In Chapter 20, Poem 5 of Attar's Mokhtar Nameh, the poet contrasts the authentic experience of divine love with superficial claims. He asserts that true love is only realized and fulfilled through enduring affliction (بلا, 'bala') and hardship. Those who merely speak of love or treat it as a tale (افسانه, 'afsaneh') fall short, as the work of love requires genuine suffering and experiential sacrifice, not just the eloquent words of the 'pure-spoken' (پاکی گوئی). This highlights a central Sufi theme: spiritual realization demands existential suffering rather than theoretical or verbal devotion.