The Obedient Snake

A Buzrug who went to visit Hadhrat Ibraahim Bin Adham (Rahmatullah alaih) narrated the following episode:

“I did not find Hadhrat Ibraahim Bin Adham in the Masjid. I was told that he had just left the Masjid. I went out in search of him. It was extremely hot. I located him sleeping in a valley. I was astonished to see a snake with a branch of the jasmine tree in its mouth. The snake was near to the face of Hadhrat Ibraahim and was fanning away the flies. While I looked on bewildered, the snake spoke and said: “O young man! Why are you astonished and bewildered?’ I said: ‘Your activity astonishes me, and to a greater degree your speaking with a human tongue surprises me despite you being the enemy of human beings.’ The snake said: ‘By Allah, The Glorious! Allah has made us the enemies of the transgressors. We are obedient to the pious ones.”

(Source: Awake 2011)