In Attar's Manteq al-Tayr, the encounter between Khidr and the madman serves as an allegory contrasting the desire for eternal life with the Sufi ideal of self-annihilation (fana). Khidr, having drunk from the Water of Life to preserve his physical existence, seeks the companionship of a madman. The madman rejects him, representing the true mystic whose only desire is to sacrifice his soul completely for the Divine Beloved. The narrative illustrates that total spiritual surrender and divine love transcend any attachment to self-preservation or immortality.