A certain wealthy man was living in a small town, and it happened that one day in the crowded market his purse was stolen. When he noticed the loss, he quickly grabbed the nearest person, accused him of the theft and demanded the return of his money.

The man he grabbed, however, was not the thief, but was in fact a Sufi who had followed the path for many years.

“You stole my purse!” the rich man shouted rudely. “Give it back!”

“I cannot give what I do not have,” the Sufi said calmly. “How much was in your purse?”

“A thousand rupees,” the man replied. Without a word, the Sufi took out a thousand rupees and gave it to him.

But later, the real thief was discovered, and the man’s missing money was returned to him. Shame-faced, he found the Sufi and with apologies tried to return the thousand rupees to him, but the Sufi politely refused. “Dear friend, keep the money. What is once given by me to anyone I never take back. It is given forever.”

This so deeply impressed the rich man that he became a life-long student of the Sufi.