In Book Five, Section 103 of the Masnavi, Rumi presents the parable of a camel that claims to have come from a hot bath, yet its muddy knees visibly contradict this assertion. This story serves as a metaphor for false spiritual guides and blind imitators (muqallids) who claim to possess divine knowledge and spiritual fortune, but lack the visible signs of divine grace and inner transformation. Rumi warns seekers that true spiritual realization inevitably leaves an unmistakable mark of spiritual majesty and light on an individual. Those who lack this authentic, transformative effect should be recognized as mere imitators and empty boasters rather than genuine spiritual authorities.

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## Original content
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آن یکی پرسید اشتر را که هی 
از کجا می آیی ای اقبال پی
گفت از حمام گرم کوی تو 
گفت خود پیداست در زانوی تو
مار موسی دید فرعون عنود 
مهلتی می خواست نرمی می نمود
زیرکان گفتند بایستی که این 
تندتر گشتی چو هست او رب دین
معجزه گر اژدها گر مار بد 
نخوت و خشم خدایی اش چه شد
رب اعلی گر ویست اندر جلوس 
بهر یک کرمی چیست این چاپلوس
نفس تو تا مست نقلست و نبید 
دانک روحت خوشه غیبی ندید
که علاماتست زان دیدار نور 
التجافی منک عن دار الغرور
مرغ چون بر آب شوری می تند 
آب شیرین را ندیدست او مدد
بلک تقلیدست آن ایمان او 
روی ایمان را ندیده جان او
پس خطر باشد مقلد را عظیم 
از ره و ره زن ز شیطان رجیم
چون ببیند نور حق آمن شود 
ز اضطرابات شک او ساکن شود
تا کف دریا نیاید سوی خاک 
که اصل او آمد بود در اصطکاک
خاکی است آن کف غریبست اندر آب 
در غریبی چاره نبود ز اضطراب
چونک چشمش باز شد و آن نقش خواند 
دیو را بر وی دگر دستی نماند
گرچه با روباه خر اسرار گفت 
سرسری گفت و مقلدوار گفت
آب را بستود و او تایق نبود 
رخ درید و جامه او عاشق نبود
از منافق عذر رد آمد نه خوب 
زانک در لب بود آن نه در قلوب
بوی سیبش هست جزو سیب نیست 
بو درو جز از پی آسیب نیست
حمله زن در میان کارزار 
نشکند صف بلک گردد کار زار
گرچه می بینی چو شیر اندر صفش 
تیغ بگرفته همی لرزد کفش
وای آنک عقل او ماده بود 
نفس زشتش نر و آماده بود
لاجرم مغلوب باشد عقل او 
جز سوی خسران نباشد نقل او
ای خنک آن کس که عقلش نر بود 
نفس زشتش ماده و مضطر بود
عقل جزوی اش نر و غالب بود 
نفس انثی را خرد سالب بود
حمله ماده به صورت هم جریست 
آفت او هم چو آن خر از خریست
وصف حیوانی بود بر زن فزون 
زانک سوی رنگ و بو دارد رکون
رنگ و بوی سبزه زار آن خر شنید 
جمله حجتها ز طبع او رمید
تشنه محتاج مطر شد وابر نه 
نفس را جوع البقر بد صبر نه
اسپر آهن بود صبر ای پدر 
حق نبشته بر سپر جاء الظفر
صد دلیل آرد مقلد در بیان 
از قیاسی گوید آن را نه از عیان
مشک آلودست الا مشک نیست 
بوی مشکستش ولی جز پشک نیست
تا که پشکی مشک گردد ای مرید 
سالها باید در آن روضه چرید
که نباید خورد و جو هم چون خران 
آهوانه در ختن چر ارغوان
جز قرنفل یا سمن یا گل مچر 
رو به صحرای ختن با آن نفر
معده را خو کن بدان ریحان و گل 
تا بیابی حکمت و قوت رسل
خوی معده زین که و جو باز کن 
خوردن ریحان و گل آغاز کن
معده تن سوی کهدان می کشد 
معده دل سوی ریحان می کشد
هر که کاه و جو خورد قربان شود 
هر که نور حق خورد قرآن شود
نیم تو مشکست و نیمی پشک هین 
هین میفزا پشک افزا مشک چین
آن مقلد صد دلیل و صد بیان 
در زبان آرد ندارد هیچ جان
چونک گوینده ندارد جان و فر 
گفت او را کی بود برگ و ثمر
می کند گستاخ مردم را به راه 
او بجان لرزان ترست از برگ کاه
پس حدیثش گرچه بس با فر بود 
در حدیثش لرزه هم مضمر بود

