In Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, responding to the other beasts' demand for open consultation (*mashwarat*), the hare refuses to reveal his plan to defeat the lion, emphasizing the critical importance of concealing secrets. The hare articulates a profound warning against careless disclosure, advising that one should speak very little regarding three personal matters: one's departure (journey), one's wealth (gold), and one's religious doctrine (beliefs). He warns that a secret shared beyond two people inevitably becomes public knowledge, comparing shared secrets to birds bound together that are rendered unable to fly. However, the hare does not reject consultation entirely. Instead, he cites the example of the Prophet Muhammad, who practiced veiled consultation by presenting his inquiries as allegories or hypothetical examples. This method allowed the Prophet to gather necessary counsel without exposing his true intentions to his enemies. Through the hare's speech, Rumi balances the Islamic emphasis on mutual consultation with the practical and spiritual necessity of discretion, demonstrating how wisdom can be sought without compromising vulnerable truths.

The Hare's Defense of Concealment and Veiled Consultation in the Masnavi

In Section 58 of Book One of the Masnavi, Rumi outlines a vital ethical and spiritual concept regarding secrecy (Ktiman-e Raz). He famously advises keeping three key aspects of life confidential: Gold (wealth, *zahab*), Destination (one's journey or strategic plans, *zahab*), and Belief (personal faith or creed, *mazhab*). Rumi warns that exposing these secrets invites enmity and opposition, as competitors or adversaries stand in ambush once they gain this knowledge. This concept highlights how safeguarding one's inner state and practical intentions is crucial for both spiritual preservation and worldly success.

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## Original content
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گفت هر رازی نشاید باز گفت 
جفت طاق آید گهی گه طاق جفت
از صفا گر دم زنی با آینه 
تیره گردد زود با ما آینه
در بیان این سه کم جنبان لبت 
از ذهاب و از ذهب وز مذهبت
کین سه را خصمست بسیار و عدو 
در کمینت ایستد چون داند او
ور بگویی با یکی دو الوداع 
کل سر جاوز الاثنین شاع
گر دو سه پرنده را بندی بهم 
بر زمین مانند محبوس از الم
مشورت دارند سرپوشیده خوب 
در کنایت با غلط‌افکن مشوب
مشورت کردی پیمبر بسته‌سر 
گفته ایشانش جواب و بی‌خبر
در مثالی بسته گفتی رای را 
تا ندانند خصم از سر پای را
او جواب خویش بگرفتی ازو 
وز سؤالش می‌نبردی غیر بو

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## English translation
He said: Not every secret should be disclosed; sometimes the paired comes out single, and sometimes the single comes out paired. If, out of purity, you breathe upon a mirror, the mirror is quickly darkened by our breath. Move your lips little in speaking of these three: your departure, your gold, and your doctrine/sect. For these three have many opponents and enemies; once an enemy knows them, he lies in ambush for you. And if you tell one or two people, farewell: every secret that passes beyond two becomes public. If you bind two or three birds together, they remain on the ground, imprisoned by distress. They keep counsel well when it is covered, in allusion, mixed with misleading matter. The Prophet consulted in a veiled way; they gave him their answer while remaining unaware. He would state the matter in an example, so the enemy would not know the secret from head to foot. He would take his own answer from them, while from his question they carried away only a scent.

دفتر اول - بخش ۵۸ - منع کردن خرگوش از راز ایشان را / Book One - Section 58 - The Hare Forbidding Them from the Secret

