2.6.5 - Another Story on Acting by Intention

Also in the Holy Spirit, Shaykh Muhyiddin says about his companion al-Mawruri: On one occasion he was with Shams, Mother of the Poor, at Marchena, the day being a Wednesday. The old lady, whom we shell mention in section 2.7.1, said, I would like Abu al-Hasan Ibn Qaitun to come and see us tomorrow; so write and tell him to come! Abu al-Hasan was at the time in Carmona, twenty-one miles away, where he taught the Quran to young boys. On Thursdays and Fridays he was free from work. Then al-Mawruri said to the old lady, This is the way ordinary men would go about summoning him. She said, What shall we do then? He said, I will bring him to you by the power of my spiritual Intention, at which she bade him do so. Then he said, At this very moment I have turned his thoughts to visiting us tomorrow, if God wills. The next morning she said to him, You see, he has not come! He explained that he had forgotten about him for a while, but that he would remedy the situation immediately. Then he directed his Intention once more upon the man. Shortly before noon, to everyone’s astonishment, the man arrived despite al-Mawruri’s forgetfulness.

Then al-Mawruri told the people to ask the man what had delayed his arrival, how it had occurred to him to come and at what time he had decided to do so. The man told them that, on the previous day in the late afternoon, he had heard an inner voice telling him to go and visit the old lady in Marchena, whereupon he had told his boys not to attend the next day. He went on to say that the next morning his intention to make the visit had left him, which was the same time al-Mawruri had forgotten about him. Then the people urged him to go on with his story. He told them that he had gone to the school and the boys had arrived and taken out their slates, when he felt his heart under great stress and heard a voice telling him to go to Marchena. Then he had told his pupils to return to their homes. When he had finished his story he was told what had taken place at Marchena concerning him and he was astonished.

After this he held al-Mawruri in great respect and was so impressed that he traveled to Almerأ¬a to visit the Shaykh Abu Abdullah al-Ghazzal a companion of Ibn al-Ariآ£ and a contemporary of Abu al-Rabii al-Kafif, Abu al-Naja and Abdul-Rahim. He met with him there and gained much benefit from him, after which he returned to Carmona. After this time he continued to serve the brethren, provide them with hospitality and show them respect, which I liked in him.

2.6.5.1- The Difference Between Sufis and Jurists

2.6.5.2- Eating on Behalf

2.6.5.3- Qayyumiyya

2.6.5.4- The Book of Divine Policies (Moror)