A True Story
On the hills of Damascus, a town has been established that the Hand of Godly Potency has endowed with fascinating beauty and all the captivating charms of nature.
It truly infatuates the hearts and fills the eyes with glorification. Its weather is pleasant and clement, and the houses therein are surrounded by thickets and trees from which ripe fruit and refreshing, enchanting flowers dangle.
Such is the artistry of Al’lah, who has perfected everything. Gentle whiffs of air blow and dally among the twigs, making the leaves shake with the joy and passion and refreshment that come from the diffusion of the coolness of the breeze. The night envelops the place in darkness and a light silence spreads over the area.
Once upon a time, an Arabic house stood here, in the middle of a farm, with a faint light beaming through its windows. Although this was just the light of a simple lamp, nonetheless it contained a kind of tranquility, a heart’s ease and a strange spiritual purity.
Within this house, in one of the rooms in particular, an unusual calmness prevailed. It was mixed with a pureness and magnificence that overwhelmed those who were present.
A charming, melodious, tender voice could be heard sounding a tune, beautifying the stillness and sending forth a halo of purity and delicacy that spread into the air. A number of visitors sat there listening. They had come to see their beloved eminent leader, and to hear his sublime interpretation of the Holy Qur’an, which took up all of their attention and satisfied their hearts with bliss. These were the disciples of the great guide, Mr. M A Sheikho. One of these disciples had brought some guests with him, who had had a great, insistent desire to see this virtuous master, whose noble qualities and high sayings were the talk of people everywhere. So it was that when Mr. M A Sheikho had finished speaking, one of those guests – who had been affected by an event that had happened many times before his very eyes – said:
“Oh sir! I wish to talk to you about ‘Al-Gawi’, who people regard as one of the people of God. He has a kind of supernatural power which enables him to know hidden things. Oh sir! What he does is, he asks one of his attendants to take anything he likes from the room, even if it is as small as a needle, and to go and hide it out of sight wherever he wants, without telling anyone where he has put it. Then, after he returns, Al-Gawi goes out and in no more than a few minutes he comes back holding the very thing that was hidden by that person! He is easily able to discover the place where the thing is hidden and bring it back, even if it has been buried beneath the soil of the earth. What a strange secret this Al-Gawi has!! Is it not so, sir? He has become widely known, and the news of the supernatural powers which he displays has spread by word of mouth. So, what do you have to say, sir, about such actions as these? And what position does he have himself? No doubt, somebody who does such things can be regarded as one of God’s people. Is this not so?”
With a nice smile, the great guide answered him:
“No, my son, he is not as you say. He is none other than one of the devils’ people. He performs such actions by means of the devils with whom he has coupled himself. You could also say that he is now nothing but a vessel for them. He helps them to achieve their aims and use their wicked cunning to work with simple-minded people.”
Showing astonishment on his face, the questioner said: “What great cunning he has! What a deceptive fox he is! He claims that nobody can do such a thing without being one of God’s people, with a special rank before Him!”
The righteous master said, “My son! If his claims were true, the messenger (cpth) or any of his noble companions would then be more deserving than him of having the greatest share of such supernatural powers.
“Have you ever heard that the messenger (cpth) did such kinds of things? Is there any mention of the Companions in relation to such activities?
“Listen, my son! Islam is a religion that depends on sound logic and righteous mind. It is based on lofty facts and it is absolutely above such silly wonders. When the noble companions continued Islam’s advance and conquered many countries, they made people’s hearts adopt this religion only through rationality, high logic and deep wisdom. They made people actually cling to God’s Book and yearn to absorb this religion, in the same way that they yearn to smell the fragrance of the sweetest musk. Through it, they clarified to people God’s justice, wisdom, patience, compassion and grandeur, until they made all of the hearts of creation fall and prostrate themselves before His Majesty, and before His other Supreme Attributes.
“As for miracles, they were stopped after the age of our master Jesus (pth), for they were of no use.
“In fact, nothing can bring a reward to people unless they themselves seek to ascertain the existence of God, and His greatness and kindness and all His Attributes. They should ascertain this through their own thought and rationality, and by reflecting on God’s cosmic signs, such as the sun, the moon and the stars.
“Any state of being impressed by a miracle – whatever of it lasts – will vanish; then people’s spirits will turn again to their bestial lusts and to oppression and aggression.
“Behold the folk of our master Saleh (pth)! Did they get any advantage from the miracle of the she-camel? Surely not.
“They even bereaved her of her young, which made them incur God’s wrath. There are many other examples. God says: ‘Nothing hinders Us from giving signs, except that the ancients disbelieved them. To Thamoud, We gave the she-camel as a visible sign, yet they oppressed themselves with it…’
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 17, Al-Isra’ (The Night Journey), verse 59
“Anyhow, my son, you can bring this Al-Gawi here and I shall show you his deception and lying, as well as his worthlessness.”
Thus, a date was set for a meeting between Al-Gawi and the great guide Mr. M A Sheikho. The meeting was to take place in the presence of the questioner, along with some of those from among his company who had seen wonders and unusual actions performed by Al-Gawi.
On the appointed day, the aforementioned meeting was held before a number of the disciples of Mr. M A Sheikho, who welcomed his guests.
