Abdul Wahid b. Zaid (mercy be upon him) who belonged to a lineage of saints said, “We were once sailing in a boat. A gush of wind blew away our boat to an island where we saw a man busy adoring an idol. We asked him what he was worshipping. He pointed towards the idol. We said to him that this idol was made with his own hands. How could he worship it? The God whom we worship creates all

A man from a respectable background came to Balkh in Iran, accompanied by his wife and daughters. Shortly after their arrival the man fell ill and later died, leaving his wife and daughters. Without his support they became poor and suffered. So fearing the mockery of enemies, she fled Balkh with her daughters to another town. On the day she arrived the weather was very cold, so she left her daughters in a mosque and went out in search of

Abu-ul-Hassan Siraj (mercy be upon him) said, “One day I set out for the performance of pilgrimage (Hajj). As I was making a circuit (Tawwaf) around the Holy Ka’ba, I happened to see a fair-faced woman. I said to myself, By God! I have never seen a woman with such beauty before. Perhaps she has all this beauty as she may not have suffered any grief or sorrow.” She heard this statement and said, “What did you say? By God!

Zun-Noon relates, whilst I was walking the mountains of Intakia I saw a girl who looked insane, wearing a gown made out of wool. I greeted her with Salaam. She replied accordingly and then said, “Are you Zun-Noon?” I replied, “How did you recognise me?” She replied, “Through Allah’s recognition”. She then asked, “What is generosity?” I replied to her, “To give”. She added, “That is in regards to worldly things. What is it in regards to Deen?” I replied,

A disciple of the great Sufl Shaykh Sirri relates that Shaykh Sirri once had a female student who’s son visited an Alim. The Alim sent him to work the hand mill. On his way there the child fell into a lake and drowned. The Alim then informed Shaykh Sirri about the incident. Shaykh Sirri accompanied his companions to see the mother. He related the virtues of patience and of being content with fate. She wondered aloud, “What is the motive

Abu Abdullah al Jawhari relates, once I went for Hajj. On the night of Arafat at Muzdalifah I dreamt of two angels descending from heaven. One asked the other. “How many people made Wukoof (the stand before Allah) of Arafah this year . His companion replied, “600,000 of which only 6 peoples Hajj was accepted by Allah”. When I heard this I wanted to cry out aloud. ‘The first angel then inquired, “What did Allah do with he Hajj of

A pious man relates, whilst I was sitting next to the Ka’ba an old man with his face covered came and drank water from the well of Zam Zam using a container. I then drank what he had left over and found that it tasted of honey. I turned to see where he had gone, but he had left. The next day I came and sat next to the well, the old man came again with his face covered. On

It is related that Zainul Abideen would pray one thousand rakahs every night, even if he were travelling.  When he performed ablution he would turn yellow and during prayer he would tremble. When asked why this happened to him, he responded, “Do you not know who I stand before?” If the wind blew he would fall down unconscious out of the fear of Allah. Once there was a fire in his house while he was prostrating in prayer. The people

A pious man relates, I was travelling with a caravan through a jungle when I saw a woman walking ahead. She appeared weak, so I thought that perhaps she was walking in front so that she is not left behind. I found a few dirhams in my pocket and gave them to her and said, “When the caravan stops, come to me and I will ask the people to offer you some money”, enabling her to purchase an animal to

Shaykh Fath al-Mowsily relates, once I saw a young boy walking through the jungle. It appeared as if he was uttering some words. I greeted him with Salaam and he replied accordingly. I inquired, “Where are you going ? ”He retorted, “To the house of Allah.” I further asked, ”What are you reciting?” ”The Qur’an” he replied. I remarked, ”You are at a tender age, it is not an obligation that you are required to fulfil.” He said , ”I