In Chapter 47, Poem 44 of Attar's Mokhtar Nameh, the poet employs the candle metaphor to examine the nature of secret spiritual suffering.

Key Concepts

• Inward Burning (Khafiyeh): The poet emphasizes an intense, invisible spiritual torment that occurs without any physical or outer fire, representing the internalized pain of love or spiritual longing.
• The Candle Metaphor: The candle serves as a model of endurance and light, yet also of self-consumption. The poet desires to, like a candle over a long life, be able to breathe freely or exist without the destructive heat of the fire.
• Longing for Peace: The aspiration to 'draw a breath from my chest without fire' signifies a yearning for a state of spiritual tranquility, peace, or divine union that transcends the painful, burning stage of the mystical quest.