M6:1751 — رستم و حمزه و مخنث یک بدی / علم و حکمت باطل و مندک بدی

Translation: Rostam and Hamza and the effeminate would be one, And knowledge and wisdom would be void and annihilated.

Meaning: This couplet asserts that without challenges and contraries in the world, virtues like courage and manliness would be indistinguishable from weakness, rendering knowledge and wisdom, whose purpose is to discern truth from falsehood, meaningless.

This couplet is one of the profound statements in the Masnavi that elucidates the philosophy behind the existence of contraries and challenges in the cosmic order. Mowlana, speaking through the voice of the Qadi, instructs the questioning Sufi that without the ego (nafs), Satan, struggle, and suffering, many human perfections would never come to light.

Indeed, Mowlana presents an argument here that even modern Western philosophers have articulated in different forms: the emergence of free will, which is humanity's most significant perfection, is only possible in a state of tension between two poles. If there were only a pure force of good and no Satan at play, humans would act purely by instinct, much like a bee or an ant. However, the presence of Satan, that 'good thing appearing in a bad guise,' awakens our dormant free will. This apparent 'brigand,' in reality, makes us more human and more autonomous. Without challenges, the human intellect, whose function is to choose, would remain weak and useless.

As Mowlana states, 'This world is a war when seen whole, atom by atom, like faith against infidelity.' This war is not for amusement or negligence, but for revealing hidden attributes. It is on the battlefield that courage is distinguished from cowardice, and patience from restlessness. It is here that characters are tested and their inner essence revealed. In this vein, the couplet posits that if strife and challenges did not exist, Rostam and Hamza, symbols of heroism and bravery, would be indistinguishable from the 'effeminate' (mukhanath), who represents weakness and lack of substance; all would be one. The virtue of courage would lose its meaning.

Moreover, 'knowledge and wisdom would be void and annihilated.' This means that if all paths were identical, there would be no need for guidance, for light, for discernment. Knowledge and wisdom exist to differentiate between path and pathlessness, truth and falsehood, good and evil. If these distinctions and oppositions did not exist, what need would there be for knowledge and wisdom? Their role would be nullified and effaced. All these differences and opposations in this world are stages for the awakening of our talents and the blossoming of our perfections. This world acts as a 'sieve,' as the Quran states, 'that Allah may distinguish the wicked from the good.' These hardships, sufferings, and challenges are all opportunities for the 'purification of the soul,' so that good may be separated from bad, strong from weak, and essence from accident.

Key takeaways

• Human virtues only emerge when confronted with contraries and challenges.
• Free will, humanity's highest perfection, requires the existence of both good and evil poles to manifest.
• Satan, though seemingly an adversary, is fundamentally an agent for awakening free will and human evolution.
• The world is a battlefield of struggle and conflict, whose purpose is to reveal our hidden existential attributes.
• Knowledge and wisdom serve to distinguish truth from falsehood and the right path from the misguided; without these distinctions, they are futile.
• Life's sufferings and challenges are opportunities for the 'purification of the soul' and sifting the good from the bad.