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

## Original content
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اعجمی ترکی سحر آگاه شد 
وز خمار خمر مطرب خواه شد
مطرب جان مونس مستان بود 
نقل و قوت و قوت مست آن بود
مطرب ایشان را سوی مستی کشید 
باز مستی از دم مطرب چشید
آن شراب حق بدان مطرب برد 
وین شراب تن ازین مطرب چرد
هر دو گر یک نام دارد در سخن 
لیک شتان این حسن تا آن حسن
اشتباهی هست لفظی در بیان 
لیک خود کو آسمان تا ریسمان
اشتراک لفظ دایم ره زنست 
اشتراک گبر و مؤمن در تنست
جسم ها چون کوزه های بسته سر 
تا که در هر کوزه چه بود آن نگر
کوزهٔ آن تن پر از آب حیات 
کوزهٔ این تن پر از زهر ممات
گر به مظروفش نظر داری شهی 
ور به ظرفش بنگری تو گم رهی
لفظ را مانندهٔ این جسم دان 
معنیش را در درون مانند جان
دیدهٔ تن دایما تن بین بود 
دیدهٔ جان جان پر فن بین بود
پس ز نقش لفظ های مثنوی 
صورتی ضال است و هادی معنوی
در نبی فرمود کاین قرآن ز دل 
هادی بعضی و بعضی را مضل
الله الله چونک عارف گفت می 
پیش عارف کی بود معدوم شی
فهم تو چون بادهٔ شیطان بود 
کی ترا وهم می رحمان بود
این دو انبازند مطرب با شراب 
این بدان و آن بدین آرد شتاب
پر خماران از دم مطرب چرند 
مطربانشان سوی میخانه برند
آن سر میدان و این پایان اوست 
دل شده چون گوی در چوگان اوست
در سر آنچه هست گوش آنجا رود 
در سر ار صفراست آن سودا شود
بعد از آن این دو به بیهوشی روند 
والد و مولود آن جا یک شوند
چونک کردند آشتی شادی و درد 
مطربان را ترک ما بیدار کرد
مطرب آغازید بیتی خوابناک 
که انلنی الکاس یا من لا اراک
انت وجهی لا عجب ان لا اراه 
غایة القرب حجاب الاشتباه
انت عقلی لا عجب ان لم ارک 
من وفور الالتباس المشتبک
جئت اقرب انت من حبل الورید 
کم اقل یا یا نداء للبعید
بل اغالطهم انادی فی القفار 
کی اکتم من معی ممن اغار

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## English translation
An illiterate Turk awoke at dawn,
And from the hangover of wine, sought a minstrel.
The minstrel of the soul is the companion of the intoxicated;
It is the dessert, sustenance, and strength of the drunkard.
The minstrel drew them toward intoxication,
And again intoxication tasted the breath of the minstrel.
That divine wine carries (one) to that minstrel,
While this bodily wine grazes on this (earthly) minstrel.
Even if both share one name in speech,
Yet what a difference between this Hasan and that Hasan!
There is a verbal ambiguity in expression,
But really, where is the sky and where is the rope?
Equivocation of words is constantly a highway robber;
The sharing of the Zoroastrian and the believer is only in the physical body.
Bodies are like tightly sealed jugs;
Look to see what is in each jug.
The jug of that body is full of the water of life;
The jug of this body is full of the poison of death.
If you look at what is contained, you are a king;
And if you look at the vessel, you are lost.
Consider the word to be like this body,
And its meaning within it like the soul.
The eye of the body is always body-seeing;
The eye of the soul sees the soul full of art.
Therefore, from the forms of the words of the Masnavi,
Its form leads astray, while its meaning guides.
In the Quran, He said that this Quran from the heart,
Is a guide for some, and a misleader for others.
For God's sake, when the mystic says 'wine',
How could 'non-existence' exist before the mystic?
Since your understanding is of Satan's wine,
How can you have the conception of the wine of the Merciful?
These two are partners: the minstrel and the wine;
This one hastens to that, and that one to this.
Those full of hangover graze upon the minstrel's breath;
Their minstrels lead them toward the tavern.
That is the head of the polo field and this is its end;
The distracted heart is like a ball in its polo stick.
Whatever is in the head, the ear goes there;
If there is yellow bile in the head, it becomes black bile.
After that, these two go into unconsciousness;
The begetter and the begotten become one there.
When joy and pain made peace,
Our Turk awakened the minstrels.
The minstrel began a sleepy verse,
Saying, 'Give me the cup, O You whom I do not see!'
'You are my face, no wonder I do not see it;
The extremity of nearness is the veil of obfuscation.'
'You are my intellect, no wonder if I do not see You,
Due to the abundance of intertwining entanglement.'
'You have come closer than the jugular vein,
How many times shall I say "O" which is a call to the distant?'
'Nay, I mislead them, calling out in the deserts,
In order to hide the One who is with me from the one of whom I am jealous.'

دفتر ششم - بخش ۱۸ - استدعاء امیر ترک مخمور مطرب را به وقت صبوح و تفسیر این حدیث کی ان لله تعالی شرابا اعده لاولیائه اذا شربوا سکروا و اذا سکروا طابوا الی آخر الحدیث. می در خم اسرار بدان می‌جوشد؛ تا هر که مجردست از آن می‌نوشد قال الله تعالی ان الابرار یشربون این می که تو می‌خوری حرامست ما می نخوریم جز حلالی «جهد کن تا ز نیست هست شوی وز شراب خدای مست شوی» / Book Six - Section 18 - The hungover Turkish emir summoning the minstrel at the time of the morning draught, and the commentary on this Hadith: 'Verily God Most High has a wine prepared for His friends; when they drink, they become intoxicated, and when they are intoxicated, they become pure' to the end of the Hadith. 'The wine in the jar of secrets boils for this; so that whoever is detached may drink of it.' God Most High said: 'Verily the righteous shall drink.' 'This wine that you drink is forbidden; we do not drink anything but what is lawful.' 'Strive so that from non-existence you may become existent, and become intoxicated with the wine of God.'

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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.

The Metaphor of the Eyes of Majnun and Spiritual Perception in the Masnavi

The Metaphor of the Jug and the Wine in the Masnavi

In Sufi poetry and Rumi's Masnavi, the Cupbearer (Saqi) and wine (sharab/may) are central metaphors for spiritual transmission and divine love. The Cupbearer represents either the divine guide (Murshid) or God Himself, who actively dispenses spiritual ecstasy to seekers. The wine represents divine grace, gnosis, and the intoxicating love of God that transcends exoteric intellectual boundaries. In narratives like Book Six, Section 113, the forced feeding of wine by the Cupbearer symbolizes how divine grace and attraction (jazba) can forcefully break through an individual's exoteric intellectual pride and legalistic resistance, leading them to spiritual transformation.

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