You will find the texts of the stories below the audio, and the titles are linked to individual blog posts where you can learn more about sources, see notes, etc.
You'll want to click on track 51 to start the audio portion for this section:
~ 51. The King Enslaved ~
A king wished to honor a dervish.
"I'll give you a gift," said the king. "Tell me what you want!"
The dervish just laughed. "A slave doesn't give gifts to his master; the slave's life is already his."
This made the king angry. "I'm the king!" he shouted.
"You may be the king," replied the dervish, "but you are also the slave of my slaves, which makes me your master."
The king stared at him in bewilderment.
"I've mastered both anger and lust, making them my slaves," the dervish explained, "while you, though a king, are enslaved to them both."
~ 52. The Dervish and the Rich Man ~
A dervish invited a rich man to break the fast, offering him only dry bread.
The rich man later sent the dervish a purse containing a thousand gold coins.
The dervish returned the purse with a note: "Bread is useful; gold is not — you only imagine it is."
The dervish then sent a beggar to the rich man's house.
The beggar returned and said, "He gave me nothing."
"Such foolishness!" said the dervish. "People think bread is equal to gold and try to exchange one for the other. Then, when a needy person asks for help, they don't help."
~ 53. A Prayer for a Tyrant ~
There was a dervish whose prayers were very acceptable to God.
One day his wanderings took the dervish to Baghdad, and there the tyrannical governor summoned the dervish into his presence.
"Pray a good prayer for me," the governor commanded.
The dervish prayed, "O God, please take away this man's life!"
The governor shouted, "What kind of prayer is that?"
"It is a prayer for you and for the whole world," replied the dervish. "Nothing in this world's bazaar lasts forever. I prayed that you be free of life, and so then the world will be free of your tyranny."
~ 54. The Disciple Sentenced to Death ~
"The king will arrest you tomorrow," a wise dervish told his disciple, and the dervish then told his disciple exactly what to do.
The next day, as foretold, the king arrested the disciple. "I sentence you to death," he said.
The dervish rushed in, shouting, "No, kill me instead!"
"No!" shouted the disciple. "Kill me instead of the dervish."
The tyrant was baffled. "What does this mean?"
"I know a secret prophecy," said the dervish. "The man who dies today will rise from death and live forever."
"Then kill me!" the king shouted.
The executioner killed him.
The dervish smiled.
~ 55. The Teacher in the Tavern ~
A man saw a famous teacher enter a tavern. "That teacher is a Muhammad by day but an Abu Lahab by night!" he said in disgust.
"You're wrong," said one of the teacher's disciples. "Come see."
The man entered the tavern. "I see a goblet brimming with Satan's piss in his hand!" he shouted.
"But you are mistaken, good man," said the teacher calmly.
He gave the cup to the man, who saw it was full of honey.
Then the teacher said, "Bring me some wine!"
But all the wine in every wine-jar in the tavern had turned to honey.
~ 56. The Wisest Man in the City ~
A farmer came to the city seeking advice. "I'm looking for the wisest man to advise me!" he said at the city gate.
The guard pointed to a disheveled old man who was playing marbles with some street-urchins. "You might give him a try."
The farmer approached the strange-looking man and, much to his surprise, he received very good advice.
"Thank you!" said the farmer. "But I don't understand: with all your wisdom, why are you playing marbles, cavorting with the children like this?"
"They wanted to make me mayor," the man explained. "Playing the fool was how I escaped!"
~ 57. The Old Man and the Two Strangers ~
An old man sat outside the town gate.
A stranger arrived. "What's this town like? My hometown was full of thieves and liars. I need a new home."
"Thieves and liars here too," said the old man.
The stranger began to walk away.
Another stranger approached. "I'm looking for work. Is this a good town? In my hometown people are good and kind."
"Good and kind here too," said the old man.
The first stranger protested. "You really are a liar!"
"I speak the truth," the old man explained. "Wherever you go, you'll find people are just what you are."
