In Attar of Nishapur's Elahi Nameh, the story of Shibli and the thirsty dog serves as an allegory for how the human ego (nafs) acts as its own veil (hijab) preventing spiritual realization.

In the poem, a thirsty dog is hesitant to drink from a pool because it sees its own reflection and mistakes it for another hostile dog. Overcome by extreme thirst, it finally leaps into the water, causing the reflection to disappear. Shibli observes this and realizes that the obstacle was the dog's own self-image. He applies this to the spiritual path, concluding that the seeker's own ego is the ultimate veil obscuring the Divine, and only by plunging into the ocean of unity and achieving self-annihilation (fana) can this illusion of separation be dissolved.