M6:3777 — سهل دانستیم قول شاه را / وان عنایت‌های بی اشباه را

Translation: We deemed trivial the king's word / And those incomparable favors. Meaning: This verse expresses the regret of those who disregarded their leader's counsel and singular graces, opting instead to rely on their own intellect.

This verse is uttered through the voice of young men who have been deluded by self-conceit and an over-reliance on their own flawed intellect. Rumi delivers a vital lesson here: how deeply one comes to regret the moment they trivialized "the king's word" and "those incomparable favors." We often presume our intellect is complete, sound, and free from any illness or servitude. But, beyond any doubt, this is merely an illusion.

Rumi connects this regret to the story of young men who disregarded the king's command, becoming, as he puts it, "rebels against the father's graces." The consequence is that "we all fell into the trench, slain and wounded by calamity without battle." This means that, even without an actual war, by relying solely on our own intellect and culture, we inflicted harm upon ourselves and became entangled in misfortune. This "trench" is the pit we dig for ourselves. This is a key point: by relying purely on oneself, one casts oneself into a well, rather than encountering peril from external sources.

Rumi's reference to the khandaq (trench) and the Battle of the Trench holds a profound point. In that battle, accepting Salman the Persian's counsel (which came from outside) led to salvation. In contrast, in the story of these young men, rejecting "the king's word" (which also represents guidance from outside) leads to their destruction.

Rumi employs very precise terms. He says, "We saw ourselves without illness and without raq." That is, we imagined ourselves to be both healthy (our intellect sound) and free (not enslaved). It is here that Rumi delves into the depths of human psychoanalysis. Our intellect might be ill, incomplete, and not function properly. But beyond even this, is there any guarantee that our intellect is not "enslaved" (raqiyyat) to our emotions, our interests, and our prejudices? This "servitude" of the intellect is a great affliction. The intellect, this ripe and delicate fruit of our being, has hundreds of enemies lying in wait; if not guarded, it will bruise and become worm-eaten.

Therefore, relying on one's own intellect presupposes, first, that this intellect is sound and complete, and second, that it is free, not in servitude. Prophets and divine guides, more than contemplating political freedom, pondered the "freedom of the intellect." Their task was to liberate the intellect from these bondages so that it might see itself "without raq" and thereby recognize the true path. To trivialize the king's word and his incomparable favors is, in essence, to trivialize this freedom of the intellect and to cast oneself into the pit of servitude.

Key takeaways

• Unconditional reliance on personal intellect, without acknowledging its flaws and servitudes, leads to regret and ruin.
• The human intellect can be 'ill' (deficient) and 'enslaved' (influenced by emotions and interests); these afflictions lie in wait for it.
• Trivializing 'the king's word' and 'incomparable favors' is, in essence, negligence toward divine and prophetic guidance.
• By relying solely on oneself, one casts oneself into the 'trench' of calamity, rather than encountering peril from external sources.
• The mission of the prophets, more than political freedom, was the 'freedom of intellect' to liberate it from its bondages.