~ 58. Seeking the Tree of Heaven ~
A woman sought the Tree of Heaven.
She asked a dervish for help.
"I can teach you," said the dervish, "but it takes thirty years."
"I can't wait," she said.
"Then I can't help you," he replied. "Seek the dervish Arif."
She sought Arif, who sent her to Hakim, then Majzub, Alim... so many teachers.
Thirty years passed.
Then she reached the garden: there was the Tree of Heaven!
And beneath it... the dervish.
"Why didn't you tell me you were the Tree's keeper?"
"You didn't ask," he said. "And I know the Tree fruits only once every thirty years."
~ 59. Advice to a Seeker ~
A young man left his home to seek a teacher.
Along the way, he found an old man sitting under a tree.
"Old man," he said, "I seek a teacher. Where should I look?"
The old man smiled as he recited the names of many cities, near and far.
The young man thanked him and went from place to place, seeking.
Thirty years passed. Then, he understood.
He hurried back to the tree. The old man was still there, now even older.
"Why didn't you reveal yourself then?" he asked.
"You weren't ready," said the old man. "Now you are."
~ 60. The Death of Socrates ~
Socrates had been condemned to death.
His pupils, grieving, gathered around him.
"After we take you up and wash you and wrap you in your shroud, where do you want us to bury you?" they asked.
"If you can find me," he said, "bury me wherever you want. But will you be able to find me? I am not sure about that. At this moment I have not so much as a shred of knowledge of myself. If over the course of my long life I have not found myself, how do you expect to find me when I'm dead?"
~ 61. Muhammad and the Eagle ~
At the time of prayer, Muhammad took off his shoes.
Then an eagle swooped down and grabbed one of the shoes.
Muhammad shouted at the eagle as it flew away, "O Creature-of-God, why do you act so rudely?"
The eagle then waved the shoe back and forth, and out tumbled a poisonous snake which fell to the ground and was killed.
The eagle then returned the shoe. "I apologize for acting rudely, O Chosen-of-God! I did so out of dire necessity; please forgive me."
Your rudeness was kindness!' exclaimed Muhammad. "I was thinking only of myself, but God sees all."
~ 62. Ali and his Servant ~
The prophet Muhammad had whispered to Ali's servant that Ali would die by the servant's own hand.
The servant begged Ali to slay him instead. "Let me not commit this terrible sin!" said the servant, weeping.
But Ali replied, "I won't attempt to evade what is fated for me by God."
"Let it fall to someone else!" pleaded the servant. "Slay me now, and then another may carry out God's will."
Again Ali refused. "God's word is written, and the ink of the Pen of Fate is dry. The deed is not yours, but God's doing: it is all One."
~ 63. Ali and the Knight ~
Ali had defeated an enemy knight, but just as he was about to strike the death-blow the knight spat in Ali's face.
Ali immediately threw his sword away and said to the knight, "Arise!"
"I don't understand," said the knight as he got to his feet.
"I wield that sword for God," said Ali. "Let it not be said that I slew someone from anger. You spat upon me, and for that I forgive you. God's mercy has made me your friend, and I open my heart's door to you."
When he heard Ali's words, the knight converted to Islam.
~ 64. When Hallaj Grew Pale ~
Hallaj dared to say, "I am the Truth" (Ana 'l-Haqq). In other words: "I am God."
So the people condemned Hallaj to death.
They impaled him, and they cut off his hands and feet.
The loss of blood made Hallaj grow pale, so he lifted up the stumps of his wrists and moved them across his face.
"I do not want to look pale," he said, "because I do not want them to think I am afraid. With this blood I redden my face. Now when my executioner looks upon me, he will see that I am a brave man."
~ 65. The Caliph and the Pearl ~
Caliph Abdul-Aziz possessed a pearl of exquisite beauty, and he had it set in a ring of gold. All the courtiers of the Caliph's court admired this marvelous pearl.
