M6:1881 — نیست لایق غزو نفس و مرد غر / نیست لایق عود و مشک و کون خر

Translation: A foul-minded man, unworthy of spiritual striving, is unfit for the purification of the self, just as oud and musk are not fitting for a donkey’s rear.

Let us understand this verse within its proper context. Mawlana, continuing the narrative of those who cast their arrows far when the prey is near, and seek the treasure everywhere but within themselves, points to a profound truth: every being has its appropriate sustenance and destiny. Just as ravens are drawn to dung and turn away from wholesome food, so too are base and ignoble individuals deprived of spiritual sustenance.

I have said this repeatedly: Mawlana’s central concern, and indeed the essence of all mysticism, is captured in the phrase, “Ask from yourself whatever you desire, for you are it.” He views philosophers, scholars, and even some pious worshipers as those who have made the path circuitous. Truth, for him, is the “nearby prey,” yet many have “cast their arrows far.” This verse precisely aligns with this understanding: Ghazv-i Nafs, or “striving against the lower self,” that inner battle against one’s ignoble inclinations, is not something everyone is worthy of. The mard-i ghorr is precisely one who lacks this spiritual capacity.

The word ghorr in Mawlana’s lexicon is stark, vulgar, and at times even an insult. Mawlana had no qualms about using such language. This harshness of expression in the Mathnawi distinguishes it from all other classical Persian literary works. Some might attribute it to his upbringing, others to a spirit of malāmatī (reproachfulness); but undoubtedly, this particular idiom is tied to Shams-i Tabrizi’s approach and, notably, to Mawlana’s specific audiences, especially in the later books of the Mathnawi. Mawlana was attentive to his listeners, sometimes seemingly speaking to himself, and at other times shaping his discourse according to the state of those present. This ghorr stands in direct opposition to those engaged in spiritual striving and the seekers on the path. One who is “ignoble,” one who is “unworthy,” cannot engage in the battle against their own self, for they are fundamentally alien to this struggle. This is the person Hafez refers to when he says, “What fear has the man of the path of love from unworthiness?” Mawlana asserts that this “unworthy one” has no path to ghazv-i nafs at all.

The second hemistich reinforces this theme with a blunt analogy: “Oud and musk are not fitting for a donkey’s rear.” Oud and musk symbolize subtlety, spirituality, and fragrance, which are attained through spiritual striving. But a “donkey’s rear” symbolizes baseness, foulness, and stench. This crude and unreserved comparison illustrates how a defiled and impure soul cannot receive divine graces and sacred fragrances. What emanates from donkeys is stench, not oud and musk. This is, in effect, a mystical monotheism of acts (tawhīd-i afʿālī); every vessel can only receive and reflect according to its capacity and nature. Thus, it is we ourselves who decide whether our vessel will be of the nature of “oud and musk” or a “donkey’s rear”; and it is ghazv-i nafs that makes the journey of transforming the vessel’s nature possible.

Key takeaways

• Striving against the lower self (ghazv-i nafs) is only fitting for those who are spiritually prepared and pure-hearted, not for ignoble individuals (mard-i ghorr).
• Mawlana uses blunt and sometimes vulgar language to convey profound spiritual truths and condemn hypocrisy, a style that distinguishes the Mathnawi from other literary works.
• Just as every creature has its appropriate sustenance, a foul-minded individual is deprived of spiritual nourishment and divine graces.
• Inner purity is a prerequisite for receiving divine inspirations and sacred fragrances; an impure vessel cannot contain what is fragrant and pure.