M6:1269 — چند گلگونه بمالید از بطر / سفرهٔ رویش نشد پوشیده‌تر

Translation: She applied several golgooneh (cosmetics) out of baṭar (vanity/arrogance), but her face’s sofreh (wrinkled surface) did not become more concealed. Meaning:* This verse illustrates the futility of an old woman's attempt to hide the marks of age and decay on her face with superficial adornments.

In this verse, Rumi continues the tale of the old woman who harbors a longing for marriage, despite having reached the autumn of her life, her face deeply etched with wrinkles. This woman, whom Rumi calls “that kharīf,” is, in his own words, someone who has reached the autumn of her years, naturally devoid of youthful beauty and freshness.

The old woman's attempts to adorn herself are, from the outset, doomed to failure. She first attends to her eyebrows, cleaning them, but realizes her face is unfit for such an aristocratic wedding. It is here that our verse in question emerges: "Chand golgooneh bemālīd az baṭar / sofreh-ye rūyash nashod pooshīdeh-tar."

Golgooneh refers to the various cosmetics of that era—rouge and whitening powders—that imparted a superficial glow and color to the face. However, the crucial point lies in the word baṭar. Baṭar signifies elation, self-conceit, and rebellion. This means the makeup is applied out of pride and a desire to conceal the truth of aging and decay, not out of legitimate beautification. This vanity and self-deception drive her towards mere outward show.

The result of this action is that "her face’s sofreh did not become more concealed." Rumi uses the idiom sofreh-ye rū (literally, ‘tablecloth of the face’) for a visage so extensively wrinkled and lined by age that it resembles an unfolded, uneven tablecloth, impossible to easily hide. This imagery vividly illustrates how inner truth and the passage of time emerge from behind deceptive veils, refusing to be concealed.

The important point here is the contrast between this behavior and the divine transaction Rumi had earlier alluded to in this very Book Six: God buys the worn-out and dilapidated goods of His servants, not out of profit-seeking, but out of grace and beneficence. "No qalb (heart/counterfeit) is rejected before Him / For His intention in buying is not profit." In that marketplace, a "worn-out" (khalq) item is purchased, yet here, the old woman tries to hide her own "worn-outness." This self-deception stands in stark contrast to that divine grace which covers flaws, rather than seeking to eliminate them.

This verse is Rumi's warning to all of us not to be deceived by appearances and not to attempt to conceal our inner truth with superficial adornments. Just as this old woman later even rips gold from a Quran and sticks it to her face to appear more beautiful, those gold flakes also fall away, leaving no lasting effect. This allegory is a profound metaphor for humanity's futile attempt to hide its true self with the gold and glitter of the world; a truth that, in the end, reveals itself as it is, from behind all veils.

Key takeaways

• The futility of superficial adornments in concealing inner truth and aging.
• Baṭar (vanity/self-conceit) is a driving force for outward show and concealing realities.
• The attempt to hide flaws through such self-deception contradicts unconditional divine acceptance.
• Like the 'tablecloth of the face' revealing wrinkles, inner truth is never fully concealed.