A famine then swept through the country, and the people were in distress, so the Caliph decided to sell the priceless pearl to feed his people.
"But you will never acquire such a pearl again!" his courtiers warned him.
"I can't drink from this pitcher while my people have nothing but poison," the Caliph replied. "Better to see my gold ring without its pearl than to see my people in distress."
~ 66. The King's Caravansary ~
A wandering Sufi demanded an audience with the king, Ibrahim ibn-Adham.
Intrigued, the king asked him, "What do you want?"
"I would like to spend the night here at your caravansary," said the Sufi.
"But this is no caravansary!" exclaimed the king. "This is the royal palace."
"I see only a caravansary," replied the Sufi calmly. "Who owned it before you?"
"My father ruled here before me," said the king. "He passed away."
"And before him?"
"His father," said the king, "who also passed away."
"People stay, and then they go." The Sufi smiled. "A caravansary, just as I said."
~ 67. King Ibrahim on the Roof ~
King Ibrahim ibn-Adham still sat on the throne; he had not yet become a dervish.
One night, the king heard heavy footsteps on the palace roof.
"Who dares disturb my peace?" he wondered, and he went to investigate.
On the roof he saw people, strangers he had never seen before, running back and forth.
"What do you think you're doing?" he shouted.
"We're looking for camels," they said.
"Camels?" exclaimed the king. "Who looks for camels on the roof of a palace?"
"And who looks for God while sitting on a royal throne?" they replied.
And then... the strangers vanished.
~ 68. King Ibrahim Hears the Voice ~
King Ibrahim ibn-Adham was a skilled horseman and hunter.
One day as he chased a deer, he heard a voice shout, "O Ibrahim, were you created for this?"
He thought he was imagining things, and he continued the chase.
Then he heard the voice again. "Were you created for this?"
He continued the chase.
A third time: "I did not create you for this!"
Ibrahim was shaken. "I do not know why God created me," he realized, "but I will not rest until I know."
He renounced the throne and became a Sufi, dwelling in the ruins of the desert.
~ 69. King Ibrahim and the Needle ~
King Ibrahim ibn-Adham had renounced his throne and became a wandering Sufi.
One day as he sat by the seashore, using a needle to stitch his patched cloak, a nobleman walked by and saw him.
"That is King Ibrahim ibn-Adham!" he thought. "What is he doing here, darning a cloak?"
The saint read his thoughts and threw his needle into the sea. He then shouted, "Come forth, Needle!"
At his words, thousands of fish rose up from the water, each bearing a golden needle in its mouth.
"Behold the kingdom!" Ibrahim said, smiling. "It is all the love of God."
~ 70. King Ibrahim and the Old Sufi ~
An old Sufi came looking for Ibrahim in the wilderness.
Ibrahim welcomed him and served him a splendid banquet.
"How is this possible?" asked the old man, amazed.
"God provides," said Ibrahim, smiling kindly.
"How long have you been a Sufi?" the old man asked.
"I gave up my throne two years ago."
"But I've been a seeker for thirty years and God doesn't provide for me like this."
God's own voice rang out. "Ibrahim never thinks about the throne he gave up, while you never stop thinking about the sacrifices you have made."
At last, the old Sufi understood.
~ 71. Rabia's House ~
Rabia lived as a slave, dwelling in the ruins.
Her master, impressed by her devotions, decided to give her a house.
"You cannot live in those ruins," he said. "Come live in this house instead!"
Rabia moved into the house, but the fine furnishings burdened her heart, and locking the door with a key made her feel constricted in spirit.
So Rabia went to her master and gave the keys back. "When I had no house, nothing stood between me and God," she said. "I will go back to the ruins now; that is where I will find my beloved."
~ 72. Rabia and the Governor of Basra ~
Rabia earned the admiration of many men, but she rejected their proposals of marriage.
