M6:2913 — شاه را شرم از وی آمد روز بار / که به شب بر روی شه بودش نظار

Translation: The king felt shame before him on the day of audience, for at night he had seen the king's true face. Meaning: This verse signifies the king's embarrassment in public before someone who had recognized his true identity in secret, granting that individual a unique standing.

This verse, with its unparalleled subtlety, truly unveils a lofty station in the spiritual journey. Superficially, it concludes the tale of Sultan Mahmud and the thief: a thief who, in the darkness of night, recognized the king in his disguise, now stands before him in the royal court. The king feels 'shame' (sharm) before him. Why?

This shame is not one of defeat, but rather of a particular kind of disclosure—the unveiling of a hidden truth. That thief, with a special insight, was able to see the king's true countenance beneath the cloak of night and the guise of otherness. This seeing establishes an indissoluble bond between the seer and the seen. The king cannot refuse the request of such a person, for he has been a witness to the king's secret. This thief, in essence, becomes an intercessor for others, because his eye was 'king-knowing' (shah-shenās). The other skills of the thieves became shackles around their necks, leading to misfortune, but this particular skill—recognizing the king—saved him and granted him the status of intercession.

However, Mowlana takes this story a step further, extending it to the relationship between a servant and God. He states: "Sometimes a servant of God reaches a point where God feels shame before him." This expression, alongside the one from Book 5 where "God also feels gratitude towards him," demonstrates the apex of the mystic's rank. A servant who attains true recognition of God becomes so intimate with the Origin of Being that, even in the darkest nights of divine concealment and hiddenness, they know Him truly. This knowledge creates a special right for the servant. God, who is "All-Knowing of what is in the breasts" and from whom "nothing in the earth nor in the heaven is hidden," seemingly feels shame in refusing the request of a servant who, with the eye of the soul, recognizes Him in every garment and behind every veil. This is not a weakness of God, but a display of the servant's perfection in the station of servanthood and gnosis; a station where the servant's desire becomes God's desire, and the servant's will, a manifestation of the divine will.

This verse also guides us to the Malamatiyya tradition, which Mowlana alludes to in this same section of the Masnavi. The thief, ostensibly ill-reputed and socially ostracized, is precisely the one who achieved king-recognition. Mowlana emphasizes: "Beware, one should not be ashamed of the ill-reputed; one should pay heed to their secrets." Often, the most precious truths are cloaked in darkness and hidden from superficial eyes to protect them from the greed of opportunists and the heedlessness of the unaware. "Many a gold is blackened so it may be safe from plunder and harm." Here, we must never belittle anyone or judge them by their outward appearance, for "a saint of God sometimes walks in a guise that prevents him from being recognized as such." This perspective reveals Mowlana's profound insight into the rift between appearance and reality, and the importance of inner vision over superficial judgments.

Key takeaways

• Inner recognition of truth establishes a station higher than superficial judgments and social status.
• In mysticism, a servant may reach a point where God feels shame or gratitude towards them, signifying the peak of proximity and gnosis.
• Malamatiyya (self-reproach) and concealing perfections under an ill reputation is a path to liberation from others and union with the Truth.
• One should never judge a person based on their appearance; hidden within, they may be special servants of God.