Junaid favored one disciple more than the others, but no one knew why; Junaid's favorite appeared to be a fool.
"Go to the market," Junaid said to his disciples one day, "and bring back a live chicken."
When they returned with their chickens, Junaid said, "Now, go somewhere no one can see and kill your chicken."
The disciples rushed off to kill their chickens in secret, but the fool didn't move.
They then returned with their dead chickens and laughed at the fool.
Junaid said to him, "Explain yourself."
"There is nowhere God doesn't see," he replied, and Junaid smiled.
Inspired by: Sufi Stories from Around the World by Debjani Chatterjee
Notes: This is story 4 in the book. You can read more about Junaid at Wikipedia. Compare a similar story: The Disciple and the Dove. Compare also this saying of Abu Said: A disciple once asked Abu Said, "Where shall we seek Him?" Abu Said replied, "Where did you look that you did not find him?" (p. 16 in Under the Sufi's Cloak: Stories of Abu Said and His Mystical Teaching by Mohammad Ali Jamnia and Mojdeh Bayat). Compare also this story about Nasruddin in The Wit and Wisdom of Nasraddin Hodja by Nejat Muallimoglu: "Where is God? someone asked Nasruddin. What need to ask? he answered. Is there any place where he is not?"
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