A man who lived in Algeria heard all kinds of stories on the many supernatural powers of a certain friend of God who lived in Fez, Morocco. Because of these stories an image had been created by him of an extraordinary and very charismatic man. He undertook a travel in order to meet this friend of God. The Algerian was very interested in his secrets.
When he arrived in Fez, people pointed out the house of the saint of God. According to his imagination there would be two doorkeepers. He knocked at the door of the house and the friend of God opened the door. The visitor asked him to be taken to his master as he was convinced that the man he saw was one of the doorkeepers
The friend of God told him: “The one you have come to see and who has been the cause for your travel which lasted for more than a month, I am that person and no one else”.
The visitor answered him thus: “I am a stranger and I have been looking for the shaykh with a great desire, so tell me where he is, so that God may be merciful to you”. This he said, because when he saw the friend of God he did not notice any special sign nor did he see someone with an imposing stature.
The friend of God told him: “O, poor man! I am the one you want to meet”.
The visitor then replied: “I am telling you that I’m a stranger and I’m asking you to direct me to the shaykh and stop teasing me”.
“God is my witness, that I’m not trying to fool you”, was the answer.
The visitor however remarked: “God will call you to account!” Then he left, as the man he had met, was different compared to the mental image he had made of the friend of God.