M6:3369 — در امیری او غریب و محتبس / در صفات فقر وخلت ملتبس

Translation: In his vizierate, he was a stranger and confined, Adorned with the qualities of poverty and divine friendship (khollat). Meaning: This verse describes a benevolent vizier who, despite his inner spiritual nature as a God-seeking dervish and lover of the Divine, felt like a stranger and prisoner in his position of power, yet remained to serve the people.

This verse paints a radiant portrait of an ascetic vizier, one who, in the very seat of power and governance, lived as a stranger, confined as if in a prison. His true place was not there, I tell you, absolutely not, yet he donned this garment out of expedience, to come to the aid of the oppressed and to temper the monarch's rage. This was the justification offered by our mystics, in the absence of an alternative political theory, for their proximity to despotic and tyrannical powers. They argued that in an age when sultans would issue death decrees in a drunken stupor or shed blood to quell their fury, the presence of a vizier like 'Emād-ol-Molk was a precious boon for mitigating tyranny and reducing injustice upon the populace.

Indeed, he was 'confined' (muḥtabas) in his position of vizierate; that is, this office was like a prison for him, in which he held his ego captive. Yet, in the depths of his being, he was 'adorned with the qualities of poverty and divine friendship' (faqr va khollat maltaḥas). Faqr here signifies ascetic poverty and dervishhood, while khollat, derived from Khalil (friend), denotes pure friendship with the Almighty Truth, divine love itself. This was his original garment, his true essence; in his inner qualities, he was a God-seeking dervish and a spiritual lover, not an ambitious courtier.

This vizier acted as a 'standard' (pāy-i 'alam), serving as a safe haven for the oppressed in battlefields of injustice; he would intercede to prevent lives from being lost and blood from being spilled. He even concealed the faults of wrongdoers, with a forbearance (ḥilm) that stemmed from divine forbearance, contrary to common human behavior which seeks to expose flaws and disgrace others. This is a path alluded to by Sa'di in the story of Tokale, where it is said, "Worship is naught but service to the people." Prophets, after receiving their message, would emerge from the solitude of the mountains to live among the people. This vizier, too, remained in his position not for worldly gain, but for 'service'; he was a seeker of the hidden sun, like a crescent moon orbiting the sun, and thus, the vizierate was merely a means for him to reach that hidden sun through serving humanity. Truly, he was a 'no' (ney) who, within the vessel of vizierate, uttered a 'yes'.

Key takeaways

• Serving Power for Benevolence: A mystic may take on a role in a tyrannical court, despite it not being their true place, to alleviate oppression and aid the downtrodden.
• Vizierate as a Prison for the Gnostic: Worldly positions are not an honor but a self-imposed confinement for the gnostic, serving as a means for spiritual refinement.
• The Gnostic's Hidden Essence: Internally, the gnostic is immersed in faqr (dervishhood) and khollat (divine love), detached from worldly appearances.
• Divine Forbearance and Concealing Sins: In a position of power, the gnostic becomes a manifestation of divine attributes like forbearance and the veiling of others' faults.
• Service to Humanity as Worship: Active presence in society and service to people is itself the pinnacle of worship and a path to reach the hidden Beloved.