One day as Abu Said and his disciples were walking through the narrow streets of a city, a woman poured out a bucket of cold ashes from her balcony, and the ashes fell on top of Abu Said.
His disciples were furious at the woman, but Abu Said only laughed. "Like all sinners, I'm expecting the burning coals of Hell as my eternal punishment," he said. "So if I suffer only cold ashes like this instead, thanks be to God!"
Abu Said thus showed his humility while providing a lesson for his disciples, helping them to set aside their anger.
Inspired by: Under the Sufi's Cloak: Stories of Abu Said and His Mystical Teaching by Mohammad Ali Jamnia and Mojdeh Bayat
Notes: This story is on p. 54 of the book. On the tradition of hell-fire in Islam, see Wikipedia: Jahannam.
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