However, when Al-Gawi entered the place, he set to looking stealthily at the great leader. Al-Gawi cast looks upon him that were full of exploration and anxiety, and then turned his eyes towards the floor. He repeated this behavior many times.
When everybody had taken their seat, Mr. M A Sheikho began the discussion by saying:
“So, what have you decided?”
The questioner answered, saying “Sir! This is Al-Gawi. He has come to show us some of his strange miracles.”
Mr. M A Sheikho said, “Good! Let him then do whatever he likes.”
The look on Al-Gawi’s face was still strange, and an expression of fear had appeared on his face, as if he was afraid of something.
What a strange case this was! At first, his facial features had shown conceit and disdain, but at this moment they showed only humbleness and languor. He kept silent for a long time. His face became dingy and sullen. Meanwhile, his eyes still seemed to be trying to look at the great guide in a cursory and hostile way, but they continually failed to do so.
Mr. M A Sheikho’s face, on the contrary, was clear and luminous. His piercing gaze dispersed the darkness, just in the same way as the rays of the sun. He seemed to be surrounded by signs of magnificence, augustness and beauty, as if he was swimming in and crowned with the light of his Provider, living in a state of infatuation with and absorption in His Presence. A smile could be seen on his lips, expressing his faith in the Provider of the people.
Suddenly, Al-Gawi broke his silence, saying, “Today I am unable to practice my work in the normal way, for I feel worried and absent-minded, so I cannot show you my wonders unless the object is hidden by a female.”
Those in attendance found his request to be very strange. They were used to seeing him perform these actions unconditionally, whether the person hiding the objectwas male or female. So what was the matter with him?! Why did he not dare to do this thing in front of the great guide?!
The solemn master Mr. M A Sheikho then rose and went towards the room of his wife. He entered, and said to his wife, “Om Fathi! I want you to take a needle and then go to the end of our farm’s orchard. Go to the mulberry-tree, and hide the needle under it. Bury it in the soil, but do not forget to pinpoint its location with a mark such as a fire stone, so that I can find it later on.”
She said: “I hear and obey! I am going at once to do what you want.”
Mr. M A Sheikho continued, “But I want you to keep reciting An-Nas (Oblivious Mankind, Oblivious Jinn-kind), Al-Falaq (All that’s coming to Appearance), Al-Ikhlas (Sincerity), and Al-Fatiha (The Opening) fortresses as you walk there and back.”
“I will do so.”
She took a needle from her room and went up to the farm while Mr. M A Sheikho stood waiting for her to make her way there and return.
She reached the far end of the farm and chose the tree under which she would hide the needle. Then she put a medium-sized fire stone near the hiding place. According to her husband’s directions, she kept reciting the Qur’anic fortresses until she returned to the house, where she found him waiting for her.
“I have done what you want”, she said. Then she told him where she had hidden the needle and described the marker under which he could find it.
“Very good! God bless you!” the virtuous master said.
He returned to the room where his guests were waiting and addressed Al-Gawi, saying, “Come on, Al-Gawi! We have done as you asked.”
Al-Gawi stood up and then he went out to the farm, followed by the rest of the group.
He walked among the trees, and then stopped as if he was unable to decide where he should go.
Those present did not find his actions up to this point to be in line with what they knew about him previously.
It was not long before Al-Gawi turned to them and said, “She has not hidden anything.”
Mr. M A Sheikho replied: “Come with me! I will show you where she has hidden a needle.”
They all followed Mr. M A Sheikho to the assigned place. He stooped to the ground and removed the white flint, and then dug at the soil lightly with his finger until the needle appeared clearly to the eyes of those present.
Mr. M A Sheikho picked it up, and then turned towards Al-Gawi and said, “So, what do you have to say about this?”
“Let her do that again”, Al-Gawi said, “but this time, I want you to stay in the room with us until she returns.”
The venerable master smiled and said, “As you like. Let us go back to the room.”
Once again, they all entered the room. Mr. M A Sheikho asked his wife to hide the needle again, but in a different place that they both agreed on, and then he entered the room and stayed with the group.
Despite this, again Al-Gawi’s fate was to face failure.
They repeated the exercise a third time according to Al-Gawi’s request, but he did not fare any better than on the first two occasions.
Thus, Al-Gawi realized that if he had truly possessed hidden knowledge, he would have been able to find the hidden object, and he would not have failed.
Therefore, he could only confess his failure, and so became humbled in the view of all those present. He had lost his prestige in their eyes, and especially in the view of the questioner, who had previously been highly impressed with him to the extent that he had thought him one of God’s people, whereas in reality, he was nothing but a magician, as the faithful guide Mr. M A Sheikho had said all along.
A magician cannot thrive in the presence of a true-hearted believer that seeks power and refuge in his Provider and mentions Him wholeheartedly, as in the case of Mr. M A Sheikho. This is because the magician’s devilish consorts will be unable to approach the place, as light and fire cannot come together. When the angels come, the devils only run away. God says: “He it is who keeps communication with you, as do His angels, so that He may bring you out from the depths of darkness into light…”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 33, Al-Ahzab (The Combined Clans), verse 43
Certainly, magicians have no power over believers who have been illuminated by God’s Light.