A story about the absurdities and superstitions of the Sufis and their claimed miracles that took place in Aleppo.

The Shaykh : There was a noble man in Aleppo whom they wanted to appoint as the imam of a mosque. They sent someone to test him, and the examiner asked him, "Do you believe in the miracles of the awliya (close friends of Allah)?" He asked this question because it had reached his ears that this imam, or this candidate for the imamate, was, as they say today, a Wahhabi, meaning he did not believe in the claimed miracles. He wanted to test him. This examiner was shrewd. He said to him, "Like what?" He said to him, "Like what our Shaykh told us: a preacher went up on the pulpit, and while he was delivering the sermon, he revealed to one of his students that he needed to relieve himself, meaning... The student was sitting listening to the Shaykh's sermon, embarrassed that he would have to leave in front of everyone and draw people's attention. So the preacher extended his hand like this, and you know the Shaykhs' robes are wide, and gestured like this, saying, 'Go in.' The student went into the Shaykh's sleeve, and there he found a garden with a place for relieving himself, so he relieved himself and then returned to his place. He said to him, 'As for this miracle, I do not believe in it by Allah.' This was a noble man who was being tested with such absurdity.