3.2.9 - The Science of Coincidences

Also in his discussion about the esoteric meanings of worship, the Greatest Shaykh tells an interesting story about the science of coincidence of events. This story shows how Shaykh Abu Madyan had a profound consideration between the possible links of various phenomena. For example, it happened that one trade person came to him and expressed his wish to the poor, so he asked him that if someone in need come to him he would be happy to help. So it happened that some poor person came to Shaykh Abu Madyan, and his status was that he do not rely on other than God in all matters concerning himself or others, because the shaykhs have all agreed that if one is honest in trusting God for what concerns himself then he should be also honest to trust Him in respect to others. Nevertheless, when this poor man came to him, Shaykh Abu Madyan remembered the desire of the trader so he took this man with him and went out to the merchant’s shop to take a garment for him. However, as they were walking through the market, a strange man happened to be walking next to him. The Shaykh asked him about his religion, and he was a polytheist, while he knew that no other religions are embraced in the city other than Islam. For this reason he said to himself that there must be some occasion that he met this polytheist, so he instantly repented to God, and then when turned to look for that man he found that he had left him, and he did not even know where did he go. He then knew that God had sent him to him this out of his own thoughts, all as a warning to him, because God sometimes creates things from the breath of the creations [Futuhat: I.356].