M6:3460 — چونک هنگام فراق جان شود / دیو دلال در ایمان شود

Translation: When the time of the soul's firaq (separation) arrives, The devil, like a dallāl (broker), enters into one's īmān (faith). Meaning:* This verse warns that at times of great difficulty, particularly at the hour of death, the devil acts as a deceptive broker, tempting a person to trade their faith for trivial comforts.

This profound and cautionary verse from Mowlana marks the climax of his allegory of Khwarazmshah, the horse, and the malicious broker, Imad al-Mulk. Mowlana endeavors to connect this sinister phenomenon—how a devil, disguised as a broker, cools the human heart towards what is truly valuable—to the deepest dimension of our being: our faith.

Just as Imad al-Mulk, with hidden malice, devalued a magnificent horse in the eyes of the Shah, Mowlana states: "Since the broker's aim was biased, he could make a Joseph available for three yards of canvas"—meaning a malevolent broker can buy or sell Joseph for a trivial price, making him seem worthless. It is precisely in such a situation, but at life's most critical and sensitive juncture, that the devil approaches us. This "time of the soul's firaq (separation)" undeniably refers to the moment of iḥtiḍār (agony of death), that strait in which the soul departs the body, and a person is at their peak of weakness, thirst, and helplessness.

In this moment, Satan appears as a "dallāl" (broker). Who is a dallāl? One who acts as an intermediary, usually for a good cause, like facilitating a marriage, or in a transaction, connecting parties. But this broker is a "devil-broker" (dīv-e dallāl), a demonic intermediary with evil intent. His goal is to buy your faith from you, or rather, to convince you to sell it for a paltry price.

Mowlana continues by saying that the "fool" (ablah) "hastily sells his faith / In that distress, for a pitcher of water." Meaning, the foolish and irrational human, in that predicament and weakness of iḥtiḍār, hastily and without deliberation, sells their faith for a "pitcher of water." But what is this "pitcher of water"? It is a vessel of water, a delicious drink, a promise to quench ultimate thirst. This is a metaphor for trivial and transient worldly things. In this regard, a story from Maqālāt-e Shams-e Tabrīzī is recounted about an ascetic who, at the moment of death, refused to recite the Shahāda. After a slight recovery, he explained that Satan had appeared to him with a tempting jug of sweet water, promising eternal life if he bowed down, and he had resisted in his absolute thirst. Mowlana extends this narrative to the state of many of us who lack the resilience to resist such trivial temptations.

Soroush emphasizes Mowlana's crucial point: this water and pitcher are nothing more than an "illusion." "And that would be an illusion, not a pitcher / The broker's intent is nothing but deception." Meaning, there is no real water, no real pitcher. It is all deception and temptation (waswasa). The intent of this devil-broker is solely "takhriq" (to tear apart), that is, to rend truth and corrupt faith.

Mowlana, however, does not confine this ruinous transaction to the moment of death alone. He looks to our present: "Now that you are healthy and strong / You give away sincerity for a mere illusion." Even today, when we are hale and vigorous, we sell our faith and truth for a mere "fantasy." "Like a child, you receive walnuts." Like children who give away gems for walnuts, we trade the gem of our faith, our life, and our intellect for the "rotten walnuts of the world" (joz-e pūsīde-ye dunyā). Mowlana explicitly states: "The world is a rotten walnut, O trustworthy one / Test it less, look at it from afar." Many worldly sciences, positions, reputations, and pleasures are, in the end, like hollow walnuts—devoid of kernel and truth.

To be safe from these deceptions, Mowlana stresses "dūr-andīshī" (foresight) which he equates with ʿaql (reason). Satan initially presents his promises to us like a "full moon" (badr-e tamām): "At first, that illusion is like a full moon / But in the end, it becomes like a crescent." But if we look to its end, we will see it dwindle to a thin "crescent" (hilāl) and then vanish. "If you first saw its end / You would be free from its feeble deception." Reason, for Mowlana, is precisely this foresight and the ability to see the ultimate outcome of things. This is the "eye of foresight" (chashm-e maʾāl) that the Prophet Muhammad possessed; an eye that saw the world as "carrion" (jīfa) and its seekers as "dogs" (kilāb). He saw beyond the superficial and seductive appearance of worldly things.

The story of Khwarazmshah itself serves as a reminder: "He abandoned his own eye and chose his eye / He abandoned his own intellect and heard his words." We must never close our own eyes and borrow the vision of brokers and deceivers, or entrust our intellect to their words. We must be wary of a "staff-bearer" who is blinder than ourselves. We must see the truth with our "own vision" and with the "eye of foresight," not with the eyes of "base individuals" (khasān) who would drag us towards the carrion of the world.

Key takeaways

• The moment of the soul's separation (death) is humanity's peak vulnerability, where the devil's deception thrives.
• The devil acts as a "broker" (dallāl), tempting one to exchange the precious gem of faith (īmān) for trivial, fleeting promises, symbolized by "a pitcher of water."
• This detrimental trade is not limited to death; throughout life, we often surrender our faith for the "rotten walnuts" of this world.
• Overcoming such deception requires the "eye of foresight" (chashm-e maʾāl), which sees the ultimate outcome, not just the fleeting surface.
• Blindly adopting the vision of others and surrendering one's intellect to deceptive "brokers" are among the greatest spiritual perils.