M1:382 — موش تا انبارِ ما حفره زدست / وز فنش انبار ما ویران شدست

Translation: The mouse has burrowed a hole into our storehouse / And by its cunning, our granary has been ruined. Meaning: This verse warns that a cunning mouse has infiltrated the storehouse of our being, and through its trickery, it is squandering the fruits of our deeds and devotions.

Here, Mevlana delivers a profound message regarding the nature of the reward for our acts of obedience and devotion. He maintains that the recompense for good deeds, such as prayer, fasting, and kindness to others, should not be deferred to some imagined bank account in the afterlife. Rather, this reward must be stored within our very being in this world, transforming us from within. If there is a 'bank' where our deeds are deposited, it is, in fact, our own existence.

I have often stressed that true wealth is spiritual, not material. A true king is one who possesses inner regality, not one who boasts of armies and treasuries. These external possessions are all conditional and transient; armies can defect, wealth and beauty can be snatched away by a thief or a fever. But what a person holds within themselves, no one can take away.

Therefore, if we are depositing the 'wheat' of our devotions into the 'storehouse of our being' – performing prayers, observing fasts, abandoning sins – the effects of these actions must become apparent within us. We must change, transcend our egoism and self-centeredness. Both we ourselves and others should perceive this transformation. Yet, Mevlana regretfully notes that we diligently gather our wheat, only to find nothing left when we inspect the storehouse later; it has all disappeared.

At this point, Mevlana asks: 'Do we not finally ponder with awareness / That this flaw in the wheat comes from the mouse's cunning?' Should we not consider that a cunning mouse has clandestinely entered our storehouse? This mouse, with its trickery, has ruined our granary. Here lies the turning point of Mevlana's discourse: 'First, O soul, fend off the mouse's evil / And then strive in gathering the wheat.' This means that before dedicating ourselves to accumulating deeds, we must first fortify the storehouse of our being against this cunning mouse, sealing its holes and points of infiltration.

This 'mouse' is, in truth, the human 'nafs' (ego or lower self). Yes, in religious literature, Satan is called a thief and highwayman, but Mevlana himself states: 'Nafs and Satan were both one entity / They merely manifested themselves in two forms.' We must not simply blame others. Humanity possesses an infinite capacity for self-deception. We masterfully attribute our shortcomings to others while claiming credit for our perfections. This is one of those mice that infiltrates our storehouse.

This is where the Prophet's saying (sadr-i sudūr, the foremost of leaders) gains its meaning: 'No prayer is complete except with presence.' A prayer performed without presence of heart, as Ghazali put it, is merely a jurisprudential prayer that fulfills an obligation, but it does not transform one's being or store true spiritual reward within the individual. Fasting, pilgrimage, and every other act are likewise. If after forty years of worship, calluses have formed on our foreheads, yet there is no sign of spiritual change or transformation within us, we must ask ourselves: 'Where is the wheat of forty years of deeds?' This is a question every human being should ask daily to prevent devotions from becoming meaningless rituals.

Key takeaways

• The reward for devotions and good deeds must manifest within an individual in this world, rather than being deferred to an imagined future.
• True wealth is internal and spiritual, remaining stable, unlike transient external possessions or beauty.
• If the fruits of our good deeds disappear, we must search for the cunning 'mouse' within, rather than merely complaining.
• Mevlana's 'mouse' symbolizes the ego (nafs) which, through deception and cunning, consumes our spiritual gains.
• The most crucial step is to secure the storehouse of our being from the 'mouse' (ego) before striving to accumulate 'wheat' (good deeds).
• Presence of heart in worship is essential for spiritual transformation and receiving true reward; otherwise, the act merely fulfills a religious obligation.