M6:3907 — بانگ بر لشکر زدن بد ساز تو / بانگ بر زن چه گرفت آواز تو

Translation: Bāng bar lashkar zadan bod sāz-i to Bāng bar zan che gereft āvāz-i to? To shout at the army was your skill; / Shout at yourself, why has your voice gone hoarse? Meaning: Mowlana here chastises scholars and preachers who exhort others to action but fail to practice what they preach, finding their own voice muted when it comes to self-counsel.

I read this verse as Mowlana reaching the pinnacle of his critique against inactive scholars and unheeding preachers. This is precisely the point the Holy Quran addresses with utmost abhorrence, stating: “It is most hateful in the sight of God that you say what you do not do.” Mowlana, much like Sa’di who penned many chastising verses on this very theme, here fiercely attacks those whose tongues are fluent for admonishing others and whose shouts can rally armies, yet for their own guidance, they are mute and silent.

This existential contradiction and epistemological hypocrisy form the core of this verse. Mowlana speaks of a commander capable of “shouting at the army,” meaning his very being and faculties are actively engaged outwards. Yet, he now tells this very individual: “Shout at yourself!” Why has your voice gone hoarse? Why has that powerful voice, so effective for others, now fallen silent and become ineffective for yourself?

This is a profound critique of those who have spent their lives in scholarly, philosophical, or mystical “word-weaving” (bāfandegī). As the late Dr. Seyyed Jafar Shahidi, whose memory I cherish, used the term bāfandegī for many achievements in these fields, considering them splendid and illuminated mansions that are in fact hollow. Mowlana asks: “Fifty years you have woven with intelligence / From that fabric, make yourself a wide-sleeved robe.” What nasīj (woven fabric) has all this weaving and conceptual building yielded for yourself? Do you wear a garment of it that protects and develops you? This is akin to our own proverb: “You grazed so much, where is your fat?” What has been the practical outcome of all this knowledge and intellectual clamor for your own being?

This verse encapsulates the ultimate act of losing oneself amidst the clamor of advising others. The ultimate goal of all knowledge and gnosis, as Mowlana indicates elsewhere, must be “self-knowledge”: “The essence of all knowledge is this: / To know who I am on the Day of Judgment.” If one grows old untying the knots of others, but fails to untie the stubborn knot of one’s own empty purse, one suffers a great loss. Mowlana unreservedly asks: do not lose yourself. In the din of preaching to others and boasting of your knowledge, “Do not constantly make yourself a tail when you were a head / Do not lose your feet, hands, beard, and mustache.” Always be your own master and chief, not just a guide for others. Now is your turn to invigorate yourself, listen to your own words, and put them into practice, rather than expecting others to listen.

Key takeaways

• Condemnation of Knowledge Without Action: A sharp critique of scholars and preachers who advise others but fail to live by their own counsel.
• The Hidden Hypocrisy: Speaking with authority to others while one's own voice is muted for self-admonition.
• Self-Knowledge as the Soul of All Learning: The ultimate aim of all knowledge must be a return to oneself and profound self-awareness.
• The Fruit of Education: True learning should yield practical results and inner transformation for the individual.
• The Peril of Self-Neglect: A warning against losing oneself in the clamor of advising others and intellectual pride.