In Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, the danger of worldly deception is explored through the metaphors of counterfeit gold and the alluring "cries of ghouls." Rumi warns that the material world tempts individuals with false gold, representing the hollow desires for wealth, rank, and reputation. To avoid being drawn to spiritual ruin—like a traveler lured away from a caravan by the familiar voices of ghouls—a seeker must possess an inner "touchstone" to discern true spiritual gold from worldly counterfeit. If one lacks this intrinsic discernment, Rumi advises pledging oneself to a wise spiritual guide or "knower." Ultimately, he urges the seeker to silence these inward voices of ego in order to enter the "workshop of nonexistence," a state where the true Craftsman (God) can be perceived beyond the veil of physical creation.

The Metaphor of the Ghouls' Cries and the Touchstone in the Masnavi

In Book Two, Section 81 of the Masnavi, Rumi asserts that falsehood and misguidance derive their allure entirely from their resemblance to the truth. Using the metaphor of currency, he explains that counterfeit coins (قلب) are only circulated and accepted because genuine gold coins exist and are universally valued. Just as a lie relies on the existence of truth to be believed, flawed or opposing religious sects contain fragments of truth that make their doctrines appealing to followers. Therefore, absolute falsehood cannot exist independently; every false claim or counterfeit concept borrows its 'light' (فروغ) from a corresponding reality.

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## Original content
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همچنانک هر کسی در معرفت 
می‌کند موصوف غیبی را صفت
فلسفی از نوع دیگر کرده شرح 
باحثی مر گفت او را کرده جرح
وآن دگر در هر دو طعنه می‌زند 
وآن دگر از زرق جانی می‌کند
هر یک از ره این نشانها زان دهند 
تا گمان آید که ایشان زان ده‌اند
این حقیقت دان نه حق‌اند این همه 
نه به کلی گمرهانند این رمه
زانک بی حق باطلی ناید پدید 
قلب را ابله به بوی زر خرید
گر نبودی در جهان نقدی روان 
قلبها را خرج کردن کی توان
تا نباشد راست کی باشد دروغ 
آن دروغ از راست می‌گیرد فروغ
بر امید راست کژ را می‌خرند 
زهر در قندی رود آنگه خورند
گر نباشد گندم محبوب‌نوش 
چه برد گندم‌نمای جو فروش
پس مگو کین جمله دمها باطل‌اند 
باطلان بر بوی حق دام دل‌اند
پس مگو جمله خیالست و ضلال 
بی‌حقیقت نیست در عالم خیال
حق شب قدرست در شبها نهان 
تا کند جان هر شبی را امتحان
نه همه شبها بود قدر ای جوان 
نه همه شبها بود خالی از آن
در میان دلق‌پوشان یک فقیر 
امتحان کن وانک حقست آن بگیر
مؤمن کیس ممیز کو که تا 
باز داند حیزکان را از فتی
گرنه معیوبات باشد در جهان 
تاجران باشند جمله ابلهان
پس بود کالاشناسی سخت سهل 
چونک عیبی نیست چه نااهل و اهل
ور همه عیبست دانش سود نیست 
چون همه چوبست اینجا عود نیست
آنک گوید جمله حق‌اند احمقیست 
وانک گوید جمله باطل او شقیست
تاجران انبیا کردند سود 
تاجران رنگ و بو کور و کبود
می‌نماید مار اندر چشم مال 
هر دو چشم خویش را نیکو بمال
منگر اندر غبطهٔ این بیع و سود 
بنگر اندر خسر فرعون و ثمود
اندرین گردون مکرر کن نظر 
زانک حق فرمود ثم ارجع بصر

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## English translation
Just as every person, in the matter of gnosis,
Attributes qualities to the Hidden Described One —
A philosopher has expounded it in one fashion,
A debater has wounded that saying of his;
And another attacks them both with reproach,
And yet another makes a living by hypocrisy —
Each, from the road, gives these signs of that village,
So that it seems they are from that village.

Know this truth: not all of them are in the right,
Nor is this flock entirely astray.
For without the Real, no falsehood can come to sight;
The fool buys counterfeit coin by the scent of gold.
If there were no genuine coin current in the world,
How could counterfeit coins be spent?
Until there is truth, how can there be a lie?
That lie takes its luster from the truth.

