All night a man called Allah

All night, a man called “Allah”

Until his lips were bleeding.

Then the Devil said, “Hey ! Mr Gullible !

How come you’ve been calling all night and never once heard Allah say, “Here, I am” ?

You call out so earnestly and, in reply, what ?

I’ll tell you what. Nothing !

The man suddenly felt empty and abandoned.

Depressed, he threw himself on the ground and fell into a deep sleep.

In a dream, he met Abraham, who asked,

“Why are you regretting praising Allah ?”

The man said, “ I called and called,

But Allah never replied, “Here I am.”

Abraham explained, “Allah has said,

“Your calling my name is My reply.

Your longing for Me is My message to you.

All your attempts to reach Me

Are in reality My attempts to reach you.

Your fear and love are a noose to catch Me.

In the silence surrounding every call of “Allah”

Waits a thousand replies of “Here I am.”

~ Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi