I have rejoiced only three times.

Ibrahim b. Adham said: “Since I embraced Islam I have rejoiced
only three times. First, when I was on board a ship where there was a man who
was fond of joking. He would say: ‘In the land of the [infidel] Turks we used
to grab [captive] infidels like this’, and he would grab me by my hair and shake
me back and forth. That pleased me, because there was no one on that ship
whom he would consider more contemptible. Another time I rested in a mosque
overcome with sickness. The [mosque’s] muezzin came in and ordered me to get
out. However, I was unable [to leave], so he grabbed me by my foot and dragged
me out of the mosque. The third time, I was in Syria.I was wearing a fur. When
I took a close look at it I could not distinguish between the hair of that fur and
the lice [hiding in it], because there were so many ofthem. I rejoiced at that.” In
another tale he reported: “I have never experienceda greater joy than when I was
sitting one day and a passer-by approached me andurinated on me.”

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