One night, as Ibrahim bin Adham lay asleep in his palace, he suddenly awoke to the sound of footsteps. Startled, he wondered who could dare to intrude upon the royal palace in the dead of night. He called out, “Who is there?”
The reply came: “We are searching for our camel here.” Shocked, the king exclaimed, “How strange that one would seek a camel on the roof of a palace!” The mysterious figures responded, “It is far more surprising to seek God amidst luxury and comfort.” With those words, the figures vanished, but the message struck deep into the king’s heart.
From that moment, he felt a coldness towards his kingdom and worldly life. Maulana Rumi, in his wisdom, said, “O people! May Allah grant you a kingdom like that of Ibrahim bin Adham, so that you, too, may inherit the wealth of the inner realm as he did.”
As Ibrahim bin Adham’s love for the Divine grew deeper, the pleasures of his royal life became distasteful to him. One night, driven by the intensity of his love for God, he cast off his royal cloak and left his kingdom behind. His burning love shattered the prison of his worldly kingdom, and the madness of divine love consumed his mind.
Leaving Balkh, he wandered into the desert, dedicating himself to the remembrance of Allah. He prayed, “O Beloved! Do not distract me with worldly affairs. Do not take me away from your love. Let nothing come between me and the remembrance of you. For your remembrance is the food of my soul, the salve for my heart, wounded by love.”
For ten years, Ibrahim bin Adham immersed himself in worship in the deserts of Nishapur, content in his humble state, sitting by the riverside instead of a royal throne. One day, a minister from the kingdom of Balkh passed by and saw the former king in this state.
Confused by what he saw, the minister thought, “How foolish it is to leave a kingdom of seven regions and live like this.” Understanding the minister’s thoughts, Ibrahim bin Adham threw his needle into the river and loudly prayed, “O Allah, return my needle to me!”
Immediately, thousands of fish emerged from the river, each carrying a golden needle in their mouths. The minister, witnessing this miracle, felt deep shame for his earlier thoughts. Regretting his ignorance, he sighed and said, “Alas, even the fish are aware of the greatness of this man, while I, a human being, am blind to it. How unfortunate and deprived I am of this blessing!”
Ibrahim bin Adham then said to the minister, “O Amir, tell me: is it better to possess the heart of divine love, or an empty kingdom that means nothing?”
“I tried the path of reason and wisdom,” said Ibrahim, “but it led me nowhere. When I embraced madness for my Beloved, only then did I find Him. And when that madness opened the door to the Divine, I came to love this art of insanity, for it led me to the Truth.”
Life Lesson:
When one turns towards God with sincerity, God becomes everything to them. In the quest for divine love, worldly possessions lose their value, and true fulfillment is found in the remembrance and closeness to the Almighty.