Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 18
18 great service, but God Almighty has granted me this robe without any hard work or sacrifice on my part. The g eneral only wiped his nose with his robe , but I have misused this robe so badly that it is unrecognizable. I am so disturbed, for I wonder what will happen to me when I am brought before God Almighty. The reality has dawned upon me; I am not willing to continue in this service. Please accept my resignation. ” After this, Shibli visited many holy men and told t h e m he wished t o repent b ut since he was known for his cruelty, every single person he visited told him that it would be impossible to accept the repentance of such a person. Finally , he went to Ha z rat Junaid Baghdadi rh , who was considered the father of all the saints. Shibli said to him, “I have come to you because I wish to repent. ” He [ Ha z rat Junaid Baghdadi rh ] replied, “Yes, the door of repentance is open for everyone , but you will have to agree to one condition in order to discover whether your repentance is sincere or mere show. ” Shibli requested, “Please tell me the condition; I will not hesitate in accepting it. ” Ha z rat Junaid Baghdadi rh replied, “The condition is that wherever you have been governor, you must go back and knock on each and every door and ask for forgiveness for your cruelties , so that it becomes apparent to all that you are now ready to live a penitent life. ” Shibli answered, “Yes, I will accept this condition. ” Perforce, h e went back to the area s where he had governed and sought forgiveness from all the people in the town, from the lowest to the highest in rank, including slaves, street sweepers, and shoemakers. He knocked on each door and said, “ I humbly seek your forgiveness. I committed great atrocities; however, I have no way to compensate for those injurie s. I humbly beseech your forgiveness and I am ashamed and sorry for my past action s. ” When he returned after seeking pardon from each and every person in the town, Ha z rat Junaid Baghdadi rh accepted his allegiance, and later Shibli progressed so much that he became a high - ranking holy personage himself. Thus , we must be mindful of the [metaphoric] robe God Almighty has given us and that when we are called before Him, we will be held accountable for the state of this robe. After all, one of these two things is a fact: either Islam is true, or it is false. If Islam is a true religion and if there is life after death, and if it is also true that the believers will reside