Chapter VIII: Self-Examination and Self-Accounting
(48) A saintly woman said: I saw a dream that I had entered into paradise and seen its inmates standing at its door. When asked the reason of their standing, someone of them said : They are standing to receive a woman in paradise for whom it has been decorated. He asked : Who is that lady ? They said : She is a black slave woman named Shaoanah. Then I saw her climbing on a camel and hovering over the horizon, I cried aloud and said to her : O my sister. She smiled and said : The time has not yet ripe for you to come here, but observe two things. Keep sorrow attached to your heart and place your love for God above your temptations. If you can do these two things, nothing will harm you at the time of your death.
(49) The great saint Jun-nun M isri said: One night I came out to the valley of Kanan and ascended its top and saw that a black shadow in the form of a human being was following me and was reading the verse of the Quran : "What they could not think of was disclosed to them from Allah". It was crying. When the shadow drew near, I saw that it was that of a woman wearing the dress of Sufism. There was a pot in her hand. She asked me : Who are you ? I said without fear : I am a stranger. The woman said : O gentle man, is there a stranger near Allah ? I began to weep at her words. She asked me : Why do you weep ? I said : I received the right medicine for my disease.
(50) Ahmed Ibn Ali reported: When we asked permission for an interview with the saint Afia, she did not give us permission. We still kept to her door. When she came to know of it, she said :
Vol-IV MEDITATION AND INTROSPECTION 359
O God, I seek refuge from those who want to keep me away from your remembrance. There after she opened the door and we entered. We said : O man of God, pray to God for us. She said : God has received your seeking pardon well at my house. She then said : The great saint Ata Salam did not look towards the sky for 40 years. Thereafter a sudden look towards the sky unawares made him senseless and as a result one screen of his stomach was severed. Alas to Afia. If she turns her look once, will that not be sin?
(51) It is reported of the saint Moaza Adbiyah that when the day dawned, she used to say : Death may come to us today. So she used not to take meal upto evening. When the night came, she said : Death may come to us this night. So she used to pray the whole night.
(52) Abu Sulaiman Darani said: I spent one night near the great saint Rabia, She prayed in her praying room and I prayed in a corner of the room. When it was dawn, I said : Shall I not be grateful this night ? She said : you shall have to fast tomorrow. This is the expression of gratefulness to Him.