There was a preacher who, whenever he began to pray, never ceased to praise the bandits and to wish them all sorts of happiness. He would raise his hands to heaven, saying “O Lord: offer your mercy to slanderers, to rebels, to hardened hearts, to those who mock good people and to idolaters!”
This was how he ended his harangue, not wishing the slightness good to righteous and pure men. One day, his listeners said to him:
“It is not customary to pray like this! All these good wishes addressed to the wicked will not be heard.”
But he replied:
“I owe much to those people of whom you speak and for that reason I pray for them. They have tortured me so much and caused me so much harm that they have guided me towards good. Whenever I have been attracted to the things of this world, they have mistreated me. And all that mistreatment is the reason I have turned to faith.”
Source: 150 Sufi tales. Jalaluddin Rumi
