In Section 21 of Jami's Baharestan, the nature of Sufism (tasawwuf) is defined through a saying attributed to Shaykh Abu Sa'id Abu al-Khayr. When asked what Sufism is, he gives a threefold answer:

• Set aside what you hold in your head — renounce inner preoccupations, thoughts, and self-direction.
• Give away what you hold in your hand — practice detachment from possessions and generosity toward others.
• Do not flee from whatever befalls you — meet adversity and affliction with steadfast endurance rather than escape.

The accompanying quatrain reinforces the teaching: to attain the Sufi path one must lay down desire and caprice, surrender what one owns, and endure a hundred wounds of affliction without flinching. The passage frames Sufism as an inward ethic of renunciation, generosity, and patient steadfastness rather than an outward form.