While both Farid al-Din Attar in the Khosrow Nameh and Jalaluddin Rumi in the Masnavi use the reed-flute (ney) as a central metaphor, their thematic focus differs significantly. Attar's description focuses on the physical and material paradoxes of the instrument, depicting it as a tongueless lamenter that lives through the breath of the musician and creates sweet melodies. Rumi, however, elevates the instrument into a profound mystical allegory representing the human soul's exile and its painful yearning to return to its divine source. Attar's ney is a wonder of physical melody, whereas Rumi's ney is a spiritual catalyst of divine love.