In Book 2 of Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, the story of the Muhtasib (market inspector or moral police) and the drunkard serves as a profound allegory for the tension between rigid, outward religious law and inward spiritual intoxication. When the Muhtasib attempts to interrogate and arrest the fallen drunkard, their circular dialogue highlights the inability of worldly intellect and strict legalism (represented by the Muhtasib) to comprehend or judge the state of a mystic who is entirely consumed by divine love (the drunkard). The narrative illustrates how spiritual ecstasy and union with the divine transcend formal, rule-based reasoning and superficial societal judgments.