When Abu Said came to a certain city, the city's mayor summoned a learned cleric to challenge him. So, the first time that Abu Said spoke to his followers, this learned cleric was there, ready with a question.
"By law we cannot pray in a garment soaked in much blood," he said, "but much blood is that? Is the blood from a flea enough to pollute the garment?"
"I defer to your expertise regarding the blood of fleas," Abu Said replied. "I am not here to speak of fleas, but to guide those who are on the Path to God."
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. 45 of the book. The city of Miana is located in what is now Turkmenistan. In the traditional story, it is someone else in the audience who asks the question, but I decided to have the cleric himself do the asking.
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