In the Masnavi, Jalaluddin Rumi employs the metaphor of the jug (kuzah) and the wine (may/sharab) to illustrate the relationship between external form (surat) and spiritual essence (ma'na). While the physical form of the beloved (or any worldly object) is merely an earthly vessel, the beauty or spiritual truth contained within it is divine wine poured by God. Rumi emphasizes that those who focus purely on outward appearances see only the vessel, whereas those with spiritual insight (the 'eyes of Majnun') perceive the divine essence within.

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## Original content
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ابلهان گفتند مجنون را ز جهل 
حسن لیلی نیست چندان هست سهل
بهتر از وی صد هزاران دلربا 
هست هم چون ماه اندر شهر ما
گفت صورت کوزه است و حسن می 
می خدایم می دهد از نقش وی
مر شما را سرکه داد از کوزه اش 
تا نباشد عشق اوتان گوش کش
از یکی کوزه دهد زهر و عسل 
هر یکی را دست حق عز و جل
کوزه می بینی ولیکن آن شراب 
روی ننماید به چشم ناصواب
قاصرات الطرف باشد ذوق جان 
جز به خصم خود بننماید نشان
قاصرات الطرف آمد آن مدام 
وین حجاب ظرف ها هم چون خیام
هست دریا خیمه ای در وی حیات 
بط را لیکن کلاغان را ممات
زهر باشد مار را هم قوت و برگ 
غیر او را زهر او دردست و مرگ
صورت هر نعمتی و محنتی 
هست این را دوزخ آن را جنتی
پس همه اجسام و اشیا تبصرون 
واندرو قوتست و سم لاتبصرون
هست هر جسمی چو کاسه و کوزه ای 
اندرو هم قوت و هم دل سوزه ای
کاسه پیدا اندرو پنهان رغد 
طاعمش داند کزان چه می خورد
صورت یوسف چو جامی بود خوب 
زان پدر می خورد صد باده طروب
باز اخوان را از آن زهراب بود 
کان در ایشان خشم و کینه می فزود
باز از وی مر زلیخا را سکر 
می کشید از عشق افیونی دگر
غیر آنچ بود مر یعقوب را 
بود از یوسف غذا آن خوب را
گونه گونه شربت و کوزه یکی 
تا نماند در می غیبت شکی
باده از غیبست و کوزه زین جهان 
کوزه پیدا باده در وی بس نهان
بس نهان از دیده نامحرمان 
لیک بر محرم هویدا و عیان
یا إلهی سکرت أبصارنا 
فاعف عنا أثقلت أوزارنا
یا خفیا قد ملأت الخافقین 
قد علوت فوق نور المشرقین
أنت سر کاشف أسرارنا 
أنت فجر مفجر أنهارنا
یا خفی الذات محسوس العطا 
أنت کالماء و نحن کالرحا
أنت کالریح و نحن کالغبار 
تختفی الریح و غبراها جهار
تو بهاری ما چو باغ سبز خوش 
او نهان و آشکارا بخششش
تو چو جانی ما مثال دست و پا 
قبض و بسط دست از جان شد روا
تو چو عقلی ما مثال این زبان 
این زبان از عقل دارد این بیان
تو مثال شادی و ما خنده ایم 
که نتیجه شادی فرخنده ایم
جنبش ما هر دمی خود اشهدست 
که گواه ذوالجلال سرمدست
گردش سنگ آسیا در اضطراب 
اشهد آمد بر وجود جوی آب
ای برون از وهم و قال و قیل من 
خاک بر فرق من و تمثیل من
بنده نشکیبد ز تصویر خوشت 
هر دمت گوید که جانم مفرشت
هم چو آن چوپان که می گفت ای خدا 
پیش چوپان و محب خود بیا
تا شپش جویم من از پیراهنت 
چارقت دوزم ببوسم دامنت
کس نبودش در هوا و عشق جفت 
لیک قاصر بود از تسبیح و گفت
عشق او خرگاه بر گردون زده 
جان سگ خرگاه آن چوپان شده
چونک بحر عشق یزدان جوش زد 
بر دل او زد ترا بر گوش زد

