It is narrated that one of the gnostics said, "I went out with some of my brethren and we came to some boys throwing pebbles at a man. One of the brethren asked them, 'What do you want with him?' They said, 'He is a madman who claims that he sees Allah.' We approached the man and found him to be a handsome young man who had the signs of gnosis manifested on him. We greeted him and said, 'They say that you claim to be seeing Allah!'. He said, 'Away from me! Had I lost Him for a twinkle of an eye, I would have died an hour ago; and he began to recite:
'The beloved asks his Beloved to be pleased,
And the wish of the beloved is to meet his Beloved;
Always observing Him with the eyes of the heart,
For the heart knows its Lord and sees Him;
The Beloved is pleased with the beloved for approaching Him,
More than the other worshippers because he does not want but Him.'
"I asked him, 'Are you a madman?' He answered, 'To the people of the earth, yes, but to the people of the heaven, no.' I asked, 'How is your state with your Protector, Allah?' He said to me, 'Since I have known Him, I have never been unaffected by Him.' I asked, 'Since when did you known Him?' He said, 'Since He put my name among the madmen.'"
- from He Who Knows Himself Knows His Lord by Shaykh Muhammad al-Jamal, may God be pleased with him
"Wheresoever ye turn, there is the face of Allah."
- The Quran 2:115
They say: "O thou to whom inspiration is being revealed! truly thou art mad! - The Quran 15.006
Thus there did not come to those before them a message bearer but they said (of him) in like manner, "A magician, or a mad man"! - 51.052
And your comrade is not mad.
Surely he saw Him on the clear horizon.
- 81.22, 23
The Divine will show them the Signs on the horizons and within their own souls, until it shall become manifest to them that it is the Truth. Is it not sufficient as regards your Lord that the Divine One is witness over all things?! - 41.53
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of be upon him) said: "Islam (self submission to Divine) began as something strange and will revert to being strange as it began, so give glad tidings to the strangers."
- Prophetic tradition recorded in Muslim Compilation (145), narrated by Abu Hurayrah
Thus there did not come to those before them a message bearer but they said (of him) in like manner, "A magician, or a mad man"! - 51.052
And your comrade is not mad.
Surely he saw Him on the clear horizon.
- 81.22, 23
The Divine will show them the Signs on the horizons and within their own souls, until it shall become manifest to them that it is the Truth. Is it not sufficient as regards your Lord that the Divine One is witness over all things?! - 41.53
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of be upon him) said: "Islam (self submission to Divine) began as something strange and will revert to being strange as it began, so give glad tidings to the strangers."
- Prophetic tradition recorded in Muslim Compilation (145), narrated by Abu Hurayrah
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