Letters

"The sickness that is afflicting your heart is one of those things which strike men whom God loves, for 'of all men the most sorely tried are the Prophets, after them the saints, then those who resemble them, closely or remotely.' So do not be downcast, since this happens most often to men full of sincerity and love, to cause them to go forward towards their Lord. By this suffering their hearts are purified and transformed into pure substance.

Lacking such encounters with reality, nobody would reach the knowledge of God, far from it, for 'if there were no arenas for souls, the runners would not be able to run their course' as it is said in Ibn 'Ata-Illah's Hikam, in which he also says: 'In the variety of signs and changing states I came to recognize Thine intention in regard to me, that of showing me all things, so that there might be nothing in which I would not know Thee.'

In the same sense, the initiates have said: 'It is in times of upheaval that men stand out from amongst men.' In the Koran it is said : Do the people then reckon that they will be left in peace because they say 'we believe,' and that they will not be tried? (XXIX,1)."

... Letters To A Sufi Saint, Shaykh ad-Darqawi