M6:1675 — رو به عقل خود چنین غره مباش / که شوی یاوه تو در تزویرهاش

Translation: Do not be so proud of your own intellect, Lest you get lost in its deceits.

Meaning: This verse warns against intellectual arrogance, suggesting that overconfidence in one's limited reason can lead to becoming completely lost in the deceptions and trickery of the world.

This profound verse, spoken by the storyteller in Mawlana's poignant tale of the Turk and the Tailor, delivers a fundamental warning to humanity. The storyteller addresses the simple-hearted and arrogant Turk, who prides himself on his intellect and wagers that no tailor can steal from him, saying: "Do not be so proud of your own intellect." This 'pride' in one's reason, in Mawlana's view, is not a virtue but a source of much delusion. The intellect Mawlana refers to here is the aql-i juz'ī (partial or discursive reason); an intellect effective in worldly affairs, but insufficient, and even a cause for downfall, when confronting the subtle deceptions and traps of time.

Here, the 'tailor' symbolizes 'Time' or 'the World', and the 'Istanbul atlas' that the Turk carries represents humanity's 'existential capital' and 'the jewel of the soul.' How does Time steal this atlas? Through 'foshār' (idle talk), 'afsāneh o fosoon' (tales and charms), and 'lāgh' (jokes). The tailor begins to tell anecdotes and humorous stories, and the Turk, intoxicated by laughter, finds his 'narrow eyes closed' and his intellect 'scattered.' This is precisely where the danger of 'yāveh shodan' (getting lost) occurs. In Mawlana's literature, 'yāveh shodan' means becoming lost, unaware of oneself, and utterly forfeiting one's entire being. It means that you become so absorbed in the tailor's deceits that you forget your 'claim and wager' and, more importantly, lose your existential capital.

From Mawlana's perspective, this is not merely a tale of ordinary theft, but an allegory for deep human 'ghafleh' (heedlessness). Engaged in the 'lāgh' and distractions of the world, humanity becomes oblivious to its own existential reality and its inherent spiritual wealth. Like the Turk, in a state of laughter and intoxication, one realizes that the 'garment' of one's existence has been torn and plundered. Mawlana states elsewhere: "This common tailor tears and sews / The garment of hundred-year-old raw children." This 'common tailor' is the world itself, stealing the garment of old yet immature individuals, playing with their lives and essence.

Furthermore, Mawlana also states that sometimes God Himself orchestrates situations of anger and conflict to reveal humanity's hidden flaws and weaknesses: "When God wishes to tear someone's veil / He inclines him to disparage the pure." This verse, in the same vein, is a warning against the Turk's pride; a pride that can become a pretext for disgrace and getting lost in the world's cunning. One should not be so confident in one's intellect as to imagine that no deception or temptation can bring one to their knees, for the world's cunning is exceedingly subtle, and its entry point is often precisely where we deem ourselves most secure.

Key takeaways

• Intellectual Arrogance as the Gateway to Heedlessness: Sole reliance on limited reason renders one vulnerable to worldly deceptions.
• Worldly Deceit Manifests as Entertainment: The world distracts the mind with tales and jests (lāgh), making humanity oblivious to its essential spiritual capital.
• The Danger of Being Lost in Deceptions (Yāveh Shodan): To be 'lost' signifies losing one's true self, becoming entirely absorbed in the world's stratagems.
• Divine Tests to Expose Pride: Sometimes, God orchestrates circumstances to unveil human conceit, causing one to stray from the true path.
• The Tailor of Time, the Thief of Life: The world acts like a tailor, stealing the 'garment' of life and existential truth by engaging humanity in distractions.