Story 23

God's mercy held a lamp of grace before a man lost in sin, guiding him until he joined the circle of those who seek the truth. Through the blessing of the dervishes' steps and the sincerity of their breath, his ugly traits turned into virtues. He gave up his cravings and desires, yet the tongues of critics still stretched long against him, claiming he was as he used to be, and that his piety and devotion could not be trusted. With apology and repentance you can escape God's punishment, but you can never escape the tongues of people. He could no longer bear the cruelty of these tongues, so he carried his complaint to the elder of the path. The elder answered: How can you ever give proper thanks for this blessing, that you are better than people imagine you to be? How long will you keep saying that the malicious and the envious are picking flaws in poor helpless me? One moment they rise up to spill my blood, the next they sit down plotting my ruin. To be good and have people call you bad is better than to be bad and have them think you good. But as for me, since everyone thinks the best of me while I am full of faults, it is only right that I feel concern and grieve over it. I keep myself hidden from the eyes of my neighbors, yet God knows all my secrets and everything I show. I shut my door in people's faces, so they cannot spread my faults. But what good is a shut door, when the Knower of the Unseen sees all that is hidden and all that is plain?