It is said of the Sufi mystic Shaqiq of Balkh that he was once traveling to Mecca by way of Baghdad. And as he came to Baghdad, he was summoned to the court of the great Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, who had heard of his wisdom and wished the man's advice in running the realm.
Then Shaqiq said to the Caliph, "Suppose you were in the desert and dying of thirst. Would you be willing to give up half your realm for a drink of water, and accept that others might be given authority over it if only you were to live?"
Then the Caliph said, "I would."
Then Shaqiq said, "And suppose that, having drunk the water, you found that your health was in such straits that you could not pass it, and because of this were again in danger of dying. Would you not give up half your realm for someone who could relieve you, and accept that others might be given authority over it if only you were to live?"
And the Caliph said, "I would."
"Then," said Shaqiq, "why do you go about so pompously because you rule a realm when there are circumstances under which you would exchange it for only a drink of water that would go in one end of you and out the other?"
