In Book 2 of the Masnavi, Rumi uses the narrative of a sincere man who misses congregational prayer to contrast the inner state of genuine spiritual longing with outward religious formalism. When the man discovers the prayer is over, he releases a deep, burning sigh of profound regret. Recognizing its spiritual weight, another worshipper trades his completed formal prayer for that sigh. A divine voice later affirms the trade, calling the sigh the water of healing and revealing that its purity brought divine acceptance to the prayers of the entire congregation.

The metaphor of the sigh (Aah) represents an ego-less state of brokenness, humility, and absolute need for the Divine. Rumi elevates this sincere, burning desire above mechanical, outward rituals, illustrating the core Sufi principle that the Divine looks at the sincerity and brokenness of the heart rather than the perfection of outward forms or spiritual complacency.