When the governor of Basra implored her to marry him, she said, "Only someone who exists can enter into marriage, but "I" do not exist. I don't belong to myself; I belong only to God."
"Please!" he said. "If you marry me, I'll give you all my wealth!"
"Even if you gave me all your wealth, what difference would that make?" replied Rabia. "How could I devote myself to you when I cannot turn from God for even as long as the blink of an eye?"
~ 73. Rabia's Total Devotion ~
So great was Rabia's devotion to God that she had no time for anything else, neither love nor hate.
"Don't you revile Satan?" someone asked.
"I do," she said. "But my love of the all-merciful God leaves no room for hatred of Satan."
One night the Prophet appeared to Rabia in a dream. "Do you love me?" he asked.
"O Prophet of God!" she exclaimed. "Who could not love you? I love you, but my heart is so filled with the love of God our Creator that there is no room there for love of his creation or his creatures."
~ 74. Rabia and the Blanket ~
A friend gave Rabia four coins so she could buy a blanket. "This winter is very cold," she said to Rabia. "You need a blanket!"
So Rabia took the money and went to the market where she found a vendor selling blankets.
"Which blanket do you want?" the vendor asked her. "Perhaps this white blanket? Or this black one?"
Without a word, Rabia left the market and walked to the river. "Even before I burden myself with the blanket, I'm burdened with choosing a color. I want no such discord!" she said, and she threw the coins into the river.
~ 75. Rabia and the Purse of Gold ~
A wealthy man wished to give Rabia a gift, so he brought her a purse of gold coins.
"God provides for everyone, even those who curse him," Rabia said. "I don't need your gold."
The rich man still stood there, purse in hand.
"Take it away!" Rabia repeated. "I once used the light of the sultan's lamp to sew by, but it bound my heart. I undid every stitch, and then I used the light of God's sun to do my work. That is how I freed my heart. Do not ask me to bind my heart with this gold."
~ 76. Rabia and the Donkey ~
Rabia decided to make the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Then, in the middle of the desert, her donkey died. Her fellow pilgrims offered to let her ride with them, but she said, "Go on without me. I have come this far trusting in God, and I know God will provide."
The caravan moved on, and Rabia prayed. "O God, you invited me to your dwelling, but you have let my donkey die. Is this how the king treats the women of his kingdom?"
Answering Rabia's prayer, God resurrected the donkey, and then the donkey carried Rabia all the way to Mecca.
~ 77. Rabia Breaks her Fast ~
Rabia was ready to break a long fast with milk, but a cat spilled the milk.
Rabia then reached for a water-jug, but her hands shook and she dropped the jug.
"Is this my reward, O God?" she cried.
"If you want, you can have all the world's gifts," God replied, "or you can have what I give you."
"Give me your gifts, O God!" Rabia exclaimed.
A fruit-tree then sprang up inside the house. "This is the tree in Paradise with the fruit of your prayers. Eat!" said God.
Rabia ate, and she knew God was always with her.
~ 78. Rabia and the Bread ~
Two famous scholars visited Rabia, and she offered them her last two rolls of bread.
At that moment a beggar arrived.
Rabia took the bread from the scholars and gave it to the beggar instead.
The scholars were astonished.
Moments later, the neighbor's daughter arrived. "My mother sends you these freshly baked rolls."
Rabia counted: eighteen rolls. "This isn't right," she said. "Take it away."
The girl took the bread, ran home, and then came back. "You were right!" she said. "My mother meant to send twenty rolls."
Rabia turned towards the scholars and smiled. "God repays our charity tenfold."
~ 79. Rabia and the Preacher ~
There was a wise man of Basra who preached to the people. "The door will open to whoever knocks," he proclaimed. "The door will open!"
As he preached this message, Rabia happened to hear him, and she laughed.
"I don't understand you, woman," he said to her. "Why are you laughing?"
"I'm laughing because you talk about the door opening," Rabia told him. "What made you think that the door was ever closed?"
