M5:3288 — هست دریا خیمه‌ای در وی حیات / بَطّ را، لیکن کلاغان را مَمات

This beyt is part of Majnun's impassioned response to his relatives, who are trying to dissuade him from his love for Layli by claiming her beauty is ordinary and that there are many more beautiful women. Majnun argues that beauty is not an objective quality of the 'form' (صورت) but rather a subjective experience of the 'wine' (می) that God pours into one's heart through that form.

He uses the metaphor of the sea to explain this. For a duck (بطّ), which is naturally adapted to water, the sea is a life-giving environment, a 'tent' (خیمه) of existence. It provides sustenance and a home. However, for a crow (کلاغ), which is not a water bird, the very same sea would mean certain death. The sea itself doesn't change; what changes is the inherent nature of the creature encountering it. This perfectly mirrors Majnun's point about Layli: her physical form (the 'sea') is perceived differently by him (the 'duck') than by his relatives (the 'crows'). For him, she is the source of divine love and life, while for them, she is an ordinary woman, even a potential source of trouble or 'death' to their conventional understanding of love and life.