M6:4005 — با کنایت رازها با هم‌دگر / پست گفتندی به صد خوف و حذر

Translation: With allusions, they spoke their secrets to each other / Softly, with a hundred fears and cautions. Meaning: This verse emphasizes the necessity of using allusive and symbolic language to convey profound truths, secrets that must be veiled and communicated only to those worthy of understanding, protecting them from misinterpretation by the uninitiated.

This verse, to my mind, cuts to the very heart of how profound truths are articulated and received. Allusion (kenaayat) in the Masnavi is not merely a literary embellishment or a rhetorical device; rather, in Mowlana's deep ontology, it is the native tongue of the supra-sensible world, the very idiom of divine and mystical realities. As Mowlana himself states in this passage, rāz-hā (secrets) must be spoken bā kenaayat (with allusions). Why? Because the language of heaven, of prophets, and of mystics is inherently allusive and metaphorical, possessing both an outward form and an inner meaning. If the uninitiated remain solely at the literal surface, they grasp only that; but the ahl-e rāz (people of the secret) transcend the form to apprehend the maghz (essence) and deeper significance. Examples Mowlana himself provides, such as do pīrāhan bīshtar pāre kardam (I have torn two more shirts, meaning I am more experienced), or fulān kathīr al-ramād (so-and-so has much ash, meaning they are hospitable), all share this structural depth.

This allusive and symbolic language is precisely the manṭiq al-ṭayr or 'language of birds' that Prophet Solomon knew, and through which ʿurafā (mystics) and wāṣilān (those who have attained union) communicate with one another. Ghazali, in his Iḥyāʾ al-ʿUlūm, also alludes to this. However, a perennial danger lurks: the common folk (ʿawām) or false claimants (muddaʿiyān-e kāzib) who employ this symbolic language without truly grasping its meaning. Mowlana issues a stern warning, likening these pretenders to 'demons' who bar shibh-e Solaymān kard īst (stood in the likeness of Solomon); they present themselves as true mystics and authentic Solomons, yet they possess only the ʿilm-e makr (science of cunning) and are devoid of the divine ʿalamnā (We taught him) granted to Solomon. These are the ones who lāf-e sheykhi dar jahān andākhte (boast of their spiritual mastery in the world) and ṭumṭrāq o sarvarī andūkhtand (accumulated pomp and lordship) to deceive the unsuspecting.

Mowlana further asserts that the truths of the Sīmurgh and their dwelling ān sū-ye Qāf (beyond Mount Qaf) are not accessible to every khiyāl (imagination or conception). These truths are beyond the reach of ordinary human thought. Only that khiyāl can attain them which has dīd ān itifāq (witnessed that occurrence) and subsequently experienced firāq (separation). A crucial nuance here is that this separation is not one of severance or rejection, but firāq-e qaṭʿ behr-e maṣleḥat (a separation of cutting for the sake of an expediency). That is, God has not cast out this seeker, but has temporarily separated them from that elevated rank for a specific purpose. This expedient separation is itself the source of much wisdom. This passage, like many verses in Book Six of the Masnavi, is concise and intricate; at times, one feels that Mowlana, in these later parts of the Masnavi, does not speak with the same fluency and eloquence as before, as if weariness or fatigue had overcome his poetic spirit. Nevertheless, the profound depth of meaning remains steadfast and immense.

Key takeaways

• Profound secrets must be spoken through allusion and symbolism, not explicitly or to everyone.
• Allusive language is the natural idiom of transcendent and divine truths, not merely a literary device.
• The initiated penetrate the literal form of allusions to grasp their deeper meaning, while the uninitiated remain at the surface.
• The 'Language of Birds' (manṭiq al-ṭayr) symbolizes the coded communication among mystics and those who have attained spiritual union.
• False claimants exploit symbolic language, resembling the 'demon in Solomon's guise'.
• High spiritual realities (like the Sīmurgh) are beyond the reach of common imagination.