<center>Ma‘ruf al-Karkhi :ra: Taken from the English translation of tadhkiratul awlia by A.J Arberry One day Ma‘ruf broke his ritual purity. Immediately he made ablution in sand. “Why look,” they said to him. “Here is the Tigris. Why are you making ablution in the sand?” “It can be,” he replied, “that I may be no more by the time I reach it.”
<center>Ma‘ruf al-Karkhi :ra: Taken from the English translation of tadhkiratul awlia by A.J Arberry Ma‘ruf had an uncle who was governor of the city. One day he was passing some wasteland when he observed Ma‘ruf sitting there eating bread. Before him there was a dog, and Ma‘ruf was putting one morsel in his own mouth and then one in the dog’s. “Are you not ashamed to eat bread with a dog?” cried his uncle. “It is out of shame that I am giving bread to the poor,” replied Ma‘ruf. Then he raised his head and called to a bird in the air. The bird flew down and perched on his hand, covering his head and eyes with his wings. “Whosoever is ashamed before God,” said Ma‘ruf, “every thing is ashamed before him.” At once his uncle was filled with confusion.
<center>Ma‘ruf al-Karkhi :ra: Taken from the English translation of tadhkiratul awlia by A.J Arberry One day Ma‘ruf was walking along with a group of his followers when a gang of youths came that way. They behaved outrageously all the way to the Tigris. “Master,” Ma‘ruf’s companions entreated him, “pray to Almighty God to drown them all, that the world may be rid of their foul presence.” “Lift up your hands,” Ma‘ruf bade them. Then he prayed. “O God, as Thou hast given them a happy life in this world, even so grant them a happy life in the world to come.” “Master, we know not the secret of this prayer,” said his companions in astonishment. “He with whom I am speaking knows the secret,” Ma‘ruf replied. “Wait a moment. Even now this secret will be revealed.” When the youths beheld the shaikh, they broke their lutes and poured away the wine they were drinking. Trembling overcame them, and they fell before the shaikh and repented. “You see,” Ma‘ruf remarked to his companions. “Your desire has been fulfilled completely, without drowning and without anyone suffering.”
<center>Ma‘ruf al-Karkhi :ra: Taken from the English translation of tadhkiratul awlia by A.J Arberry Abu Mahfuz Ma‘ruf ibn Firuz al-Karkhi was a prominent mystic of the Baghdad school, he died in 200 (815). Mohammad ibn Mansur al-Tusi relates that he encountered Ma‘ruf in Baghdad. “I observed a scar on his face. I said to him, ‘I was with you yesterday and did not notice this mark then. What is it?’ ‘Do not ask about things that do not concern you,’ he replied. ‘Ask only about matters that are profitable to you.’ ‘By the right of Him we worship,’ I pleaded, ‘tell me.’ “Then he said, ‘Last night I was praying, and I wished that I might go to Mecca and circumambulate the Kaaba. I approached the well of Zemzem to take a drink of water. My foot slipped, and my face struck the well. That was how I got this scar.’” --
