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there came to me a young man, whom I had known as a lewd fellow, clad in fine clothes and his hands stained with henna, and said to me, ‘Art thou not such an one [the ferryman]?’ ‘Yes,’ answered I; and he said, ‘Give me what thou hast in trust for me.’ Quoth I, ‘What is that?’ ‘The gown, the bottle and the staff,’ replied he. ‘Who told thee of them?’ asked I; and he answered, ‘I know nothing save that I was yesterday at the wedding of one of my friends and spent the night singing [and making merry,] till hard upon day, when I lay down to sleep and take rest; and behold, there stood by me one who said to me, ‘God the Most High hath taken such an one the hermit to Himself and hath appointed thee to fill his place; so go to so and so, the ferryman, and take of him the dead man’s gown and bottle and staff, that he left with him for thee.’ So I brought them out and gave them to him, whereupon he put off his clothes and donned the gown, then taking the gourd and staff, went his way and left me.
I fell a-weeping for wonder and pity; but, that night, whilst I slept, the Lord of Glory (blessed and exalted be He) appeared to me in a dream and said to me, ‘O My servant, is it grievous to thee that I have granted to one of My servants to return to Me? Indeed, this is of My bounty, that I vouchsafe to whom I will, for I am able to do all things.’ And I repeated the following verses:
The lover with the Loved[1] of will’s bereaved quite; All choice to thee’s forbid, an but thou know aright.
Whether to thee He grant favour and grace or hold Aloof from thee nowise may blame upon Him light.
His very rigours, e’en, except thou glory in, Away! Thou hast no call to stand with the contrite.
Knowst not His presence from His absence? Then art thou In real and that thou seek’st in front and out of sight.
- ↑ Lover and Beloved, mystical names for the believer and God.
