M1:3202 — حبّه‌ای را جانب کان چون برم / قطره‌ای را سوی عمّان چون برم

This couplet is the heart of the guest's dilemma. Having journeyed to see the magnificent Joseph, he is asked to present a gift (armaghān), a customary act of respect. But he finds himself paralyzed by the sheer inadequacy of anything he could offer. Joseph is not merely a king; he is the spiritual 'mine' from which all precious things originate, the 'ocean' from which all life-giving water flows.

The imagery works through a powerful logic of scale. To bring a grain of gold to a goldmine or a drop of water to the sea is not just a meager gift—it is a category error, an act of absurdity. The guest uses these parallel rhetorical questions to explain why he searched for a gift but found nothing suitable. Anything of material value, even his own heart and soul, would be like 'carrying cumin to Kerman' (a Persian idiom for bringing something to a place that already has it in abundance, mentioned in the next line).

This profound sense of inadequacy is the setup for the story's punchline: the only worthy gift for absolute beauty is a mirror. The guest's humility is not a performance but a genuine spiritual insight. It recognizes that in the presence of the Divine (symbolized by Joseph), the only meaningful offering is one that reflects that perfection back to itself, rather than presuming to add to it.

这句诗出自《玛斯纳维》中一个访客拜见先知优素福（即《圣经》中的约瑟）的故事。优素福请他拿出带来的礼物，访客羞愧地解释自己为何两手空空而来。

他用了一系列比喻来说明自己的窘境。这句诗是其中最核心的比喻：优素福好比蕴藏无限珍宝的矿脉（کان），而访客自己所有的一切，不过是一粒微尘（حبّه）；优素福如同浩瀚的阿曼（عمان）大海，而访客的一切仅是沧海一粟（قطره）。将微不足道的东西献给圆满富足的本源，这本身就是一种荒唐。这个比喻生动地表达了人在神圣面前的谦卑、渺小与“一无所有”之感。

这不仅是故事人物的心声，也反映了苏菲行者在面对真主时的心态。任何世俗的成就、德行或知识，在神圣的无限面前都黯然失色。真正的献礼不是拿出“某样东西”，而是认识到自己的“空”与“无”。这为接下来访客献上一面镜子做了铺垫——镜子自身空无一物，其价值恰恰在于能映照出优素福无与伦比的美。