Friday 11 February 2011

Here is a story (one I really enjoyed) from William Dalrymple's book Nine Lives. This one is about the Sufi Saint Lal Shahbaz Qualander. 'One day Lal Shahbaz was wandering in the desert with his friend Sheikh Baha ud-Din Zakariya. It was winter, and evening time, so they began to build a fire to keep warm. They found some wood, but then they realised they had no fire. So Baha ud -Din suggested that Lal Shahbaz turn himself into a falcon and get fire from hell. Off he flew, but an hour later he came back empty-handed. "There is no fire in hell," he reported. "Everyone who goes there brings their own fire, and their own pain, from this world. "'

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