In Fariduddin Attar's 'Asrar Nameh' (The Book of Secrets), the tale of the deaf man who sleeps on the road serves as a profound allegory for spiritual heedlessness (ghaflah) and the squandering of life's finite opportunities. The deaf man, believing himself clever, decides to sleep while waiting for a caravan, only to completely miss its swift passing. When he awakens, the caravan is gone, and he is left entirely alone. In this Sufi context, the caravan represents the swift passage of time, the journey of life, or spiritual companions, while the deafness and sleep symbolize a state of ignorance and disconnection from divine reality. The story warns learners that those who remain spiritually asleep and deaf to the truth will ultimately find themselves bereft when the journey of life concludes.