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## English translation
The fools said to Majnun out of ignorance, 'The beauty of Layla is not so much; it is quite ordinary.'
'There are hundreds of thousands of heart-ravishing beauties in our town, better than her, like the moon.'
He said, 'The form is a jug, and beauty is the wine; my God is giving me wine from her form.'
'He gave you vinegar from her jug, so that her love would not pull you by the ear.'
'From the selfsame jug, the hand of God—mighty and glorious is He—gives poison to one and honey to another.'
'You see the jug, but that wine does not show its face to the unworthy eye.'
'The delight of the soul is a modest-eyed companion; she does not show her sign to anyone but her mate.'
'That wine is modest-eyed, and the veil of these vessels is like tents.'
'The sea is a tent, in which there is life for the duck, but death for the crows.'
'Poison is nourishment and provision for the snake, but for others, its poison is pain and death.'
'The form of every blessing and affliction is hell to one and heaven to another.'
'Therefore, all bodies and things are what you see, but within them is food or poison which you do not see.'
'Every body is like a bowl or a jug; inside it is both nourishment and heart-burning.'
'The bowl is visible, while the abundant food is hidden within; the eater knows what he is eating from it.'
'The form of Joseph was like a beautiful goblet; from it his father drank a hundred cups of joyous wine.'
'Yet to his brothers it was a cup of poison, for it increased anger and hatred in them.'
'Again, from him Zulaikha drew intoxication; from love she drew another opium.'
'Other than what was for Jacob, there was nourishment from Joseph for that beautiful woman.'
'Diverse drinks and a single jug, so that no doubt remains concerning the wine of the Unseen.'
'The wine is from the Unseen and the jug is from this world; the jug is manifest, but the wine in it is deeply hidden.'
'Deeply hidden from the eyes of strangers, but manifest and clear to the initiate.'
'O my God! Our eyes are intoxicated, so forgive us; our burdens are heavy.'
'O Hidden One! You have filled the east and the west; You have risen above the light of the two horizons.'
'You are the Secret that reveals our secrets; You are the Dawn that makes our rivers burst forth.'
'O One whose essence is hidden but whose giving is perceived! You are like water and we are like the millstone.'
'You are like the wind and we are like the dust; the wind is hidden, but its dust is clearly visible.'
'You are the Spring, we are like the pleasant green garden; it is hidden, but its bounty is manifest.'
'You are like the soul, we are like the hands and feet; the closing and opening of the hand is made possible by the soul.'
'You are like the intellect, we are like this tongue; this tongue receives this utterance from the intellect.'
'You are like joy and we are laughter, for we are the result of blessed joy.'
'Our movement at every moment is itself I bear witness, which is a witness to the Eternal Lord of Majesty.'
'The turning of the millstone in agitation is I bear witness to the existence of the stream of water.'
'O You who are beyond my imagination, talk, and speech! Dust be upon my head and my comparison!'
'The servant cannot refrain from picturing Your beauty; at every moment he says: May my soul be Your carpet!'
'Like that shepherd who was saying: O God! Come to your shepherd and lover,'
'So that I may search for lice in Your shirt, sew Your shoes, and kiss Your hem.'
'None was his equal in devotion and love, but he was deficient in praise and speech.'
'His love had pitched its tent on the heavens; his soul had become the dog of that shepherd's tent.'
'When the ocean of God's love surged, it struck his heart and it struck your ear.'

دفتر پنجم - بخش ۱۳۹ - گفتن خویشاوندان مجنون را کی حسن لیلی باندازه‌ایست چندان نیست ازو نغزتر در شهر ما بسیارست یکی و دو و ده بر تو عرضه کنیم اختیار کن ما را و خود را وا رهان و جواب گفتن مجنون ایشان را / Book Five - Section 139 - The relatives of Majnun telling him, 'The beauty of Layli is not to such a degree, it is not much; there are many more beautiful than her in our city, we will present one, two, and ten to you, make a choice, set us and yourself free,' and Majnun's replying to them

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Ganjoor

In Book 1, Section 17 of the Masnavi, Rumi uses the encounter between the Caliph and Layla to illustrate the subjectivity of beauty and the limitations of worldly intellect. When the Caliph questions Majnun's intense infatuation upon seeing Layla's ordinary appearance, she famously replies, 'Silence, for you are not Majnun.' This anecdote conveys that divine or true beauty cannot be perceived through ordinary, logical observation; it requires the transformative, loving perception of the seeker (the 'eyes of Majnun'). Rumi extends this metaphor to assert that those who are most 'awake' to worldly concerns are often the most 'asleep' to spiritual realities, contrasting empirical observation with spiritual insight.

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