M1:2447 — چون قضا آید فرو پوشد بصر / تا نداند عقل ما پا را ز سر

This couplet is a pivotal reflection within the story of a man who, after resisting his wife's nagging for a better livelihood, suddenly capitulates. Rumi uses this moment to generalize about the power of Divine Decree (qaḍā), which he portrays not as a distant theological concept but as an overwhelming force that can suddenly cloud the sharpest human faculties.

The man's regret (M1:2445) and his sudden reversal are explained as the effect of qaḍā. When it "arrives," it acts like a veil thrown over both physical sight (baṣar) and, more importantly, the inner sight of the intellect (ʿaql). The state of confusion is captured by the classic Persian idiom of being unable to distinguish "foot from head" (pā rā ze sar), signifying a total loss of orientation and sound judgment.

In the Sufi context, this isn't necessarily a negative event. While it leads to error and regret in this story, the overpowering of the limited, calculating intellect by a divine force is also a prerequisite for surrender and spiritual progress. Here, the man's intellectual collapse leads him to see his wife's demands not as a domestic problem but as a divine signal, forcing him to abandon his own stubborn position and submit to a reality beyond his control.