A young man in Tirmiz desired to expand his horizon. Together with some friends he decided to go on a journey in pursuit of knowledge. When he and his friends were about to leave, his mother appealed him to stay as he was the only one who could give her the care she needed.

His friends left and leave this story, but the story of the young man now really takes a start. You can imagine that he felt miserable. He decided to help his mother, but at the same time, he was very sorry to see his friends leave. That’s why he felt it necessary to increase his melancholic state by regularly visiting the cemetery of Tirmiz.

One Sunday a Darwish approached him. The stranger was completely dressed in green as if to symbolize Spring’s life force. This enigmatic friend of God offered to broaden and deepen his knowledge. Their interaction proved to be a success as we now call this young man the “Sage of Tirmiz”.

Hakim Tirmizi in due course of time married. He has written an autobiography that is unique because of the loving attention and respect he shows therein to his wife, who became a true spiritual partner. She was given a spiritual task of her own as well. This we know because Hakim Tirmizi described several of her dreams.

This task gets pointed at in part of one of her dreams wherein she received the responsibility to guard a tree. This tree belonged to her alone. She promised in the dream to guard it. In the remainder of her dream, a bird flew to the top of the tree and while it was not in good shape, the tree turned completely green.

Hakim Tirmizi formulated a long list of esoteric questions. During many centuries no one was able to answer them. Sh. Ibn al-‘Arabi took up this challenge. There is a wake-up call regarding the question: “What is Sufism?” – because a sleeping person cannot act properly of course.

Answer:

“Bringing about a stop to [ordinary] thinking and learning, this by means of the proper adab [good manners] given in Islam both outwardly and inwardly [i.e. the virtues]. It implies a proper interaction with everything. You’ll be unable to do so, until you become awake”.