Men of the Unseen

A man of the unseen might appear in different forms, for exaple where was once a qadi in a certain country where there dwelled a a Sufi who was a sāfi (pure). “Sufi” is an allusion to one’s inward purity and a servant will never be a Sufi until he is first a sāfi. Now the qadi did not like the Sufi. He would say that he was mad and he would say, “when I see him I shall give him a lesson so that he will know his limit.”

One day the qadi was walking down a long alleyway. He looked up and saw the Sufi walking in his direction in the distance. He said to himself, “now I will give him a lesson.” Then he looked again and saw him in the form of a ploughman. There was no one but the two of them in the alley. Then he looked again and now he saw him in the form of a solider! He wondered and thought, “where did the other two go?” He continued to walk until he reached his side and now he found him in the form of a merchant. At that time the Sufi addressed him and said, “according to what form will you pass judgement, O qadi?”

The qadi was dumbstruck and asked for the other man’s forgiveness. This story signifies that the men of the unseen are able to re-form themselves in different forms and in different places wherever they are oredered, because they have become part of the relam of majâl as-ițlāq (the realm of absoluteness), that is, outside of time and space.

Translated from the Arabic by Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad ﵀