M6:1260 — هم نه‌ای طوطی که چون قندت دهند / گوش سوی گفت شیرینت نهند

Translation: Nor are you a parrot, that when they offer you sugar, They might incline their ears towards your sweet utterance. Meaning: This verse confronts the listener with their lack of charm, suggesting they do not even possess the parrot's ability to captivate hearts with sweet words and thus receive a reward of sugar. It prompts an introspection into one's inherent worth and artistry.

This verse is part of a series of probing questions that Mawlana directly addresses to us, his audience: “What are you? What art do you possess?” In this section, he enumerates a long list of birds and animals, each possessing a unique value and skill: the falcon for hunting, the peacock for its beauty, the nightingale for its melodious song, the hoopoe for its role as a messenger, and the stork for building its high nest. This particular verse points to the parrot, an animal capable of charming hearts with its sweet words and thus attracting sugar and affection. Mawlana asks, you are not even this.

The tone Mawlana adopts in this section, as I have emphasized repeatedly in my lectures, is one of complete despair; despair arising from an empty-handed, artless self. He intends to compel us to turn inwards, to examine our intrinsic aptitudes, and to confront how destitute we truly are, how devoid of genuine virtues and arts. This is not a demand without expectation or an unanswered question, but an invitation to profound self-assessment. This initial destitution and lack of art is a prerequisite for opening a door to true hope and virtue. Mawlana first closes all paths of 'being' in the worldly sense for us, so that he may open the path of 'becoming' in the divine sense.

This rhetorical strategy of Mawlana recurs throughout the Mathnawi: he first confronts man with the reality of his weaknesses and shortcomings to free him from false self-perception. Although this process may appear bitter and disheartening, its purpose is to prepare the individual to grasp the market of divine grace. It is after this admission of destitution that Mawlana, in his astounding articulation, introduces God's market where even a qalb (a counterfeit coin) is not rejected, and the aim of purchase is not profit but generosity. This verse is precisely at this turning point: the point of self-knowledge through the negation of apparent abilities, leading to the discovery of inner potentials and the generous embrace of God.

Key takeaways

• The verse is part of Mawlana's series of questions aimed at prompting the audience to self-assess their innate talents.
• It addresses the human inability to captivate others with sweet words, akin to a parrot's charm.
• By instilling despair about an 'empty-handed' self, Mawlana prepares the ground for receiving divine grace.
• The implicit question is: if you lack even the 'art' to attract worldly attention, what is your true worth?