Food of the Dervish

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Khwaja Muhammad Nizham ad-Din Awliya’ (q.s.) told the following story from “Morals for the Heart”: “Once a dervish arrived at the hospice of Imam Abu al-Qasim al-Junayd ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi, (q.s.) just as the new Moon was due to appear that signalled the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadhan.  That dervish requested the Shaykh to permit him to lead the tarawih prayer.  The Shaykh granted his request.  Every evening, thereafter, he recited the entire Qur’an.

‘Each night,’ said the Shaykh, ‘take one loaf of bread and one jug of water to the cell of that dervish’.

As the Shaykh had commanded, they took a loaf of bread and a jug of water to his cell every night.  After he had recited the tarawih prayer for thirty evenings, the time of celebration arrived, and the day after ‘Iyd the Shaykh bid that dervish farewell.  He left.  After his departure, they searched his cell, and found all thirty loaves of bread untouched.  Each night he had consumed one jug of water and nothing more.”