M1:342 — گفت: تَرسایان پناهِ جان کُنند / دینِ خْوَد را از مَلِک پنهان کنند

Translation: He (the minister) said: Christians seek refuge for their lives (i.e., practice taqiyya), / And they hide their own faith from the king. Meaning: This verse recounts the cunning minister's advice to the king, explaining that Christians employ dissimulation (taqiyya) to conceal their true beliefs from the ruling power for self-preservation.

This verse appears in the midst of the story of the cunning vizier and the Christian-killing king, where the minister explains why the massacre of Christians will be futile. The minister states: “Christians seek refuge for their lives / And they hide their own faith from the king.” This phrase, “panāh-i jān konand,” is precisely what we understand as taqiyya—dissimulation. Taqiyya has been, and continues to be, a tool for survival not only among Shi'ites but also among any oppressed minority. They conceal their true, inner faith from the tyrannical king to preserve their lives.

The crucial point here is the vizier’s description of the nature of faith, not as an outward phenomenon but as an inner, invisible reality. He argues: “Do not kill them, for killing is of no avail; / Faith has no scent of musk or oud.” Heartfelt faith and belief possess no scent that can be sniffed, nor a color that can be seen and identified. Faith is hidden within hearts, wrapped in a hundred folds and covers; “The secret is hidden in a hundred wraps.” A person’s outward appearance might conform to the ruler, but their inner self might be in “disagreement” with him.

Mowlana clearly demonstrates here that the nature of deep faith and conviction is formless and invisible. As I have often reiterated, one of the most pivotal insights in the Masnavi is the narrative of formlessness (bi-ṣūratī); that this world of forms has emerged from the formless, and the spirit and truth of things reside beyond their outward molds. This formless essence cannot be discovered by material and external means. No matter how powerful the tyrannical ruler, he lacks the ability to perceive hidden hearts and faiths.

This cunning vizier's description of taqiyya and religious concealment is also intertwined with the broader concept of makr (cunning or stratagem). Mowlana himself uses this same term elsewhere (in a ghazal concerning Shams Tabrizi’s return), stating: “All promises are cunning, he will deceive you; / He has a warm breath that, with magic and enchantment, / Will tie knots on water and bind the air.” Makr, as Mowlana—and even the etymology of the English word 'device'—suggests, does not always carry a negative connotation. Makr refers to accomplishing tasks through complex and indirect methods to achieve a purpose. This can be cleverness or artifice, depending on its end. In this story, the vizier uses makr to deceive the king into believing he, too, has renounced Christianity, and then to infiltrate the Christian community. This makr carries not only a negative aspect (deceiving the king) but also a positive one (overcoming the oppressor through intelligent means). Through these verses, Mowlana teaches us not just a narrative scene, but a profound insight into the hidden nature of faith and the efficacy of makr in the sense of shrewdness.

Key takeaways

• The truth of faith is inner and invisible; no external force can uncover it.
• “Seeking refuge for one’s life” or taqiyya is a tool for the survival of oppressed minorities against tyranny.
• Faith, unlike musk or oud, has no discernible external scent; it cannot be identified by outward signs.
• One's inner state can contradict their outer appearance, highlighting the formless nature of the soul.
• “Makr” (cunning/shrewdness) in Mowlana’s lexicon is not always negative and can be an intelligent means to legitimate ends.