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## English translation
One asked a camel, 'Hey,
From where do you come, O you of auspicious steps?'
He said, 'From the hot bath of your neighborhood.'
He replied, 'It is indeed manifest on your knees!'
The obstinate Pharaoh saw the staff-snake of Moses;
He begged for time and showed gentleness.
The clever ones said, 'This Pharaoh ought to have been
More fierce and angry, if indeed he is the lord of religion.'
Whether the miracle was a dragon or a snake,
What became of his divine pride and anger?
If he is the supreme Lord on his throne,
What is this flattery for a mere worm?
As long as your carnal self is intoxicated by sweetmeats and wine,
Know that your spirit has not seen the heavenly cluster of grapes.
For the signs of seeing that Light
Is your turning away from the house of delusion.
When a bird flutters over salty water,
It has never seen the bounty of sweet water.
Rather, his faith is mere imitation;
His soul has never seen the face of true Faith.
Therefore, the blind imitator is in great danger
From the path and the highwayman, from the accursed Satan.
Once he beholds the Light of Truth, he becomes secure;
And from the agitations of doubt, he becomes still.
Until the foam of the sea comes towards the shore,
Which was its origin, it remains in friction.
That foam is of the earth and is a stranger in the water;
In a state of exile, there is no escape from agitation.
When his eye is opened and he reads that writing,
The devil has no longer any power over him.
Although the donkey spoke of mysteries to the fox,
He spoke superficially and like a blind imitator.
He praised the water, but he did not thirst for it;
He tore his cheek and garment, but he was not a lover.
The hypocrite's excuse was rejected and was not pleasing,
Because it was on his lips, not in his heart.
He has the smell of the apple, but he is not a part of the apple;
The scent is in him only for the sake of harm.
A woman's charge in the midst of battle
Does not break the rank, but makes the business miserable.
Though you see her like a lion in her rank,
While holding the sword, her palm is trembling.
Woe to him whose intellect is feminine,
And his ugly carnal self is masculine and ready.
Inevitably, his intellect will be vanquished,
And his journeying will be only towards loss.
O happy is he whose intellect is masculine,
And his ugly carnal self is feminine and helpless.
His particular intellect is masculine and dominant;
His wisdom robs the feminine carnal self of its power.
The attack of the female seems brave in appearance,
But its ruin, like that of the donkey, is due to donkeyishness.
The animal attribute is more abundant in women,
Because they are inclined towards color and scent.
That donkey heard the color and scent of the green meadow,
And all arguments fled from his nature.
The thirsty one needed rain, but there was no cloud;
The carnal self had an insatiable hunger and no patience.
Patience is an iron shield, O father;
God has written on the shield: 'Victory has come.'
The blind imitator adduces a hundred proofs in explanation,
But he speaks from analogy, not from direct vision.
He is smeared with musk, but he is not musk;
He has the smell of musk, but he is nothing but dung.
For a piece of dung to become musk, O disciple,
It must graze for years in that garden.
It must not eat straw and barley like donkeys,
But graze deer-like on the purple blossoms in Khotan.
Graze on nothing but carnation, jasmine, or rose;
Go to the desert of Khotan with that group.
Accustom your stomach to that sweet basil and rose,
So that you may find the wisdom and power of the prophets.
Wean the stomach from this straw and barley;
Begin to eat sweet basil and rose.
The stomach of the body drags towards the straw-barn;
The stomach of the heart drags towards the sweet basil.
Whoever eats straw and barley becomes a sacrificial animal;
Whoever eats the Light of God becomes the Quran.
Half of you is musk and half of you is dung, beware!
Beware, do not increase the dung; increase the musk, gather it!
That blind imitator brings a hundred proofs and a hundred explanations
To his tongue, but his words have no soul.
Since the speaker has no soul and glory,
How should his speech have leaves and fruit?
He makes people bold on the path,
But in his own soul he is more trembling than a blade of straw.
Therefore, although his discourse may be full of glory,
Trembling is also concealed within his discourse.

دفتر پنجم - بخش ۱۰۳ - مثل آوردن اشتر در بیان آنک در مخبر دولتی فر و اثر آن چون نبینی جای متهم داشتن باشد کی او مقلدست در آن / Book Five - Section 103 - Adducing the Parable of the Camel in Explanation That When You Do Not See the Glory and Effect of Fortune in a Informant, There Is Ground to Suspect That He is a Blind Imitator in Respect of It

In Book 1 of the *Masnavi*, Rumi warns against the spiritual peril of following false guides or charlatans. He explains that spiritually impoverished seekers often fall prey to these pretenders because they lack the inner light necessary for true discernment. Using the metaphor of a visually impaired person unable to distinguish between genuine eye medicine and ordinary stones, Rumi illustrates how naive disciples mistake outward eloquence and feigned piety for true divine realization, rendering them unable to tell the difference between superficial imitation and genuine spiritual growth.

The Danger of False Spiritual Guides and Blind Disciples in the Masnavi

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The Parable of the Camel and the False Spiritual Guide in the Masnavi

In Book 4 of Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, the poet revisits the imagery of a dog attacking a blind beggar to critique false spiritual guides. Rumi compares a deceptive, worldly sheikh to a street dog that preys upon the vulnerable, contrasting this behavior with the 'lions of God' who seek profound spiritual realities. The false guide gathers spiritually blind disciples around 'brackish water,' falsely claiming it to be a source of truth, thereby trapping them in deeper ignorance. Rumi urges seekers to abandon such traps and seek the sweet water of true divine knowledge. Furthermore, the passage contrasts the false sheikh's ego-driven pretense with the state of true spiritual masters. These authentic guides have achieved complete annihilation of their ego, acting merely as instruments—described metaphorically as a 'dead bird' in the hands of the Divine Hunter—to attract and guide others toward the ultimate Truth.

The Metaphor of the False Sheikh and the Brackish Water in the Masnavi

In Jalaluddin Rumi's *Masnavi*, while false spiritual guides are generally condemned for their deceit, Rumi introduces a rare paradox: a profoundly sincere seeker might still achieve spiritual progress even when following a fraudulent guide. Rumi explains that the seeker's pure intentions can transform a deceptive situation into a beneficial one. To illustrate this, he uses the analogy of a Muslim who, in the dark of night, earnestly searches for the *qibla* (the direction of prayer) but mistakenly prays in the wrong direction. Despite the error in physical direction, the prayer is considered valid because of the worshipper's sincere effort and devotion. Through this, Rumi emphasizes that true spiritual advancement is ultimately rooted in the condition of the seeker's heart and their good intention rather than the legitimacy of the guide, though he clarifies that such instances are extremely rare.

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