In Poem 104, Chapter 47 of Attar's Mokhtar Nameh, the metaphor of the candle represents the lover's absolute and unquestioning duty of perpetual burning and suffering.

When the lover questions the beloved's apparent neglect and broken promises ('You do not count us at all'), the beloved responds by reminding the lover of their true nature: like a candle, their sole purpose is to burn bitterly through the darkness of night.

This dialogue illustrates a fundamental mystical dynamic where the lover's suffering is not a transaction to be rewarded, but rather their inherent state and primary spiritual duty as defined by the Beloved.