How the heavenly voice spoke to ‘Umar, may God be well-pleased with him, while he was asleep, saying, “Give a certain sum of gold from the public treasury to the man who is sleeping in the graveyard.”

Then God sent such a drowsiness upon ‘Umar that he was unable to keep himself from slumber.

He fell into amazement saying, “This is (a thing) unknown. This has fallen from the Unseen, ’tis not without purpose.”

He laid his head down, and slumber overtook him. He dreamed that a voice came to him from God: his spirit heard

That voice which is the origin of every cry and sound: that indeed is the (only) voice, and the rest are echoes.

Turcoman and Kurd and Persian-speaking man and Arab have understood that voice without (help of) ear or lip.

Ay, (but) what of Turcomans, Persians, and Ethiopians? (Even) wood and stone have understood that voice.

Every moment there is coming from Him (the call), “Am not I (your Lord)?” and substance and accidents are becoming existent.

If (the answer) “Yea” is not coming from them, yet their coming from non-existence (into existence) is (equivalent to) “Yea.”

Listen to a goodly tale in explanation of what I have said concerning the friendliness (awareness) of stone and wood.