Root URL: https://ganjoor.net/
Source URL: https://ganjoor.net/

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Ganjoor

## Original content
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ساعتی تاخیر کرد اندر شدن 
بعد از آن شد پیش شیر پنجه‌زن
زان سبب کاندر شدن او ماند دیر 
خاک را می‌کند و می‌غرید شیر
گفت من گفتم که عهد آن خسان 
خام باشد خام و سست و نارسان
دمدمهٔ ایشان مرا از خر فکند 
چند بفریبد مرا این دهر چند
سخت در ماند امیر سست ریش 
چون نه پس بیند نه پیش از احمقیش
راه هموارست زیرش دامها 
قحط معنی درمیان نامها
لفظها و نامها چون دامهاست 
لفظ شیرین ریگ آب عمر ماست
آن یکی ریگی که جوشد آب ازو 
سخت کم‌یابست رو آن را بجو
منبع حکمت شود حکمت‌طلب 
فارغ آید او ز تحصیل و سبب
لوح حافظ لوح محفوظی شود 
عقل او از روح محظوظی شود
چون معلم بود عقلش ز ابتدا 
بعد ازین شد عقل شاگردی ورا
عقل چون جبریل گوید احمدا 
گر یکی گامی نهم سوزد مرا
تو مرا بگذار زین پس پیش ران 
حد من این بود ای سلطان جان
هر که ماند از کاهلی بی‌شکر و صبر 
او همین داند که گیرد پای جبر
هر که جبر آورد خود رنجور کرد 
تا همان رنجوریش در گور کرد
گفت پیغمبر که رنجوری بلاغ 
رنج آرد تا بمیرد چون چراغ
جبر چه بود بستن اشکسته را 
یا بپیوستن رگی بگسسته را
چون درین ره پای خود نشکسته‌ای 
بر کی می‌خندی چه پا را بسته‌ای
وانک پایش در ره کوشش شکست 
در رسید او را براق و بر نشست
حامل دین بود او محمول شد 
قابل فرمان بد او مقبول شد
تاکنون فرمان پذیرفتی ز شاه 
بعد ازین فرمان رساند بر سپاه
تاکنون اختر اثر کردی درو 
بعد ازین باشد امیر اختر او
گر ترا اشکال آید در نظر 
پس تو شک داری در انشق القمر
تازه کن ایمان نی از گفت زبان 
ای هوا را تازه کرده در نهان
تا هوا تازه‌ست ایمان تازه نیست 
کین هوا جز قفل آن دروازه نیست
کرده‌ای تاویل حرف بکر را 
خویش را تاویل کن نه ذکر را
بر هوا تاویل قرآن می‌کنی 
پست و کژ شد از تو معنی سنی

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## English translation
He delayed for a while before going; then he came before the claw-striking lion. Because he had been late in coming, the lion was tearing up the earth and roaring. He said: I said that the covenant of those base ones would be raw, raw, weak, and unfulfilled. Their cajolery unseated me; how long will this world deceive me, how long? The weak-rooted ruler is sorely confounded when, from his foolishness, he sees neither behind nor ahead. The road is smooth, but beneath it are traps; there is a famine of meaning among names. Words and names are like traps; sweet wording is sand that drains the water of our life. That one sand from which water wells up is exceedingly rare; go, seek it. The seeker of wisdom becomes a source of wisdom; he comes free of acquisition and secondary causes. His tablet of memory becomes a Preserved Tablet; his intellect receives a share from the Spirit. Since his intellect was the teacher at first, after this intellect becomes his pupil. Intellect, like Gabriel, says: O Ahmad, if I take one step farther, I will burn. Leave me behind; from here on go forward. This was my limit, O sultan of the soul. Whoever stays behind through laziness, without gratitude and patience, knows only how to seize the pretext of compulsion. Whoever invokes compulsion has made himself sick, until that very sickness puts him in the grave. The Prophet said that sickness is a warning: it brings suffering until one dies like a lamp. What is jabr? Setting what is broken, or rejoining a severed vein. Since your foot has not broken on this path, whom are you laughing at? Why have you bound up your foot? But the one whose foot broke on the path of striving: Buraq came to him, and he mounted. He had been a bearer of religion; he became borne. He had been receptive to command; he became accepted. Until now he received command from the King; after this he delivers command to the army. Until now the star exerted influence on him; after this he will be commander of the star. If this seems difficult to your sight, then you doubt the splitting of the moon. Renew your faith, not by speech of the tongue, O you who have secretly renewed desire. As long as desire is fresh, faith is not fresh, for this desire is nothing but the lock on that gate. You have interpreted the virgin word; interpret yourself, not the Reminder. You interpret the Qur'an according to desire; through you the exalted meaning has become low and crooked.

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