A True Story
In a large room, a number of men sat, gathered in a circle, listening to a soothing and pleasant discourse. Great expressions of pleasure and enjoyment were to be seen upon their faces, overwhelming them so that they forgot this world and all its grief and troubles.
There, in the front of the room, sat a wide shouldered man with a snow-white face and blushing cheeks that added more beauty to his beauty. His charming green eyes were shining with glamour and liveliness.
He appeared to have been overwhelmed by a great Godly solemnity. He could boast great might crowned with signs of compassion. His assembly was very transparent and untroubled and was adorned with his elevated speech. He was reciting interpretations of the Holy Qur’an that were overwhelming the hearts of his disciples and uplifting them to limitless and lofty paradises. At the end of the lesson, and after performing their communication with God, the spectators came successively to greet their guide, then taking their leave of him in a very polite manner. A few of them were still there when one of them began to talk as another affirmed his speech. The two men had recently joined the circle of this great guide. One of the men said:
“Oh sir! There is a man whose nature is unknown to us. We suspect him to be one of the true men of Al’lah who have supernatural powers, although he is not Arabian.”
He peered at them, saying: “Who is he? What do you mean?!”
The new disciple said: “Oh, sir! This news has been passing from mouth to mouth. People are talking constantly about a foreigner that has come to Damascus and established himself in the public square of Al-Marjeh. He has established a shop there and has started receiving people and questioners. It is said that he can surely give you the answer to anything you may wish to ask him about.
“The oddity, sir, is that he asks his visitor, whoever they are, to keep their demands secret, without speaking to anyone or informing anyone about them. He takes out a white piece of paper, totally blank and devoid of any writing, and places it before his visitor. Then, he absents himself in his private room for a few minutes. After that he comes out and unfolds the paper, on which there appears a full written illustration of the need that is hidden inside his visitor’s spirit, as well as the reply to the query.
“All of that costs one golden lira, sir!”
The eminent guide, Mohammad Amin Sheikho said:”What? What are you saying, my son?! He is no more than a devil of humankind who is dealing with the devils of jinn.”
The speaker replied, backed up by his companion: “But his deeds are really amazing and strange. Sir! Do you know, sir, that a man entered his shop once who had resolved to drill a well in the region from which he came. He kept that to himself without telling anyone. So, when that foreigner drew out the paper, his answer appeared on it, written in beautiful Arabic script. It stated: ‘Drill deeply, and you shall succeed’.”
Another said: “Yes, sir! We have seen this, and with our own eyes!! But what a pity it was!! Although the man dug deeply and burdened himself with exorbitant costs, eventually the digger reached rock beneath the soil, and not a drop of water gushed out!!”
The former continued his speech, saying: “Another man came to him, hiding inside himself his wish to travel to a foreign country to engage in trade there. He wanted to know whether or not he would prosper by this course of action. That was his intention. So, when the foreigner drew out the paper, he found a clear reply written there that said: ‘Travel, and you shall prosper!’ – and there are many other men, sir. Moreover, if the person who came to him was not Arabian, he would find the paper written in his own language, and that is the wonder of wonders!! By God, this person is surely in possession of a strange secret – isn’t he, sir?!”
Mr. Mohammad Emin laughed and said: “Have not I told you, my sons, that all of his deeds are achieved by means of devils?! He is a devil of humankind. He performs such deeds with the help of the sightless associating devils of jinn who aid the like of him. Have not you heard of Al’lah’s saying in His Holy Qur’an: ‘And that there were men of mankind sought the help of men of jinn, but they added them nothing other than more strain.’
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 72, Al-Jinn (The Jinn), verse 6
“Indeed my sons, his actions issue from a magician who will never prosper, whatever he does. There is nothing unusual about him, because he has drawn far from Al’lah and turned away from Al’lah with his heart. He has shunned his Creator until he has willingly become a devil, mounted by the devils of jinn. They have employed him to serve their evil purposes of harming creation and alienating the beings of creation from Al’lah. With such deeds he aspires only to two things: one of them is money; the second, which is the most important, is to make people turn away from their love and appreciation of God, so as to make them glorify him instead. He makes them turn their spirits towards him, appreciating his deeds; but meanwhile he is far from Al’lah and has an agonized spirit. Through his distance and through people’s directing themselves towards him – appreciating his deeds and his wonders – he allows devils to creep into them. As a result, these people become exposed to being inflicted with spiritual and psychic diseases, and hence they draw far from their Provider and mistrust Him.
