrate this, Rumi references the story of Adam, explaining that Adam's greed for wheat robbed his heart of its natural soundness, making him susceptible to Satan's lies. The narrative emphasizes that worldly passions and cravings act as a blinding poison, and only those who wean themselves from such desires can truly recognize hidden spiritual realities and avoid being deceived.

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