Her words enlightened him.
"I may be a man," he admitted, "but I am an ignorant fool. It is the woman Rabia who has taught me wisdom."
~ 80. Rabia's Needle ~
Rabia was searching for something in the street.
"What did you lose?" the people asked.
"My needle," she said.
They all looked for the needle.
Nothing.
"Where exactly do you think you dropped it?" they asked.
"I dropped it in my house," she replied.
This made the people angry. "Why are we looking here in the street?"
"It's light here," she replied. "It's dark in the house."
The people were really angry now.
"You do the same," she said, "searching outside for answers to questions whose answers are inside. You are looking where your eyes can see. Instead: look beyond!"
~ 81. Rabia and Hasan ~
Hasan of Basra was a great mystic, but Rabia of Basra was greater.
Here is a story about the two of them:
Rabia was in her house, and Hasan came to see her.
"Come outside!" Hasan called to Rabia, who was inside. "The day is beautiful! The birds are singing, and the sun is shining. Why don't you come outside?"
"Why don't you come inside?" replied Rabia. "Outside is God's creation, but here inside is God himself. When you are done with the outside and its pleasures, come inside. Here you can listen to God's song and see God's light."
~ 82. Rabia Instructs Hasan ~
"If you are a true Lover of God," said Hasan, "you must be strong when the Beloved afflicts you."
"Say it better!" said Rabia.
"You must be thankful when the Beloved afflicts you."
"Say it even better!"
"You must rejoice when the Beloved afflicts you."
"No!" said Rabia. "Love goes beyond even that: you must not even feel the pain of the affliction as you contemplate the Beloved. Remember the ladies of Egypt who felt no pain when they cut themselves with knives as they contemplated Joseph's beauty. How much more true then must this be as we contemplate God!"
~ 83. Rabia and Hasan by the Lake ~
Rabia and Hasan, both great seekers, sat beside a lake.
Wanting to impress Rabia, Hasan took his prayer rug and placed it upon the water. Hasan's rug floated on the water.
"Join me!" Hasan said to Rabia, proud of the power of his faith.
Rabia spread out her rug and it levitated in the air above Hasan.
"You are only doing what a fish can do," she said. "And what I am doing, any bird can do, as can any moth. But we have a greater calling. Instead of magic tricks and public displays, God asks us to go beyond."
~ 84. Rabia and Sufyan ~
Sufyan of Basra asked Rabia, "Is there anything you desire?"
"Despite all your learning, you understand nothing," Rabia replied. "I am God's slave, and what does a slave have to do with desire? What God desires, I desires. I have everything I desire."
"I understand your words, Rabia," said Sufyan. "Now help me to understand myself."
"You would be a good man if you didn't love the world so much," she said.
Then Sufyan prayed, "O God, be content with me!"
"How can you ask God to be content with you," Rabia exclaimed, "when you are not content with God?"
~ 85. Rabia and Riyah al-Qaysi ~
Riyah once visited Rabia when she was ill.
As he sat at her bedside, he lamented the woeful state of the world. "People are cruel and unkind," he said. "They commit sins but feel no shame."
Rabia said nothing.
"There are wars among the rich and powerful, while the poor suffer," he said.
Rabia said nothing.
He went on and on about the woes of the world until finally Rabia interrupted him. "You love the world very much," she said. "Too much. You speak about the world because you love it, and someone who loves something speaks about it constantly."
~ 86. Rabia and the Villagers ~
Rabia wandered into a village, and the villagers asked her, "Where do you come from?"
"From the other world," she said.
Puzzled, they asked her, "And where are you going?"
"To the other world," Rabia replied.
"And what are you doing in our world?"
"I consume the bread of this world," she explained, "but my thoughts are elsewhere. I don't let what is inside me go out, nor do I let what is outside come in."
"You sound like a steward!" they said.
"I am!" Rabia agreed. "But I'm a steward of the heart, not of this lump of clay."
