M6:3464 — می‌فروشی هر زمانی دُرّ کان / هم‌چو طفلی می‌ستانی گردگان

Translation: You sell the mine's pearl at every turn, Like a child, you take walnuts in return.

Meaning: This verse speaks to humanity's folly in trading away true, invaluable spiritual assets for transient, worthless worldly trifles, much like a child naively exchanges precious gems for mere walnuts.

This verse, without a doubt, presents one of Rumi's most profound yet poignant depictions of human folly. He places this insight within a narrative about Satan's temptation at the moment of death. The story begins with a corrupt broker (dallāl) who, driven by ulterior motives, disparages a magnificent, heavenly horse in the eyes of the Khwarazmshah, dissuading him from buying it. Rumi then extends this by saying such a malevolent broker, if driven by ill intent, could sell and buy even Joseph for the paltry price of three yards of coarse cloth. But this is merely the setup; Rumi moves from the worldly broker to the Diw-i Dallāl (Devil-Broker), who appears to the believer at the moment of death—the separation of soul from body—and bargains for his faith, offering something as trivial as a jug of water. This is where the verse truly lands: "You sell the mine's pearl at every turn, / Like a child, you take walnuts in return."

I interpret the mine's pearl (durr-i kān) as symbolic of all that is precious within us: the jewel of our life, the treasure of our faith, our luminous intellect, and even those profound sciences that give depth to the human soul. In contrast, walnuts (gardugān) signify the fleeting and perishable aspects of this world, which, despite their tempting appearance, are inwardly worthless. Rumi emphasizes that humanity's conduct in this unequal transaction resembles that of a child—a child who fails to grasp the true value of pearls and is swayed by the superficial glitter or the easy availability of walnuts. This isn't just about losing something; it signifies the immaturity and childishness of the soul.

One must understand that this Diw-i Dallāl does not always appear as the horned and tailed Satan; he sometimes manifests in the guise of trivial worldly temptations, fleeting desires, or even that rotten-walnut knowledge (ilm-i jawz-i pūsīde) to which Rumi refers. He offers us promises that initially appear as a full moon (badr) in our imagination, thrilling and vibrant, but ultimately dwindle into a mere crescent (hilāl), thin and unstable, leading to nothing but deception and the tearing apart (takhriq) of truth. Through this verse, Rumi urges us to cultivate the eye of foresight (chashm-i ma'āl-bīn), rather than merely the eye of the immediate (chashm-i ḥāl-bīn). The latter only perceives the present moment and its superficialities, while the former gazes at the consequences and ultimate outcome of affairs. Reason (ʿaql), in Rumi's view, is nothing other than this foresight and deep discernment. Otherwise, if we were to perceive the beginning and end of everything equally, we would be free from the fāter (weak, feeble) deceptions of this world. Rumi likens the world to a rotten walnut (jawz-i pūsīde) and advises us to observe it from a distance and not to test it; for much that appears alluring on the surface has no kernel and is merely rot.

Key takeaways

• Trading Pearls for Walnuts: Humanity exchanges its spiritual essence for worldly trifles, a behavior Rumi likens to the immaturity of the soul.
• Satan as the 'Devil-Broker': At critical junctures, particularly at the moment of death, the tempter appears as a broker, seeking to buy faith for a trivial price.
• The Deceptive Appearance of Worldly Things: Many desires, and even some branches of knowledge, appear alluring from afar but are ultimately hollow and rotten (like a decayed walnut).
• The Primacy of Foresight (Dūr-Andīshī): True reason lies in perceiving the long-term consequences of actions and not being swayed by the glittering surface of false worldly promises.
• The Illusion of the Full Moon: Worldly promises initially appear in the imagination as a radiant full moon but quickly diminish into an unstable, insignificant crescent.