Verse 36 - Ranjha and the Mullah

On hearing Ranjha's flute in the middle of the night, the Mullah in charge of the mosque hastens here. Ranjha's long hair offends him deeply and he castigates him for not following the Sharia. In his eyes, Ranjha is a rebellious and arrogant dandy and he threatens him, saying that he will meet an end like Mansur al-Hallaj, the Persian Sufi, who was sent to the gallows for declaring An Halaq or I am Truth. Mansur is a towering figure in Sufi lore and the Mullah's casting Ranjha in his mold is a subtle foreshadowing of Ranjha's transformation by Waris Shah.