Mr. Gullible & the Devil
All night, a man called “Allah”
Until his lips were bleeding.
Then the Devil said, “Hey! Mr Gullible!
How comes you’ve been calling all night
And never once heard Allah say, “Here, I am”?
You call out so earnestly and, in reply, what?
I’ll tell you what. Nothing!”
The man suddenly felt empty and abandoned.
Depressed, he threw himself on the ground
And fell into a deep sleep.
In a dream, he met Abraham, who asked,
“Why are you regretting praising Allah?”
The man said, “ I called and called
But Allah never replied, “Here I am.”
Abraham explained, “Allah has said,
“Your calling my name is My reply.
Your longing for Me is My message to you.
All your attempts to reach Me
Are in reality My attempts to reach you.
Your fear and love are a noose to catch Me.
In the silence surrounding every call of “Allah”
Waits a thousand replies of “Here I am.”
Oh no. Not mine. And dammit how I wished that I actually wrote this. The story is from Mevlana Jelaludin Rumi, the great Sufi Master. I am glad to have bumped into this little nugget posted on Facebook by Longhair, my friend. I don't go out of my way looking for Rumi and his magical prose and stories. But when it is this good, well, I cannot very well ignore it, can I?
The Journey is the End, the Seeker is the Sought
Rumi's perception of God, is endearing in all its loving and affectionate aspects of the Maker. And in return, Rumi tears away our own misconception of who we are, and what in fact we are doing, when we are seeking solace with the Lord - for in the path towards the Divine Love, when we are walking along the well-trodden lane towards the Shore of God's infinite similitude of Mercy, when we become disciples and apostles of the Saints, when we decide to submit as a traveler to the straight roads, corners, dead ends and winding highways of a Seeker, then really...
the Journey is the End, and the Seeker becomes the Sought.
The stories of Rumi and the parables of Sufism is not escapism. It is the jewel of innermost reflection when you turn away from the distractions without and within you, and finally find God in your heart and in the world that surrounds you. And by the Prophets, there is no better way and no more fulfilling life you can lead until you have found this self-evident truth within you, and you become yourself, a self-evident truth - When people look at you, as a believer, and see you dispensing truth, kindness, understanding, tolerance, charity, courage and strength.
Have a brilliant day, sunshine. Go on... shine some love in the lives of people.
wa min Allah at-taufiq
Hate has no place in Islam
Love will show the Way
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