M4:2651 — مصطفی را رای‌زن صدیق رب / رای‌زن بوجهل را شد بولهب

This couplet appears within the story of the King's Falcon and the Old Woman. The King, in his arrogance, dismisses the falcon's wise counsel because it challenges his pride. Instead, he seeks advice from his vizier, Haman, who is described as the 'pillar of the kingdom and axis of power' (M4:2650). Rumi uses this as a springboard to draw a profound parallel from Islamic history:

• Mustafa (the Prophet Muhammad), who was pure and righteous, sought and received counsel from God, the ultimate 'true counselor' (صدیق رب).
• Abu Jahl, a staunch opponent of the Prophet and a symbol of spiritual blindness, found his 'counselor' in Abu Lahab, another bitter enemy of Islam. Both Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab were deeply entrenched in their worldly pride and enmity towards truth, and thus naturally gravitated towards each other, reinforcing their shared misguidedness.

The couplet highlights a critical Sufi insight: like attracts like. Our inner disposition determines the kind of guidance we are open to and the kind of people we choose to surround ourselves with. The King, full of 'royal pride' (نخوت شاهی), instinctively turned to Haman, who would validate his worldly power, just as Abu Jahl turned to Abu Lahab. Conversely, the Prophet, whose heart was aligned with God, received divine wisdom. The subsequent couplet (M4:2652) explicitly states that 'the sweat of kinship (عرق جنسیت) so attracted him, that those counsels grew cold before him,' emphasizing this magnetic pull of similar natures.