M6:3649 — هین مبادا که هوستان ره زند / که فتید اندر شقاوت تا ابد

Translation: Beware lest your desires waylay you, For then you will fall into wretchedness for eternity.

Meaning: This verse is a father's urgent warning to his sons, cautioning them against succumbing to their base desires, as such a path inevitably leads to everlasting misery and spiritual ruin.

This verse, uttered by the king-father in the tale of the three princes, serves as an unequivocal warning. The father, while the princes roam freely within his dominion, explicitly forbids them from entering a certain castle—a place described as 'mind-stealing' (hush-robā) and 'full of forms' (por az surrat). This castle symbolizes the worldly allurements and deceptive appearances that captivate the intellect and heart. The father's stark admonition is: "Beware lest your desires waylay you, / For then you will fall into wretchedness for eternity.

What is truly profound here, and what I have often emphasized, is Mowlana's keen observation of the paradox of prohibition and restraint. The father, intending to protect his sons, prohibits them from entering this castle. Yet, this very prohibition, though rooted in benevolent wisdom, paradoxically ignites and sharpens the princes' desires. Mowlana, with his characteristic psychological insight, notes in a subsequent verse: "Who can be deterred by what is forbidden? / For 'man is desirous of what is prohibited'" (M6:3652). This Arabic adage, sometimes mistaken for a Hadith, in fact articulates a universal truth about human nature: that which is forbidden often becomes more enticing; prohibition, it seems, awakens and intensifies the very desire it seeks to quell.

These unrestrained desires, according to the verse, not only obstruct the rightful path ('waylay you'), but also lead the human soul to 'wretchedness for eternity' (shaqāvat tā abad). This 'wretchedness' is nothing less than eternal misery and damnation. Mowlana is not speaking of a temporary setback or a minor transgression here, but rather an ultimate and irreversible spiritual catastrophe that befalls a soul overpowered by its unchecked desires, falling prey to the 'mind-stealing forms' of this world.

From my perspective, this verse is far more than a simple moral exhortation; it functions as a critique of a purely negative mechanism of education and spiritual purification. At times, the prohibition of something, without offering profound insight or a transcendent alternative, can exacerbate the ailment rather than cure it. This is precisely where the path of love and spiritual insight, which Mowlana advocates, diverges from a path defined solely by interdiction and denial.

Key takeaways

• A grave warning to seekers about the destructive power of unchecked desires.
• Articulating the dreadful and eternal consequence of succumbing to carnal appetites.
• Mowlana's reference to a psychological principle: "Man is desirous of what is prohibited."
• Highlighting the paradox of prohibition: how it can inflame, rather than suppress, desire.
• Emphasizing the distinction between temporary error and the eternal wretchedness of complete deviation.