M3:3280 — نیست قدرت هر کسی را سازوار / عجز بهتر مایهٔ پرهیزکار

This couplet serves as a general maxim explaining a specific, unfolding spiritual disaster. A man has persistently begged the prophet Moses to teach him the language of animals. Moses, sensing the man's spiritual immaturity, resists. God, however, instructs Moses to grant the wish, knowing the man will come to ruin through it. This beyt articulates the core problem: the man craves a form of power (قدرت) for which he is not suited (سازوار).

The second line presents the alternative, which is the foundation of Sufi ethics: ʿajz (helplessness or inability). This is not a state of pathetic weakness, but a conscious recognition of one's utter dependence on God. For the parhīzkār (the pious, God-conscious person), this awareness is their true spiritual capital (māya). It keeps them humble, safe, and rightly oriented toward the Divine. The man in the story lacks this foundation; his desire for power stems from ego and curiosity, not piety. The knowledge he seeks will not bring him closer to God but will instead amplify his flaws, leading to his downfall.

Rumi contrasts the destructive nature of power in the wrong hands with the protective, grounding quality of recognizing one's own limitations. The surrounding verses elaborate on this, stating that poverty (faqr) is a source of pride precisely because it prevents the excesses that come with ability, and that most human suffering arises from 'superfluous desires' (ārezūhā-ye fuz̤ūl).