If You Really Loved Me
The great Sufi saint, Shibli, once tested the sincerity and patience of his students. When Shibli entered a profound mystical state, he was locked up as a madman. Many of his students went to visit him, and when they arrived, Shibli asked, “Who are you?”
“We are some of those who love and follow you.”
Shibli began throwing stones at his visitors. Stung by the stones, they began to run away, crying, “It is true — Shibli really has gone crazy!”
Then Shibli called out to them, “Didn’t I hear you say that you loved me? You could not even bear one stone or two before running away. What became of that sincere love you claimed you had for me? Did your love fly away with a couple of stones? If you really loved me, you would have patiently endured the little bit of discomfort I caused you.”
— James Fadiman and Robert Frager in Essential Sufism