Admittance to the Divine Court

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

In Manthiq ath-Thayr of Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim (q.s.), it is related that one night, Shaykh Bayazid Thayfur ibn ‘Isa al-Bisthami (q.s.) went outside the city and found everything wrapped in a deep silence, free from the clamour of men.  The Moon was shedding her radiance upon the world, and by her light made night as brilliant as the day.  Stars innumerable shone like jewels in the heavens above, each pursuing its appointed task. 

For a long time, the shaykh walked across the open country, without finding the least movement therein, and without seeing a single soul.  He felt profoundly moved by the fact and said, “O Lord, my heart is stirred within me by this, Your Court displayed in all its splendour and sublimity, yet none are found here to give You the adoring worship which is Your Due.  Why should this be, Lord?” 

Then Spoke to him the Hidden Voice of God, “O you who art bewildered in the way, know that the King does not Grant Admission to every passerby.  So Exalted is the Majesty of this Court that not every beggar can be admitted thereto.  When the Splendour of My Glory Sheds abroad its radiance from this, My Sanctuary, the heedless and those who are wrapped in the sleep of indolence are repelled thereby.  Those who are worthy of admittance to this court wait for long years, until one in a thousand of them wins entrance thereto.”