M6:1279 — صد بلیسی تو خمیس اندر خمیس / ترک من گوی ای عجوزهٔ دردبیس

Translation: You are a hundred Satans, legion upon legion; Leave me, O deceptive old hag!

Meaning: Addressed to hypocrites and dissemblers, this verse denounces those who, beneath a deceiving exterior, harbor countless satanic traits, and Mowlana bids them to depart from his presence.

This verse, ostensibly addressed to an old woman, serves as Mowlana's typical bridge from outer form to inner meaning. The great master here is not speaking to an elderly lady, but to the "false claimants of insight and gnosis." These are individuals who outwardly adorn themselves, claiming knowledge and spiritual paths, yet are inwardly devoid of any truth. This 'ajūze-ye dardebis (deceitful old hag) is a metaphor for the hypocrites who have squandered their lives, youth, and opportunities for repentance, and now their inner emptiness presses upon them severely. Mowlana sees this old woman as "a hundred Satans, legion upon legion"; meaning these dissemblers have surpassed Satan himself in deceit and corruption.

Mowlana explicitly warns: "Since many Satans are in human form, one should not give one's hand to every hand." He wishes to expose these false claimants and show people that many such "devil-faced ones" exist among them. This is not merely a moral rebuke; it is an existential diagnosis. These are individuals who are baste (bound, i.e., they have tied virtues to themselves from the outside, borrowing them) instead of being raste (risen, i.e., virtues have sprouted and grown from within them). These adornments, superficial knowledge, and pompous speeches are all bar-baste (borrowed) and have not sprung from their own core. They are like artificial colors applied to an apple to make it rosy, but the color doesn't come from the apple itself. Or like a branch tied to a tree, which will never replace a true branch.

What, then, is the ultimate fate of this "borrowed existence"? Mowlana asserts that these borrowed traits, these deceits ('ashr meaning theft or trickery), will fall away like a veil at the moment of death. The "world of silence" is coming; a world where there is no longer room for empty talk and ostentation. There, truth is laid bare, and woe to him "who has no intimacy within himself." Woe to him who finds nothing for companionship and peace in this inner, barren desert. In that moment, all superficial arts vanish, and only that which has truly blossomed from one's soul remains. Mowlana invites us to turn away from this "superficiality" and "form-worship" towards "polishing the heart" and "polishing the soul," so that truths may be reflected in the mirror of the heart, and we are not empty-handed at the time of departure. This verse is a severe yet loving warning to return to one's authentic existence and shun a borrowed life.

Key takeaways

• The verse is an allegory for hypocrites and false claimants of gnosis who, despite their adorned appearance, harbor an empty and satanic interior.
• The beyt warns against hypocrisy and ostentation, where inner emptiness makes an individual more deceitful than Satan himself.
• Mowlana distinguishes between raste virtues (sprouting from within) and baste virtues (borrowed and external), deeming the latter worthless.
• The "cloak of death" and the "world of silence" signify the end of this borrowed life, where all superficial manifestations crumble and existential truth is revealed.
• This verse is an invitation to introspection and "polishing the heart" so that in that "world of silence," one possesses an inner intimacy.