In Chapter 12, Poem 2 of Attar's Mokhtar Nameh, the poet explores the immense difficulty of achieving true self-annihilation (fana). Even after the seeker claims to have 'died to their own existence', they realize that the ego is deeply entrenched and capable of deception. Attar uses the powerful metaphor of a 'Pharaoh at the root of every hair' to symbolize how the nafs (lower self or ego) continues to assert its arrogant existence in microscopic, hidden ways. This concept warns the spiritual traveler against false confidence in their state of detachment, emphasizing that the ego can survive even the most rigorous ascetic practices.