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Sufi Parables/Parable about Good and Evil

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Parable about Good and Evil

The Lord of everything was evident for Me —
and I perceived His Presence
in the manifested and in the unmanifested,
in people whom I met on My Path, and in everything that His generous Hand gave Me!
I did not divide these gifts into good and bad ones,
because Allah does not give
that which should not be received!

Every minute of your life is the message of Allah to you and your response to Allah.
You can read every moment like the Quran,
because everything around is the Book of Existence,
and He teaches you to read it!
When you learn this, you will
experience only the Bliss of His Love!

And when you talk after that —
it will be the song of thankfulness to the Creator!

Haji Bei Murat

Once a woman came to the Master casting no shadows and brought a sick girl with her.

This woman, who called herself the mother of the girl, said:

“If you really know Allah, heal this child! But if all that you can do is only to deliver homilies, with which you deceive those miserable who come to you, then take this girl! While she was little, I carried her in my arms, and people used to give me charity out of pity. Now she has grown, but still cannot walk. I have no more strength to carry her and nothing to feed her. I cannot raise the child who is going to be a cripple till its last day!”

“This is a very difficult case. It will take a lot of time to heal her,” — said the Master quietly.

He looked at the girl attentively, and then He lifted His eyes to the woman.

“Do you really want to leave her to Me? If this child given to you by Allah is a burden to you… — then, well, I agree. But don’t regret this later!”

* * *

Many acquaintances of the Master reproached Him for allowing the sick girl to stay in His house. They said:

“What will those who want to learn from You think about You? They will think that You are a bad healer and not a true Master if a cripple lives in Your house!”

However, the Master calmly replied:

“I accept that which Allah sends Me and thank Him for His gifts!”

The disciples of the Master began to call the girl Sufy, since she lived in the house of Sufi sheikh. Thus this endearing nickname had become her spiritual name long before she received her first serious initiation.

Almost every evening, the Master told stories or parables to Sufy but never finished them.

He spoke as if the heroes of His stories came to life, as if the sounds of their speeches were heard and their figures and movements seen. Even the fragrance of flowers and a breath of wind seemed to reach the little listener…

The Master ended His every incomplete story with a question about how this or that hero should continue to act.

The next day Sufy answered Him, and depending on her response, the tale took a new turn and had a happy or bitter end.

The girl got accustomed to thinking about the answers seriously — as if a real person, and not a fairy tale hero, got into troubles or avoided them, depending on her right or wrong decision. If she made a mistake, she was very upset and tried to correct it. Then a fairy tale had a happy end!

Every day the girl was taught by the Master and His disciples to read and write, to wash and cook. She tried to do her best, even though she still had little strength.

… Once Sufy asked the Master:

“How can I learn to make no mistakes in my answers?”

“It is difficult or, perhaps even impossible, to make no mistakes at all… Everyone in life learns not only from his or her right words and acts but also from the wrong ones.

“Do you remember how I once asked you to wash glass containers for medicine and explained how to do it better? Yet you were stubborn and broke them… I recall that you were very upset then but remembered that case, and since then you have followed carefully My advice. When you manage to understand something important from your own error — from that moment on, you know very well how to behave right!

“Still there is one method that allows one to make fewer mistakes.”

“Teach it to me!” — asked Sufy.

“Every human has the spiritual heart. Inside it, love for everything can be born: for blossoming flowers, tender animals, infinite beauty of nature around us, kind people, and Allah Himself, Who has created all this and gives life to everything and everyone! The spiritual heart is in the chest. You can feel it in that place to which you inhale and from which you exhale the air.

“Right here, in your chest, you have this especial center of you as a soul. Love is born in this place. From here, it grows and embraces those whom we love, no matter how far they are. If love is strong and pure — it can expand immensely and fill everything and everyone regardless of distance!

“It is in the spiritual heart that one can understand the advice of Allah. It is here that we can decide how to act correctly. The Love of Allah can be felt only here as well — in the spiritual heart that became big and developed enough!”

