Divine Law and Mystical Path in the Masnavi's Story of Moses and the Shepherd

Law, Path and Truth are three inseparable stages of human perfection that can be likened to the skin, kernel and the oil of almond. Each religion is composed of three aspects of Law, Path, and Truth which respectively are the appearance, the meaning and the ideal or the main purpose religion. From this perspective, all religions have a mystical aspect, Path, which is called Sufism in Islam. Nevertheless the point here is that since in Islam due to its comprehensiveness, Law and Truth are equal and balanced. In other religions, one has usually dominated one another, for example in Christianity Path is dominant, in contrast, in Judaism, Law is dominant. That is, the Jewish religion is famous for its law and Christianity for its Path. However, Truth is something beyond the appearance so Law and Path are the ways to reach it. Therefore in the holy Quran, the word "religion" is not used collectively. This idea is clearly reflected in "Moses and Shepherd" of Romi's Masnavi. In this article we look at this story from two perspectives: firstly we survey the concepts of Law, Path and Truth and secondly interpret it according to the theological concepts of God Likeness and Uniqueness.