at the Lord rests on thee.' 'O Bayazid,' replied
the throne, 'it is said here that the Lord dwells in a humble heart; but
where is the intelligence capable of penetrating this mystery? Heavenly
beings question earthly ones concerning it, and they only cast the
question back.'

Bayazid said once, "When I had arrived at the station of Proximity, I
heard a Voice say to me, 'O Bayazid, ask what thou hast to ask.' 'My
God,' I answered, 'Thou art the Object of my desire.' 'O Bayazid,' the
Voice replied, 'if there lingers in thee an atom of earthly desire, and
till thou art reduced to nothing in the station of Annihilation, thou
canst not find Me.' 'My God,' I answered, 'I shall not return from Thy
Court empty-handed; I wish to ask something from Thee.' 'Very well, ask
it.' 'Grant me mercy for all men.' The Voice said, 'O Bayazid lift up
thine eyes.' I lifted them, and I saw that the Most High was far more
inclined to have mercy on His servants than I. 'Lord,' I cried, 'have
mercy on Satan.' 'O Bayazid,' the Voice answered, 'Satan is made of
fire, and fire must needs go to the fire. Take heed lest thou thyself
deserve to go there.'"

One day, when Bayazid was walking along the road, a young man who
followed him closely, setting his feet in his tracks, said to him, "Tear
off a piece of thy cloak and give it me, in order that thy blessing may
rest upon me." Bayazid answered, "Although thou strip Bayazid of his
skin and clothe thyself with it, it will profit thee nothing, unless
thou reproduce the actions of Bayazid."

Amongst other remarkable utterances of Bayazid are the following. "When
from hatred to the world I fled to the Lord, His love so filled my heart
that I hated myself." "He who relies on his acts of piety is worse than
he who commits sin." "There are those among the servants of the Lord who
would utter groans like the damned in hell if one put them in possession
of the eight paradises without Him." "A single grain of the love of God
is worth more than a hundred thousand paradises." "He whom the Lord
loves is known by three distinct signs--his liberality is like the sea,
his kindness is like the sun, his humility is like the earth, which
allows itself to be trampled on by everyone." "Whoso has the knowledge
of the Lord receives from Him intuitional wisdom in such a manner that
he needs not to have recourse to anyone to learn anything."

Being asked his age, he replied, "I am four years old." "How is that,
Sheikh?"