So the Master taught Sufy how to submerge oneself into the spiritual heart, how to look with the eyes of the heart at the world and at people, how to listen to Allah in the silence of this heart, filled with love and calm, and how to expand this heart love more and more.

Sufy mastered all this and changed drastically! She stopped being a sickly girl, who longed for the care and special attention from others!

With each day, she became more joyful and healthier! A smile of happiness lit up her face more frequently! Soon her pure laughter, similar to a ringing bell, began to sound in the house of the Master, emphasizing the beauty of the transparent silence that usually reigned there. Now Sufy gave everyone the warmth and gentle calm of her heart!

* * *

Once Sufy asked the Master:

“Why do diseases exist? How nice it would be if they didn’t!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

“But then you and Me would never have met!”

“Oh! I didn’t think about this…”

“Allah brought many people to Me through their miseries and diseases, and I was able to help some of them.

“Everything is slightly more complex than people usually think…

“When you grow up, Sufy, I will teach you to see the hidden causes of everything that happens. Now just remember that everything is connected in this world, in the world beyond the death of the bodies, and in the Infinite Light of the Love of Allah! Everything is created by His Love and rests on the foundation made of this Great Love! Therefore, no matter how difficult and hopeless a situation seems to be — love allows you to resolve it!

“I too wish that diseases and misfortunes didn’t exist… However, many things must be changed in the world and in people living in it so that they never forget about kindness…”

* * *

Time passed by…

The Master taught Sufy other methods of purification of the body and soul. She grew and became a beautiful girl. The light of her spiritual heart was transforming and healing her body each time more, but she still walked with great difficulty…

… In those days, sheikhs sometimes sent their disciples to learn from other sheikhs. In this way, by listening about the Truth from other sources and learning from different teachers, disciples could obtain wider vision and knowledge of life.

And so it happened that the Master and Sufy were alone in the house that day. The Master was writing a book while Sufi was washing in the patio when burglars entered the house.

Since deep silence was there, they did not suspect that the Master was in one of the rooms. They were quickly putting in their bags all that they believed were of value. (People often thanked the Master with different gifts; therefore, in the house there were items that could be sold at a high price).

Having gathered all that they found, they suddenly saw the Master Who came up to meet them like welcome and kind guests.

The burglars behaved in the same way as people led by fear usually behave… One of them, having approached the Master from the back, hit Him on the head with a heavy lamp… The Master fell and lost consciousness. The bandits hurriedly ran away taking the stolen with them…

Sufy heard a strange noise and ran into the house… She saw the body of the Master on the floor with trickles of blood around… She ran up to Him…

“This is the end, My girl!” — said the Master happily, having opened His eyes…

“No, no, don’t die!”

“I am not going to die! Don’t be afraid! The wound is superficial! Yet now you are completely healed!”

Only in this moment Sufy realized that she could move freely on her legs!

* * *

“Look how beautiful today’s gift of Allah is!” — said the Master, while Sufy bandaged the wound. — “People often cry and complain when difficulties and adversities befall them… They talk about how terrible the evil is!… However, the good and the evil often exist in this world as two sides of one hand of destiny. This hand acts in accordance with the Will of Allah and the laws of the existence of the universe created by Him. So let’s thank Him! If these thieves hadn’t come — we would have to spend some more years, trying to heal you…”

“But what about them? By causing harm to You, they caused great harm to themselves, to their destinies…”

“Today they did what they have been doing always. But those gifts of love and gratitude that they stole will change their lives in some way. We will see this soon…”

Sufy finished bandaging the wound and looked anxiously at the face of the Master. He smiled reassuringly. At this point, He mentally observed the sixteen years of their common hard work and the sudden complete recovery of Sufy…

The girl wanted to suggest that the Master lay down, but she heard from Him something so familiar:

“Well, it’s time for you and Me to start working! Let’s put the things in order and clean the house! Cleanliness everywhere and in everything brings us closer to the Perfection!”