A young adept in the path of spiritualism had gathered together, without his schaïkh’s knowledge, a small hoard of gold coins. The schaïkh knew it, but said nothing to him, and the disciple continued, for his part, to keep this gold hidden. Now this pupil and this master of the spiritual path set out together on a journey. A black valley appeared before them, and there were two roads. The one of the two travellers who had gold was seized with fear; for gold, indeed, quickly debases the man who possesses it. He therefore said to the schaïkh: “Since there are two roads, which of the two must we take?” The schaïkh replied: “Rid yourself of what excites your fear, for this thing makes you guilty; and then any road you choose to take will be good. The devil fears him who is indifferent to the possession of money, and quickly flees far from him. For the sake of valuing a grain of gold forbidden to you, you will go so far as eagerly to divide a hair. Gold is in religion like a lame donkey; it has no worth, though it has weight. When it comes unexpectedly, it rules you, and when it attacks piety, it stupefies you. He who has followed the road of gold has gone astray; he has been cast, bound hand and foot, into the well. Avoid this deep well, like Joseph; but in any case hold your breath, for in this well one breathes an air altogether extraordinary.”
The schaïkh of Basra went one day to Râbi'ah, and said to her: “Thou who knowest all that concerns divine love! Teach me a saying which thou hast learned from no one, which thou hast said to no one, and which thou hast not seen proved true. Tell me what thou hast found self-evident, for I ardently desire it.” Râbi'ah said to him: “O schaïkh of the age! I had plaited a few pieces of rope; I took them to the market, sold them, and was pleased with my sale, for I had gained two pieces of silver; but I did not put those two pieces in one hand. I took one in one hand and the other in the other, because if the two pieces had been together, I would not have slept at night, for fear of thieves. The man of the world places his mind and heart in blood; he sets thousands of snares of different kinds until he is unjustly in possession of a grain of gold; when he has obtained it, he dies, and good night. This gold becomes lawful for his heir, while on account of this gold he is in torment.”
O thou who wouldst sell the Simurgh for gold, and hast set thy heart aflame like a candle with love of this metal! if thou dost not enter at all upon the path I point out to thee, thou wilt acquire not the least portion of the treasure to be found there, nor behold the face of its gold. If thou set thy foot upon the path like the ant, thou wilt be seized by force by thy waist, fine as a hair; but when one feels not the least love, one dares not approach this road.
A holy personage, who found his happiness in God, had devoted himself to worship for forty years. He had fled the world and had communed with the secrets of God behind the veil. God was intimately united with him, and that sufficed him; had he ceased to be, it would have been a matter of indifference to him, since God would not have ceased to exist. The Sufi possessed an enclosure, in the midst of which stood a tree. Now a bird had made its nest in that tree. The bird’s song was sweet, its notes agreeable; there were a hundred secrets in each of them. This servant of God was charmed by the bird’s melodious song, as well as by its presence near him. But God made a revelation on this subject to the prophet of that time, who was a man of action, in these words: “Tell this Sufi that it is astonishing that, after performing all his devotions day and night, after burning with love for Me for so many years, he should at last have sold Me for a bird. It is true that this bird is admirable in its perfection; but, after all, it is the song of a bird that has caught thee in its net. I, on the contrary, bought thee and taught thee, and Thou hast shamefully sold Me. Did I then sell Thee for a price? Did I then learn fidelity from Thee? Do not sell thyself for so little, for nothing; I am thy Friend, cease not to be…”