M6:3049 — خشک گردد موش زان گربهٔ عیار / گر بود اعداد موشان صد هزار

Translation: The mouse will shrivel up from that cunning cat, / Even if the number of mice be a hundred thousand. Meaning: This verse illustrates that mere numerical strength, without inner unity and solidarity, holds no power against a cunning and formidable adversary and will swiftly be overcome.

This verse is a luminous illustration of Rumi's profound insight into the concept of jamʿiyyat (unity, solidarity, inner coherence) and its distinction from mere kasrat-e zāheri (outward multitude). Rumi teaches us that sheer numerical abundance, lacking heartfelt unity and inner cohesion, is utterly ineffective against a cunning and powerful force. A hundred thousand scattered and fearful mice remain a hundred thousand isolated, ineffective units; the mouse's soul is devoid of jamʿiyyat, and at a single cry from the cat, its senses flee, and it shrivels up in terror.

Through the example of the mouse and the wily cat, Rumi intends to convey that true power resides not in numbers, but in solidarity and zeal. If these mice possessed jamʿiyyat, a pact, and a fierce resolve, they would charge like fidāʾiyān (self-sacrificers), clawing out the cat's eyes, tearing its ears, and cutting off its escape routes. This is the very lesson taught throughout human epics and history: a small, united force can overcome a vast, disunited multitude. Jamʿiyyat is a meaning that springs from the hearts, not a fishār (nonsense) arising from mere forms and bodies.

I have said this many times: bodies, however numerous, are like names on the wind; they are conventional and fragile, unless a heart binds them together. It is the Malik-ul-Mulk (Owner of the Kingdom) who grants the solitary lion the jamʿiyyat to charge against herds of zebras, rendering them as naught, or bestows upon a Joseph the capacity to be like a rain-laden cloud (muzn, a rare Quranic word, as Rumi himself notes). Inner strength, that solidarity arising from the very soul, is what shapes destiny, not merely the traffic of physical bodies. This perspective forms the foundation of many of Rumi's mystical teachings, which prioritize the inner reality over the outward appearance, and the essence over the accidents.

Key takeaways

• True power originates from inner unity and solidarity, not from numerical strength.
• Outward multitude, without jamʿiyyat (spiritual coherence), is ineffective against a cunning adversary.
• Fear and disunity can render an army of a hundred thousand impotent against a single powerful force.
• Rumi emphasizes that the mouse's soul lacks solidarity and zeal, hence its inevitable defeat.