A Bedouin was once walking with his dog in the desert, carrying a skin of water on his shoulders, crying pitifully as he went along. When asked by someone why he was crying, he replied, "Because my dog is dying of thirst."

"Why don't you give him some of your water, then?" the questioner asked.

"Because I might need the water myself."

In the same way, most darvishes are ready to listen to talk about Sufism, but they are reluctant to put it into practice. They enjoy reading Sufi books and hearing talks about Sufism, but when it comes time to do something about it, they have second thoughts. I talk about this now in the hope that you may become aware of what you are doing-although I know how difficult this is.

It is said that the disciples of Hasan Basri appealed to their master, saying, "0 master, our hearts are asleep, for your words have no effect on us. What can we do?" Hasan replied, "If only you were merely asleep, because shaking can awaken a sleeper! But your hearts are dead, for however much I shake them, they do not wake up!"

I have decided to say a few words about daily prayers (namaz) and fasting because the creed of love has its own special namaz and fasting, in addition to the conventional ones. These are based on a particular etiquette (adab) and set of conventions, of which I shall give a concise account so that you may have a better idea of the requirements of the Path you claim to follow.

The Sufi namaz is only two rak'at-s. In order to perform these two rak'at-s, Sufis do their ablution (wozu) with the water of love, then face the qebla of "And wherever you turn, there is God's countenance" (II: 115), and repeat 'Allaho akbar' four times.

With the first 'Allaho akbar', they put the world and all its inhabitants behind them.

With the second 'Allaho akbar', they forget the hereafter.

With the third 'Allaho akbar', they cast the very thought of anything other than God out of their hearts.

With the fourth 'Allaho akbar', they forget even themselves.

Only then do they begin the prayer, performing the two rak'at-s sincerely over the corpse of their ego (nafs). Once they have properly completed this prayer, they become joined with God.

Nowadays, the ablution for this namaz takes most Sufis years and years. If they manage to complete the ablution, they have to spend a long time on the first 'Allaho akbar', and there are very few who get to the second one and forget the two worlds.

As for the Sufi fast, it is not simply a matter of fasting one month a year. The Sufi fasts every day from loving what is other than God; yet even a single day of such a manly fast is beyond the capacity of most people!

So, for those of you who can do neither the Sufi prayers nor the Sufi fast, how do you expect to be offered the stations of Hallaj and Bayazid? As Rumi expresses it:

Like children who turn their skirts
into make-believe horses,
You ride your skirts and aspire
to the battlefield!