By hope of the true, the crooked is bought;
Poison is swallowed when it comes wrapped in sugar.
If there were no wheat, beloved to the taste,
What could the wheat-showing barley-seller carry off?
So do not say: all these breathings are false —
The false ones are heart-traps by the scent of the Real.
Do not say: it is all imagination and error —
In the world there is no imagination without reality.

The Real is the Night of Power, hidden among the nights,
So that the soul may put each night to the test.
Not every night is the Night of Power, O youth,
Nor is every night empty of it.
Among the wearers of the patched robe, one is a true faqīr;
Test them, and seize the one who is true.

Where is the shrewd, discerning believer who can
Distinguish the effeminates from the true man of valor?
If there were no defective goods in the world,
All merchants would be fools.
Then the knowledge of wares would be extremely simple —
Since there is no defect, what is there between unworthy and worthy?
And if everything is defective, knowledge is of no use;
Since everything is wood here, there is no aloe-wood (ʿūd).

He who says all are true is a fool;
He who says all are false is a wretch.
The merchants who are prophets made profit;
The merchants of color and scent are blind and bankrupt.
In the eye, wealth shows itself as a snake —
Rub both your eyes well.
Do not look with envy at the gain of this buying and selling;
Look at the ruin of Pharaoh and Thamūd.
Look again, repeatedly, at this revolving sphere,
For the Real commanded: "Then look again." (Q. 67:4)

دفتر دوم - بخش ۸۱ - متردد شدن در میان مذهبهای مخالف و بیرون‌شو و مخلص یافتن / Book Two - Section 81 - Wavering Among Opposing Sects, Finding a Way Out, and Finding Deliverance

In Book 2 of Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, Section 19 presents a parable in which a stranger urgently seeks shelter and a friend leads him to a dilapidated house without a roof. The friend catalogues all the improvements that would make it habitable, but the stranger pointedly notes that sitting in a doorless ruin is itself the obstacle. Rumi uses this exchange to pivot toward a deeper allegory: just as the masses eagerly seek gold yet cannot distinguish genuine gold from counterfeit (قلب), so too do people pursue worldly pleasure while remaining blind to its deceptive surface. The poet counsels that without a touchstone (محک)—a spiritual guide or inner discernment—one must not choose by mere conjecture. He who lacks this inner criterion should pledge himself to a wise master, for only through verified discernment, not assumption, can the seeker find what is truly valuable. The ruined house thus symbolizes the soul unprepared for divine inhabitation, and the touchstone represents the w...

The Parable of the Ruined House and the Touchstone of True Gold in the Masnavi

In Book Two, Section 81 of the Masnavi, Rumi addresses the existence of opposing religious and philosophical sects. He explains that different factions, such as philosophers and theologians, describe the hidden reality according to their limited individual understanding. Rumi posits that no sect is entirely right, nor is any sect completely astray ('نه حق‌اند این همه، نه به کلی گمرهانند این رمه'). Instead, every school of thought contains a fragment of truth. It is this partial truth that makes their flawed doctrines appealing and believable, as pure falsehood would be intuitively rejected. This concept establishes Rumi's epistemological framework for understanding religious pluralism, emphasizing that human ideological differences stem from grasping only pieces of a unified reality.

The Concept of Partial Truth in Opposing Sects in the Masnavi

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The Dependence of Falsehood on Truth in the Masnavi

In Book 2 of Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, the poet explores the epistemological relationship between truth and falsehood, asserting that deception can only exist by imitating reality. Rumi argues that falsehood possesses no independent existence; instead, it relies entirely on the 'scent' or allure of the truth to deceive the seeker. To illustrate this, he employs the metaphor of counterfeit coins ($$qalb$$), explaining that a fake coin can only be circulated because genuine gold coins exist and are valued. Similarly, he notes that poison is only swallowed when it is disguised within sugar, and 'wheat-showing barley-sellers' only succeed because wheat is desired. Because all spiritual counterfeits derive their superficial luster from divine reality, Rumi warns against the extreme of rejecting all claims as false—which makes one a 'wretch'—as well as the naivety of accepting everything as true, which makes one a 'fool'. Instead, the seeker must cultivate spiritual discernment to distinguish the genuine from the imitation.

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