M6:3831 — تا نگیرد آن کفن‌خواه آن صله / تا نهان نکند ازو آن ده‌دله

Translation: So that the shroud-seeker might not seize that alms; Lest he (the helper), with his deh-dela (ten-hearted, anxious) state, conceal it from him. Meaning: The faqih's greed and distrust are so profound that, even while feigning death, he fears his accomplice will steal the alms, compelling him to immediately reach out and grab the money himself.

This beyt captures the climax of a tale depicting a greedy faqih (religious scholar) who resorts to various tricks to obtain money – from feigning illness and widowhood to, finally, pretending to be dead. When the ‘صدر جهان’ (a high official) sees the faqih wrapped in felt, believing him to be deceased, he casts some gold coins for his burial. At this precise moment, the avaricious faqih immediately thrusts his hand from beneath the felt to seize the money himself.

I, Abdolkarim Soroush, pause here to assert that this very action, encapsulated in the beyt, speaks volumes. Mowlana, through this story, offers a direct critique of the faqihs of his time. He names this greedy character a ‘faqih,’ which betrays a ‘hidden resentment’ towards those worldly and materialistic clerics who, instead of spiritual detachment, were consumed by the pursuit of wealth and status. They were willing to sacrifice their honor and chastity for worldly gains. While Mowlana generally ‘did not contend’ directly with faqihs, recognizing the ‘atomic weapon’ of excommunication they wielded, he nonetheless ‘stings’ them throughout the Masnavi, as seen here, revealing his true opinion.

However, Mowlana's primary lesson from this episode transcends the mere critique of clerics. Immediately following this beyt, he delves into the story’s core message: “But until you die, O stubborn one, you will gain no benefit from My Presence.” This is the prophetic dictum, ‘Mawtu qabla an tamūtu’: Die before you die. Our story's faqih does not choose this voluntary death; instead, he cunningly abuses the concept of death to achieve greater worldly ‘profit.’ He has not ‘died’ to his human attributes; his worldly attachments and greed dominate his being, even in the ‘guise’ of a corpse. He wishes to indulge in ‘this world’ and simultaneously ‘buy’ the ‘other world’ through hypocritical almsgiving: ‘That world with this world you gather as one.’ This is the true shamelessness.

Here, the distinction between apparent death and true death becomes clear. Voluntary death, in essence, means qanāʿat (contentment); it means taking the bare minimum from this world, only what is needed, and freeing oneself from attachments. The sea of divine secrets only lifts those who are truly ‘dead’ to themselves, not those who are alive with greed and avarice. As long as one is alive with greed, they ‘drown’ in the sea of secrets; but once one dies to themselves through voluntary death, they ‘float’ in this sea and attain elevation. The faqih in this story is still ‘alive’ with greed and thus gains no benefit from the secrets of life.

This liberation from greed does not mean ‘killing the nafs’ (ego/self), but rather ‘taming’ it and bringing it under the control of ‘reason’ (ʿaql). The nafs is a steed that must be guided so that reason, riding it, can reach its destination. The faqih in this narrative, however, has not only failed to tame his nafs but has been overcome by it, with his reason serving his carnal desires. This beyt teaches us that outward appearances, however much they feign piety and asceticism, if not accompanied by an inner release from greed and avarice, are not only devoid of value but are themselves indicators of a profound inner sickness and heedlessness.

Key takeaways

• Human greed and avarice persist and reveal themselves even in the pretense of death.
• Mowlana sharply criticizes worldly-minded clerics, exposing their hypocrisy and greed through storytelling.
• The principle of 'Die before you die' refers to a voluntary death to worldly attachments, not the manipulation of death's appearance for material gain.
• Contentment (qanāʿat) and freedom from greed are the pathways to the sea of divine secrets and the attainment of truth.
• The importance of taming and managing the nafs (ego) by reason, rather than being overcome by carnal desires.