A bold dervish of Herat became jealous of the slave of a nobleman, walking on the road wearing a belt of gold. Thereupon, the dervish lifted his face to heaven and asked God: “Why don’t you learn from this generous master how to look after your slave? Learn from this chosen minister of our king to take care of slaves!” The day came when the king charged the slave’s master with treason and bounded his hands and feet. His slaves were put in jail. The king tortured the slaves day and night for a whole month and asked: “Show me where your master has hidden the loot. Speak now or I’ll cut your throat!” He tortured them to the extent that they were cut into pieces. Yet, out of concern for their master, not one slave betrayed by telling the secret. In a dream, the dervish heard a voice from heaven: “You too learn to be a slave like them and then come to me!”
Adapted from “A Bold Dervish” by Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi
No comments:
Post a Comment