Lettuce Seller

Abdullah al-Mawruri had great spiritual power and veracity. Once, as he was setting off on a journey from Abu Madyan’s place at Bugia to Spain to see his mother, Shaykh Abu Madyan asked him to convey his greetings to a certain Abu Abdullah, an aged Shaykh known as al-Ghazzal (the spinner) who lived in Almerأ¬a and who had been a companion of Ibn al-Arif and a contemporary of Abu Madyan, Abu al-Rabi al-Kafif of Egypt, Abd al-Rahim of Qana and Abu Naja of Jazirat al-Dhahab.

When our Shaykh arrived in Almerأ¬a he went in search of the Shaykh Abu Abdullah. Coming to his house he found the Shaykhs disciples sitting about in front of the house. He asked them to inform their Shaykh of his arrival. For their part they merely told him that their Shaykh was sleeping at that hour and did nothing to make him welcome. It grieved him that they were so insensitive as not to recognize him and said, If I have come on God’s business, God will waken him now. No sooner had he spoken than the door opened and there was the Shaykh, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and asking about the arrival of a visitor. Then he greeted him and honored him with a fitting welcome.