~ 87. Rabia and Azrael ~
Rabia encountered Azrael, the Angel of Death.
"Who are you?" Rabia asked.
"Behold, mortal: I am the destroyer of delights!" said the Angel of Death.
"Tell me more," said Rabia.
"Behold, mortal: I am the orphaner of children!" said the Angel of Death.
"Tell me more," said Rabia.
"Behold, mortal: I am the widower of wives!" said the Angel of Death.
"O Angel, why do you only speak of negative things?" asked Rabia. "Destroyer of delights, orphaner of children, widower of wives. This is all true, but you might also say: I am the one who reunites friend with Friend."
~ 88. Rabia's Grave ~
Rabia dug a grave outside her house.
It was her own grave, dug deep down into the ground.
Rabia would go to the edge of this empty grave every morning and every evening, and she would say to herself, "This is where you shall be tomorrow."
Then she would conduct her other prayers and devotions.
Rabia did this every day.
Day after day.
Week after week.
Year after year.
Rabia stood at the edge of her grave every day for forty years, always repeating to herself, "This is where you shall be tomorrow."
That is how Rabia lived her life.
~ 89. A Vision of Rabia ~
After Rabia's death, she appeared to the faithful in visions. They saw her running with a lit torch in one hand, and a bucket of water in the other.
"Where are you going?" they shouted. "What will you do with the fire and the water?
"I'm going to Heaven to set it on fire, and then to Hell to extinguish its flames. I must remove the veils of Heaven and Hell," she said, "so people will seek God for God's own sake. If they love God only in hope of Paradise or in fear of Hell, they aren't true lovers."
~ 90. Finding Bayazid ~
Bayazid of Bastam was a seeker.
He lived a long life and, when he was seventy-four, someone asked how old he was.
Bayazid replied, "I'm four years old now! For seventy years, I was hidden behind veils. I found myself only four years ago."
When Bayazid was a young man, a stranger came to Bastam looking for him. People directed the stranger to Bayazid's house. He knocked at the door, and Bayazid answered.
"I'm looking for Bayazid," the stranger said.
"I'm looking for him too!" replied Bayazid. "I've been looking for over thirty years, and I still haven't found him."
~ 91. Bayazid's Pilgrimage ~
Bayazid was making the pilgrimage to Mecca. He met a dervish beside the road.
"Where are you headed?" the dervish asked.
"I am on my way to Mecca," said Bayazid.
"Is it a business trip?"
Bayazid was surprised. "No, I'm making the hajj. I will walk around the holy Kaaba, the house of God."
The dervish smiled. "You can walk around me instead."
Bayazid realized in his heart this was true. He walked around the dervish.
Later, when people asked Bayazid if he made the pilgrimage and walked around the Kaaba, he said, "I have walked around a living Kaaba."
~ 92. Bayazid in Ecstasy ~
In ecstasy, Bayazid al-Bistami exclaimed, "I am God!"
His disciples were shocked. The next day they told him what had happened.
"If I do that again, strike me with your knives," Bayazid told them. "You must kill me."
Later, ecstasy transported again. "God is here in my cloak; why seek heaven and earth?"
The disciples struck with their knives, but Bayazid was not wounded. As they struck him, the disciples themselves were wounded in the very same parts of the body that they struck. Many died.
Thousands flocked to Bayazid in wonder. "Your body is no human body," they said.
~ 93. Dhul-Nun the Madman ~
Dhul-Nun was acting strangely: screaming, shouting, pelting everyone with sticks and stones.
"He's insane!" the people said, and they locked him up.
"Maybe he really has gone mad," said some of his students.
"No," said others. "He's testing us!"
When his disciples came to see him, Dhul-Nun became even more agitated.
"We're your students," they protested. "We know you!"
"You don't know me," he yelled as he rolled in the dirt.
The students all ran away.
Then Dhul-Nun laughed.
"Why are you laughing?" asked a guard.
