Salt Water becomes Sweet

A Buzrug narrates: “Journeying on foot, through the wilderness, I saw a faqeer barefooted and bare-headed. The sheets covering his body were worn and tattered. He had no provisions whatsoever with him. I thought: ‘If he had a bucket and rope with him, he could draw water from a well. This would have been better for him.’

Anyhow, I linked up with him.

It was intensely hot. I presented a cloth to him and asked him to shield his head with it from the blazing sun. But he remained silent and continued walking. After an hour, I said to him: ‘You are bare-footed. It will be good if you put on my shoes for a while. We can take turns wearing the shoes.’ He said: ‘I can see that you like to speak much nonsense, have you not heard the Hadith:

‘Of the beauty of a man’s Islam is that he shuns nonsensical things.’

I said: ‘Yes!’ He remained silent and continued walking.

Soon I became very thirsty. Turning to me, he asked: ‘Are you thirsty?’ I said: ‘No!’ We continued walking along the sea-shore for another hour. By this time I was overwhelmed by thirst. Again turning to me, he asked: ‘Are you thirsty?’ I said: ‘Yes! But what can you at this time do to help me?’

Taking my mug, he waded into the sea. After filling my mug, he presented it to me. Never had I drunk clearer and sweeter water than this.”

Taken from the book The Orchards of Love.