Maulana Rumi has narrated a remarkable, allegorical, and deeply lesson-filled incident of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi. During the reign of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, thieves had grown quite powerful, causing great distress to the King. To apprehend them, the Sultan devised an ingenious plan: he took off his royal attire, put on tattered clothes like a thief, and began patrolling the city. At one place, he spotted a group of thieves sitting together and conversing. The King went and sat among them. The thieves asked, "Who are you?" The King replied, "I am just like you." Believing him to be a fellow thief, they said, "Tell us your skill. If you possess a unique talent, we will include you in our gang; otherwise, no." The King said, "First, all of you state your talents, and then I shall reveal mine." The first thief said, "I can scale the highest of walls to enter any house, even if it is the King's fortress." The second said, "The specialty of my nose is that I can smell the soil of any place and tell whether a treasure is hidden there or not." The third thief said, "My arms possess such strength that I can dig a hole or tunnel into any house to break in." The fourth thief said, "I am an expert accountant, a Ph.D. holder; no matter how vast the treasure is, I can calculate and distribute it within moments." The fifth thief said, "My ears have the unique ability to understand the barking of a dog and interpret what it is saying." The sixth thief said, "My eyes possess the trait that whatever I see at night, I can easily recognize it during the day." Now the King spoke, "My beard possesses the quality that when criminals are handed over to the executioner to be hanged, if my beard moves at that moment, the criminals are saved from the noose." Since he was the King, he described his authority and perfection in a subtle and clever manner. Hearing this, all the thieves were delighted and said, "You are the supreme leader (Qutb) of thieves! Whenever we fall into trouble, we can find deliverance through you." They all consulted and decided to rob the King's palace that very night, reasoning that today they had the man with the magical beard to rescue them from calamity. Thus, they all marched toward the King's palace. On the way, a dog barked. The one who understood dog language said, "The dog is saying that the King himself is with you!" However, the thieves did not back down from their intent, broke into the palace, and looted the treasure. They then retreated to the forest, where the expert accountant calculated and distributed the loot among everyone within minutes. The King said, "Everyone, write down your addresses so that if we want to rob again in the future, we can gather easily." All addresses were noted, and everyone went their separate ways. The next day, the King held court and ordered the police to arrest them all. When all the thieves were presented in chains, the King sentenced them to death by hanging, stating that no witnesses were required in this case because the Sultan himself was present there. (As a side note, similarly on the Day of Judgment, Allah will not require any witnesses because: "And He is with you wherever you are." If you are two, the third is Allah; if you are four, the fifth is Allah. When you commit sins, Allah sees everything and needs no witness. Despite this, to complete the proof against His servants on the Day of Judgment, the testimony of hands, feet, angels, and the scroll of deeds will be presented.) In short, when all six thieves stood upon the gallows, the sixth thief—the one who possessed the trait of night vision—recognized the King as the very person who was with them the previous night. He cried out from the gallows, "Your Majesty! Grant us amnesty for a few moments and allow me a private audience." The King agreed, suspended the execution temporarily, and called him forward. The thief presented himself and pleaded, "Each one of us displayed his unique talent, but the skills we were proud of only escalated our misfortune, bringing us to the gallows today. O King! I have recognized you. You promised that when criminals are brought to the gallows, if your beard moves, they find salvation. Therefore, manifest your skill today so that our lives may be saved." Sultan Mahmud replied, "Your worldly skills brought you under the grasp of my wrath, but because of this single individual who recognizes the Sultan, you are all released in honor of his Sultan-recognizing eye (Chashm-e-Sultan Shinas)." By narrating this extraordinary story, Maulana Rumi explains that in this world, every person prides themselves on their worldly skills. Great experts are intoxicated by their worldly talents and remain heedless of God. But tomorrow on the Day of Judgment, these worldly skills will be of no use; rather, they might become the cause of divine wrath and punishment. On the contrary, those who recognized their true King, Allah Almighty, in the darkness of this world and cultivated His gnosis (Marifat) in their hearts will achieve salvation themselves and their intercession on behalf of sinners will be accepted. Remember, if a person learns the art of recognizing Allah in the darkness of this world, then learning other worldly skills is not harmful, because no skill can make them heedless of Allah. Becoming a doctor or an engineer is not forbidden, provided you do not become unmindful of Allah. This parable teaches us that only the eye that recognizes the King proved useful, while all other skills led to the gallows. Similarly, all worldly affairs conducted while being heedless of Allah ultimately lead man to ruin. But when a person attains the light of Allah's recognition and becomes conscious of Him instead of being heedless, he saves himself and becomes a source of salvation for others. Therefore, the greatest attainment of all is the recognition (Marifat) of Allah. _____________________________________ Source: Hikayaat-e-Masnavi / Islamic Tube App