M4:802 — تو به هر صورت که آیی بیستی / که منم این والله آن تو نیستی

This beyt is part of a powerful passage where Solomon (or the divine voice, through Solomon) is admonishing Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba, for her attachment to worldly power and idolatry. The preceding verses (M4:797-801) criticize her for being 'lost in forced labor' and 'not knowing others from herself,' likening her to a mere 'bathhouse drawing' (نقش گرمابه) without inner essence.

Here, the couplet directly challenges the ego's persistent self-identification with fleeting appearances. The 'form' (صورت) refers to any external manifestation, role, or worldly possession that the ego mistakenly believes defines its true identity. The phrase 'I am this! By God, that is not you!' encapsulates the ego's stubborn insistence on its superficial self, while simultaneously, and ironically, denying its own deeper, more authentic reality. Rumi is pointing out the human tendency to cling to temporary attributes and mistake them for the essential self, thereby losing sight of the divine essence within.

In the broader Sufi context, this is a call to self-knowledge beyond the superficial. The 'you' that 'is not' the external form is the true, spiritual self, which is distinct from the ever-changing physical and social identities we adopt. The passage immediately following this beyt (M4:803-806) further elaborates on this true self, describing it as 'that unique one' (آن اوحدی) and 'the essence that is self-subsistent' (جوهر آن باشد که قایم با خودست), contrasting it with accidental qualities.