until the Shaykh’s own hand was sore from the blows. At that point the jinn inside the man spoke, saying, “I will leave out of respect for the Shaykh.” The Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—replied, “Do not leave out of respect for me; leave in obedience to Allah and His Messenger.” He did not wish any credit for himself; all credit belongs to Allah, first and last. So the jinn departed. When it did, the man regained consciousness and asked, “How did I come to be in the Shaykh’s presence?”—for when the seizure overtook him he might have been at home or in the marketplace. He repeated, “What brought me here to the Shaykh?” They said, “Glory be to Allah! Did you not feel the blows he was giving you?” He answered, “I felt nothing and it caused me no pain.” They informed him of all that had happened, and the man was cured.

The point is that people of knowledge and faith never credit themselves with Allah’s favors; they attribute them to their true Owner—Allah.

The boy had said to the king’s blind courtier, “If you believe, I shall pray to Allah for you.” The man believed, so the boy prayed to his Lord to heal him, and Allah restored his sight.

The courtier then went to the king and sat beside him as usual. The king asked, “Who returned your eyesight?” He replied, “My Lord.” The king retorted, “Do you have a lord other than me?” The man related the whole story. The king tortured him severely and demanded, “Who taught you this?” The monk had already warned the boy, “You will be tested; if you are tested, do not reveal me.” But perhaps the courtier could not bear the ordeal, and he informed the king about the monk.

That tyrannical king—may Allah protect us—had the monk brought in and said to him, “Renounce your religion.” Yet the monk refused to abandon his faith.