Sîdî Mubârak ibn ‘Alî was a Sufi shaykh. A certain seeker by the name of Sîdî al-‘Arbî met him in a mosque in Fez.

He asked the Sufi: “Teach me how the secret reaches those who are its depositaries?“

Sîdî Mubârak gave him this answer: “I want you to sneeze now!”

Sîdî al-‘Arbî then responded: “I do not need to sneeze at this moment”

Sîdî Mubârak retorted: “It is the same for me. I am not able to teach you what you’ve asked for at this moment”.