The Eighth Word

He looked at the wall and saw that it was swarming with vermin. He looked at the top of the tree and noticed that it was a fig tree, but, wondrously, he saw that all kinds of different fruits—from walnuts to pomegranates—were hanging from its branches. Because of his pessimism and foolishness, this man did not understand that these events were not occurring by chance. He did not understand that mysterious secrets lay behind these remarkable occurrences. It did not occur to him that a powerful One was directing all this. Although his heart, soul, and mind were suffering anguish and pain from this bitter state, because of his nafs-i ammāraThe aspect of the soul associated with lower desires and negative traits. he supposed that nothing was wrong. He closed his ears to the cries of the soul and the heart and thereby deceived himself. He began eating the fruits of that tree as though he were in a garden. Yet some of those fruits were poisonous and harmful.

In a hadīth qudsīA saying from Allah, distinct from the Qur’an, that was conveyed by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)., Allah says:

اَناَ عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِى بِىI treat My servant according to his expectation of Me

Indeed, through his pessimism and foolishness, this unfortunate man considered what he saw to be entirely ordinary and regarded everything as reality itself. Thus he was, is, and will be treated according to his outlook. He neither dies so as to be delivered from it, nor does he truly live; thus he continues to suffer torment and pain. We shall now leave this wretched man with his suffering and return to the other brother to see what state he is in.

Indeed, because this blessed and intelligent person was well-natured, unlike his brother he experienced no torment or distress on his way. He thought of good things and had positive thoughts. Thus he put his mind at ease. Moreover, he did not suffer torment and hardship like his brother, for he knew the order and rules, lived by them, and found ease. Peacefully and safely, he continued his way without hindrance. He entered a garden where beautiful flowers and fruits bloomed. However, because the garden was not maintained, there were also spoiled plants in it. His brother too had entered a similar garden. But because he had occupied himself with the spoiled plants, he had become nauseated and had left the garden without taking any rest. This brother, however, acted according to the principle, “Look at everything from its good side,” and paid no attention at all to what was spoiled. He benefited greatly from the good, rested well, and continued his journey. Like his brother, he too eventually came to a vast wilderness.

Suddenly he heard the roar of a raging lion. He was startled, but not as much as his brother. For he was optimistic and looked at everything from its good side. He said to himself, “This wilderness has a ruler, and most likely this lion acts by his command,” and thus he reassured himself. Nevertheless, he fled and ran until he came upon a dry well sixty meters deep. He jumped into it, and like his brother, halfway down the well his hands grasped a tree. Thus he remained suspended in the air. He noticed that two mice were gnawing at the two roots of that tree. He looked up and saw a lion. He looked down and saw a dragon. Like his brother, he had found himself in a strange situation. He too was frightened, but a thousand times less than his brother. For his good nature gave him good thoughts, and those good thoughts showed him the good aspect of everything. Consequently, he began to think as follows: