M6:3634 — رو و پشت برجهاش و سقف و پست / جمله تمثال و نگار و صورتست

Translation: Its front and back, its towers, its roof and base, / All are images, designs, and forms. Meaning: This verse describes a forbidden castle, completely adorned with pictures and figures on every surface, designed to beguile the eye and mind, thereby stealing one's intellect.

This verse continues the narrative of the king and his three sons, where the father explicitly forbids them from approaching a particular castle. This castle bears two telling names: Hūsh-robā (mind-snatcher) and Dhāt al-Ṣuwar (possessor of forms/images). Mowlana meticulously describes this forbidden fortress, stating that all its aspects—the front and back of its towers, its roof, and its very foundation—are replete with timsāl (images), negār (designs), and ṣūrat (forms). It is, in essence, an endless gallery of visual allurements.

Mowlana immediately draws a parallel to Zulaikha's cunning in the story of Joseph. To ensnare Joseph in her love or temporary desire, Zulaikha had adorned the walls of her chamber with her own image, depicted in the most beautiful manner. Her intention was that wherever Joseph looked, he would be compelled to see her face, thus losing his discerning intellect (hūsh) and falling into her trap. This allegory is crucial for understanding the current verse.

The castle of Dhāt al-Ṣuwar and Hūsh-robā symbolizes the world of forms, the realm of outward appearances, and all that captures the eye and ensnares the heart. This world, much like Zulaikha's trap, is Hūsh-robā; it suspends the human intellect's perceptive and deliberative faculties, engrossing one in external manifestations. True reality, as I have consistently emphasized throughout my readings of the Mathnawi, lies in formlessness (bi-ṣūratī) and beyond these mere images. The seeker must transcend this ornate and picturesque world to attain the formless truth, for genuine gnosis and the unveiling of secrets are found beyond these forms and appearances.

This insight connects deeply to what I have previously discussed regarding vasāʾiṭ (intermediaries). The mystic's yearning is for a direct reception of divine grace, without any intermediary—like a drainpipe or a water-skin—interposing itself between them and the ocean of divine bounty. The world of Dhāt al-Ṣuwar itself is a collection of such tempting intermediaries (forms) that prevent one from this direct connection. While the beauties of creation originate from divine grace, these very forms, if they enslave a person and keep them from reaching the formless source, transform into obstacles and snares. The seeker's task is liberation from this bondage and a return to that unidentifiable reed-bed (neyestān) which is their primordial essence.

Key takeaways

• The world of outward forms and appearances is a trap for intellect and discernment.
• The 'Mind-Snatcher' castle symbolizes the deceptive material world.
• Like Zulaikha's cunning, the world ensnares humans with its alluring images.
• True reality lies beyond forms and designs; one must transcend them.
• The mystic's desire is for direct communion with God, unmediated by deceptive intermediaries.