in soft, luxurious garments. When the other monks saw this, they were provoked, and among them was a sannāṭ—a sharp-tongued man who envied him for the dignity of his beard. He said to his companions, “This libertine is humiliating you and making you accomplices in his debauchery; so fear Allah with regard to yourselves.”

They replied, “We renounced the world and everything in it and devoted ourselves wholly to worship, yet because of this man we have been tried with endless tasks, worry, and sorrow.”

The sannāṭ said, “That is the price of your poor judgment—of valuing nothing but impressive beards. Whoever entrusts his affairs to the people of big beards and ostentation while ignoring those of chastity, true religion, and scrupulousness must patiently bear the consequences he has brought upon himself.”

They therefore agreed to admonish the abbot. The sannāṭ went to him with a group of monks and said, “You have gone to excess against your own soul. What you thought hidden is now plain to your brethren; they know exactly how you live. Beware the punishment of Allah, for He may hasten it upon a servant in this world before the Hereafter.”

The monk retorted, “Did not sin encompass the children of Adam until it even overtook…"