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.