"They still haven't learned to look beyond the surface," said Dhul-Nun. "But they will."
~ 94. The Grieving Sufi and Shabli ~
A Sufi came to see Shabli, his teacher, weeping bitterly.
"Why are you weeping?" Shabli asked him.
"I had a friend whose beauty filled my heart. He died yesterday. Now I feel as if I will die of grief today."
"Grieve not! You enjoyed that friendship while it lasted. You must seek another," Shabli said. "But this time, take as your friend one who will not die, and then you will have no cause to grieve. This attachment to what is mortal will always end in grief. Go seek your beloved in that place beyond which there is no beyond."
~ 95. The Disciple and the Dove ~
A Sufi master gave his disciple a dove. "Take this dove," he said, "and kill it somewhere where no one will see. Don't return until you have completed this task!"
The disciple took the dove and left.
He returned three years later.
"Forgive me," he said, "for I have failed. I climbed mountains, I explored caves, I looked everywhere for a place where God would not be there as a witness. But I could find no place without God, so I haven't killed the dove."
The master smiled. "Let the dove go free," he said. "You have accomplished the mission."
~ 96. Junaid's Disciples and the Chickens ~
Junaid favored one disciple more than the others, but no one knew why; Junaid's favorite appeared to be a fool.
"Go to the market," Junaid said to his disciples one day, "and bring back a live chicken."
When they returned with their chickens, Junaid said, "Now, go somewhere no one can see and kill your chicken."
The disciples rushed off to kill their chickens in secret, but the fool didn't move.
They then returned with their dead chickens and laughed at the fool.
Junaid said to him, "Explain yourself."
"There is nowhere God doesn't see," he replied, and Junaid smiled.
~ 97. Junaid's New Neighbor ~
When Junaid went to greet his new neighbor, the old man snarled and slammed the door in his face.
After enduring the man's rude behavior for several weeks, Junaid despaired. "Oh God," he prayed, "please take this man's life."
That night, God came to Junaid in a dream. "This man has been your neighbor only a few weeks, but he has been my neighbor for sixty years. If I can abide with him, you can too."
When he awoke, Junaid remembered God's words. "I shall let the man be as he is," Junaid decided. "For who am I after all?"
~ 98. Abu Mansur and the Sultan ~
The sultan summoned his minister, Abu Mansur. "Come at once!" said the sultan's messenger.
"I must finish my prayers first," said Abu Mansur.
When he finally arrived, the sultan shouted, "How dare you make me wait?"
"I serve God first," Abu Mansur replied, "and then Your Majesty."
The sultan could not protest.
Only Abu Mansur knew that he had delayed for a different reason. The sultan was hot-headed and usually summoned Abu Mansur when he wanted to put someone to death. Each time Abu Mansur delayed, the sultan's anger cooled down, and Abu Mansur persuaded him to lighten the punishment.
~ 99. Abu Said on the Path ~
Abu Said and his friend had studied together under the same teacher many years ago.
"Now you are a great teacher," said his friend. "How did you learn so much more than I did?"
Abu Said said, "One day the lesson was 'surrendering to God's will is to be happy and content with what one has.' What did you do with that lesson?" asked Abu Said.
"I wrote it down, memorized it, and then proceeded to the next lesson."
"I memorized nothing," said Abu Said. "I surrendered to God's will and was happy and content, and on that path I reached the Truth."
~ 100. Fruits and Thorns ~
Abu Said lived a long life.
During the early part of his life, he followed the path of the ascetic, dwelling in the desert where he fasted, eating only bitter roots and thornbushes to stay alive.
In later years, he lived in the city, where he enjoyed melon balls and other fruits dipped in sugar.
Someone once asked him, "Which tastes better: the roots and thorns, or the melons and fruits?"
"If you are with God," replied Abu Said, "the roots and thorns are sweeter than melons, but if you are apart from God, even the sugared fruits taste bitter."