“That is, they hold bad doubts about Him just like this enchanter does.
“Thus, they forfeit everything, so that their spirits fall into darkness and become distant (turning away from Al’lah). This is what he seeks, which is the same thing that is sought by the failure, Satan, and is his utmost purpose. Out of his envy and grudges, the failing loser always tries to make the others fall, just as he himself also failed.
“Through the story of our master Adam (peace is through him) and the original Satan, we can glean a warning and a lesson so that we are acquainted with his enmity. Then we can avoid being deceived by Satan. It shows that the one you are speaking about is none other than an enchanter who transmits forth what is concealed by humanity by means of his associates; that is, by means of the devils.
“Had man resorted to his Provider and fully sought refuge in Him, this enchanter would not have been able to do any such deeds by which you would be deceived into thinking him one of Al’lah’s worthy men.
“So do not be deceived by these magic actions, my sons. The sign of God’s true men is that they draw our attention, thought and appreciation to our Creator, the Gracious and the Obliging for all creation, who provides food, drink, and life. They make us turn towards Him with our spirits through thinking of creation and of the Almighty’s universal miracles, such as the sun, the moon, the stars, clouds, rain, plants and trees, and all of the other gifts with which He supports us. Then they appreciate Him as they appreciate His benevolence to them in providing for them, and consequently, they incline to Him with feelings of love. This is their indication. They never ascribe action to themselves at all, nor do they direct people anywhere other than to God and His messenger (cpth). They don’t practice acts which are inadmissible and in contravention of straight thinking and sound logic. These are nothing but occult matters that turn people away and alienate them from right thinking and correct logic.”
With his lofty and rational speech, the noble master continued admonishing these two disciples who had newly attached themselves to him. At the end of his speech, he turned to the questioner and said: “In any case, tomorrow we shall go to him together.
“What is your opinion now, my sons?”
Eagerly and with curiosity, they both said: “How excellent! At your command, sir!”
The next day, the great master went with them both to the supposed master of wonders and oddities. They reached the place where this foreigner had established himself. It was a large shop inside which there was a small room.
Mr. Mohammad Emin entered, followed by his two adherents. The man was sitting on a chair near an Arabian person. Undoubtedly, the latter was a translator who was employed by the former to help him to perform his acts more easily. The translator got up and said:
“Welcome; come in, please.” The foreigner glanced at the venerable master with brief glances, and then stopped looking as if he was not pleased with him. He shifted his attention to his translator, requesting him to ask his visitors what they wanted. When he found out that they were going to keep the subject to themselves as usual, he asked the translator to tell the master to conceal something inside himself. The virtuous master did so, and then said to the translator:
“I have something within myself, so I’m ready.” Then, he put one golden lira on the table. The enchanter brought forth a white sheet of paper and showed the spectators that it was blank and empty of writing. Then, he folded it in the middle and put it inside a book on the table near them. He quickly entered his small room and shut the door behind him. As usual, only a few minutes passed before he came out but, how odd! He had gone into the room in a very lively way, but when he came out he appeared to be overburdened and exhausted, contrary to his usual manner. He walked towards the white folded piece of paper with a dull and dusky face, and when he unfolded it, his face’s color became even more swarthy and dim. The paper was now off-white and devoid of any letters, which was totally different from the customary situation after he emerged from his room. The two questioners looked at the paper and found it empty of writing, and so astonishment and wonderment visibly appeared on their faces. They turned their gaze towards the dull-faced man, looking at him and feeling strange, while a kind of amazement was still apparent on their faces. But when they looked at their eminent guide, they saw that an expression of elevated confidence, safety and tranquility had appeared on his face. He was standing normally in his usual proud posture. As for the translator, he was looking about himself hesitantly, sometimes at the foreigner and sometimes at Mr. Mohammad Emin. The foreigner kept silent for a short time and continued to look steadily at the white page, biting and sucking at his lower lip all the while. He seemed to be rather confused. A few minutes passed while silence prevailed in the place. The only interaction was made up of mutual glances which expressed nothing but riddles, as they came out of the language of the spirit. Suddenly, the foreigner turned and spoke to the translator, who in turn addressed Mr. Mohammad Emin, saying:
“You have not hidden anything inside yourself!”
