Concept Overview

In Section 17 of Silsilat al-Dhahab (within Jami's Haft Awrang), the poet outlines a specific spiritual state: those who have perceived the inner meaning (ma'ni) of divine beauty but remain incapable of experiencing it without the vessel of external form (surat).

Key Principles

• The Struggle of Form-Dependency: Although these seekers understand that the true beloved is spiritual, they cannot enjoy meaning without form. Consequently, they are caught in a constant struggle, shifting their attachment from one transient physical form to another as they seek the underlying divine essence.
• The Metaphor of Colored Glass: Jami compares this condition to viewing colorless light (nur-i bi-rang) through stained or colored glass (shisheh-ha-yi rangarang). The seeker desires the divine light but can only perceive and access it as refracted through the colored lenses of physical forms.