This concept encapsulates the thematic meaning of the allegory in Section 2 of Attar's Mosibat Nameh, in which the mystic Sheikh Bayazid Bastami boldly addresses God regarding the divine accounting on the Day of Judgment. Bayazid states that if God holds him accountable for his seventy years of life, he will in turn hold God accountable for the ten thousand years of spiritual affliction (bala) that lovers have endured since the primordial covenant of 'Alast' (when God asked 'Am I not your Lord?' and souls answered 'Yes/Bala'). The narrative is a profound exploration of mystical suffering, showing that hardship in the material world is a hallmark of those who truly accepted the divine covenant in pre-eternity.