M1:650 — که مرا عیسی چنین پیغام کرد / کز همه یاران و خویشان باش فَرد

This couplet is part of a deceptive speech delivered by the treacherous vizier. Having successfully infiltrated the Christian community, he now feigns a profound spiritual calling to retreat, framing it as a direct command from Jesus (عیسی). The message he claims to have received is a classic trope of asceticism: sever all worldly ties to achieve spiritual purity.

In the context of the story, this is a calculated lie. The vizier's goal is not spiritual advancement but the destruction of the community he leads. By commanding his followers to isolate themselves, he aims to atomize their society, break their bonds of fellowship, and make them vulnerable to his subsequent, destructive commands. Rumi uses the language of authentic spiritual practice—solitude (خلوت), detachment—to show how easily it can be mimicked and weaponized by those with corrupt intentions. The vizier's performance is a cautionary tale about the dangers of spiritual authority that is not grounded in genuine inner transformation.