M6:957 — جرم او اینست کو بازست و بس / غیر خوبی جرم یوسف چیست پس

Translation: His only crime is that he is a falcon, nothing more; What then was Joseph’s crime, other than his goodness?

Meaning: This verse, by likening truth-seekers to falcons and their adversaries to owls, asserts that the sole "crime" of pure-hearted individuals and prophets is their intrinsic truth and goodness, which invariably provokes envy and hostility in others.

This verse appears within the ancient and profoundly meaningful contrast between the "falcon" (bāz) and the "owl" (joghād) in the Masnavi—a contrast that inherently sketches the attitude and state of two types of humans confronting truth. The falcon symbolizes the noble spirit, the spiritual seeker, the prophet, or any truth-seeking individual who has lifted their head from the threshold of a sovereign, gazing upon palaces and mansions—a gaze that speaks of an "origin" and a "source." In contrast, the owl symbolizes base individuals, worldly people, and those who are accustomed to and confined within the "ruin" of this world, perceiving any call from beyond this ruin as "strife."

What Mowlana calls a "crime" in this verse is not a moral transgression, but rather the very existential nature of the falcon: "His only crime is that he is a falcon, nothing more." In other words, he has committed no offense other than being inherently a falcon—meaning he is a seeker of truth, authentic, and connected to a higher source. It is this very transcendent being and essence that is unbearable to the ruin-dwelling owls, inciting their wrath and malice.

To further clarify this concept, Mowlana immediately invokes the story of Prophet Joseph: "What then was Joseph’s crime, other than his goodness?" This parable serves as a crucial interpretive key. Joseph, peace be upon him, had also committed no offense; rather, his unparalleled beauty, purity, and goodness ignited the envy of his brothers and subsequently the schemes of others. In fact, his very "goodness," in the eyes of the envious, became an unforgivable "crime."

Therefore, this verse indicates that sometimes, benevolent individuals and bearers of truth are persecuted and hated not because of their undesirable actions, but simply because of their luminous and divine nature. The owls, who consider their ruin a "rival to the heavens" (rashk-e athīr) and avert their gaze from anything beyond it, are enraged by the falcon because the falcon, by recalling the palace and the arm of the sovereign (i.e., another, spiritual world), disrupts their peace and ignorance. These owls, in truth, declare: "We have grown fat on amusement and frivolity... you came and made us 'birds of death-thought.'" They fear that the falcon's truth might drag them out of their "familiar abode" and "indulgence," forcing them into a "migration." They even accuse the falcon of "power-seeking" and "trickery" (sheyd), imagining that by "narrating" a different world, he wishes to become their "king and leader" over the ruin of their lives. But Mowlana, through the parable of Joseph, shows that this "crime" is nothing but goodness and truth-seeking. This is a profound psychological and ontological issue in the Masnavi: the root of much animosity and enmity towards the bearers of truth lies not in the flaw of the message, but in the perfection of the messenger.

Key takeaways

• The "crime" of truth-seekers is not committing a sin, but their transcendent and authentic existential nature itself.
• Like Joseph, inherent goodness and beauty can be the very cause of envy and malice.
• Worldly individuals, clinging to their "ruin," resist any call to awakening or truth.
• Opposition to prophets and truth-bearers often stems from a fear of disrupting false peace and material pleasures.
• Accusations of "power-seeking" or "trickery" against the people of truth are often a veneer to justify enmity towards an unwelcome truth.