M6:2067 — بانگ زد بر وی جوان و گفت بس / روز روشن از کجا آمد عسس

Translation: The young man shouted at her and said, "Enough! From where did this night-watchman appear in broad daylight?" Meaning: This verse captures the disciple's vehement rebuke of Kharaqani's wife, whose baseless words, in the illuminated spiritual presence of the Sheikh, are as out of place and incongruous as a night-watchman appearing in broad daylight.

This verse is an integral part of the lengthy story of the disciple and Kharaqani's wife, and it is imperative to remember that Rumi frequently employs allegory in the Masnavi. I can state with absolute certainty that this narrative is allegorical and should not be analyzed on a gender-specific level or through historical events. Here, the 'man' symbolizes intellect (aql), and the 'woman' represents the commanding self (nafs-e ammara). The story recounts the eternal struggle of the nafs-e ammara against aql, perpetually challenging the latter's sovereignty.

In this verse, the 'young man'—who is, in fact, Abu al-Hasan Kharaqani's disciple and embodies intellect and spiritual awareness—loses patience with the wife's frivolous and abusive remarks, which symbolize the nafs-e ammara and its baseless pronouncements. His emphatic 'Enough!' is not merely a request to cease, but a categorical rejection of discourse unfit for the spiritual milieu. It is a decisive dismissal of terehāt—frivolous, rambling talk.

The pivotal phrase, "From where did this asas (night-watchman) appear in broad daylight?" is a brilliant simile from Rumi. An asas is a patrolman of the night, whose duty is to guard and oversee in darkness. However, 'broad daylight' here unequivocally refers to the spiritual luminosity and pure presence of Sheikh Abu al-Hasan Kharaqani, who embodies the sun of truth and the light of men of God. The disciple is essentially asking: "This is a realm of light, a place where the sun of truth shines. What kinship do you, as a manifestation of darkness, ignorance, and confusion, have with this space? Your presence in this 'bright day' is akin to a night-watchman appearing in the middle of the day; utterly incongruous, misplaced, and bizarre." This statement underscores the complete dismissal and nullification of the woman's words (the nafs-e ammara) in the face of the saint's sacred and luminous presence.

As Rumi later states in subsequent verses: "The light of men took hold of East and West / The heavens prostrated in wonder / The sun of truth rose from Aries / The [worldly] sun retreated in shame." These verses affirm and expand upon the idea that the light of truth is so resplendent that no darkness or triviality can overshadow it. The insubstantial and idle chatter of the nafs-e ammara, like terehāt (frivolous talk) that Rumi uses elsewhere ("You distributed your intellect in all directions / Those terehāt are not worth a single leaf"), holds no value against this sun of truth and cannot diminish its light in the slightest. This conflict between aql and nafs, disciple and wife, mirrors the eternal inner human struggle for spiritual balance and equilibrium, achievable only through the sovereignty of aql over nafs.

Key takeaways

• The story of the disciple and Kharaqani's wife is an allegory of the intellect's (aql) struggle against the commanding self (nafs-e ammara), not a historical or gender-specific narrative.
• The 'young man' (disciple) represents aql and spiritual awareness, firmly rejecting the baseless words of the nafs (wife).
• 'Broad daylight' symbolizes the spiritual luminosity and sacred presence of divine saints.
• The 'asas' (night-watchman) embodies ignorance, darkness, and frivolous talk, which have no place in the presence of truth.
• Through this allegory, Rumi demonstrates that the trivialities of the nafs can never obscure the sun of truth.