Mr. Mohammad Emin said with a smile: “Tell him that I have!”
Then, the man returned the sheet of paper to its place, just as it was, and turned and rapidly went back into his small room. The great guide tended to his two disciples, talking to them in lofty and high-level discourse about Al’lah’s Majesty which entirely attracted people’s hearts. A quarter of an hour passed, which made the translator look at his watch in astonishment, as had not been accustomed to such delays from this master of marvels in the past. This was the first time he had absented himself in his room for such a long period in order to unveil his secrets. After about twenty minutes, the enchanter came out of the room looking sweaty and exhausted. He was frowning and sulky, as if he had just been weeping over his misfortune on that unlucky day. He approached the group with heavy steps, and then he stood with his head bowed before that grave master and unfolded the paper. Once again, the paper was spotless, without any words. The translator and the two disciples looked at it in a state of surprise and wonderment, with many questions to be seen on their faces. As for the foreigner, the misery on his face appeared to be aggravated and he became still gloomier. He turned to the sedate master – whose face was still bright, luminous and clear – and he said to Mr. Mohammad Emin through his translator:
“No! No! You have not folded anything secretly inside yourself.”
The generous master said to the translator: “Tell him that yes, I did.”
The foreigner replied through the translator: “If he has really done so, let him secretly and separately inform you about what he has resolved on, out of my earshot. Also tell him that you will stay near him and will not approach me.”
When the noble master was acquainted with this request, he smiled and said: “As he likes!” and then went to the translator in two short steps, and the latter drew his ear near to Mr. Mohammad Emin, who whispered to him what he had intended as his secret, telling him: “I want him to inform me about Mohammad Ibn Abdul-lah, communication with Al’lah and peace are through him.”
During this exchange, the master of wonders was standing far from them, but was minutely scrutinizing them with his black eyes and closely observing the situation. After the information had been passed on, he signaled to the translator, asking if he had been told. The latter indicated that he had. The enchanter then returned to his room and shut the door. He stayed there for another period of time, even longer than the previous one. He stayed there for nearly half an hour. Then, when at last he came out, he looked as though he had fallen into the hands of a set of men who had severely beaten him up to the point that he had lost his strength and become extremely sluggish. He was sweating and staggering around, as if unable to bear the weight of his own body. When he opened the folded sheet, he found that it was just the same as it had been. Nothing had changed in any way. It was white and devoid of any writing!! He kept silent a little while more, thinking about the problem of his failure on that day, and then he seemed to recognize the cause. He knew that there were still some sentinels who had never been neglectful of foxes. Verily, he was surprised and bitterly shocked by this fact. His expectations had been smashed. He had been thinking that the country had become free of the true faith, so that he would be able to spread his corruption in it easily. But unfortunately for him, he had been frustrated in his aim. The virtuous master turned and said to the translator:
“Tell him that his devil can never approximate our honorable and pure prophet master Mohammad (cpth). Had he done that, he would have been burned by His Godly Light.” After remaining speechless for a while, the magician turned to his audience and informed them by means of his translator that his situation and spiritual status were not functioning on that day, but if they were to return the next day, they would find their demand fulfilled. Here, the eminent conductor smiled and said to his two fellows:
“You will not find him here tomorrow, for he will surely flee.” Then he took back his golden lira and put it in his pocket. On the next day, the magician escaped from Syria and went back to his own country, disappointed and despondent. He had been scheming to resume his rounds throughout all the provinces of the country of Syria, from Homs to Hama to Aleppo, yet failed in this ambition.