A certain devotee who was on the way to illumination saw a piece of paper with lines
 written on it "Why” said the devotee “Has you blackened your bright face?”
“It is not fair to take me to task” replied the Paper “I have done nothing! ask the Ink
  why she has sallied from the inkstand, where she was quite at ease and forcibly
  blackened me”
“You are right,” said the devotee, which then turned to the ink and enquired of her.
“Why do you ask me?” she said “I was sitting still in the inkstand and had no mind to
  come out, but this truculent Pen rushed at me, drew me out and scattered me the page. 
  There you see me lying helpless, go to the pen and ask him”   The devotee turned to
  the pen and interrogated him about his high handedness
“Why do you trouble me” answered the pen “look what am I ?  an insignificant reed. 
  I was growing by the banks off silvery streams  amidst shady green trees, when Lo
  a hand stretched at me it held knife which uprooted me, flayed me and separated my
  joint, hewed me, cleaved my head then chopped it off.  I was sent headlong towards
  the ink and have to serve abjectly.  Do not add insult to my injuries, go to the Hand
  and ask him.”
 The devoted looked at the hand and said  “Is it true? Are you so cruel?”
“Do not be angry sir,”replied the hand “I am a bundle of flesh, bones and blood. Have
  you ever seen a piece of flesh exerting power?  Can a body move of it self? I am a vehicle
  used by one called Vitality, he rides on me
  and forces me round and round. You see a dead man has hands but can not use them
  because vitality has left them.Why should I a mere vehicle be blamed? go to vitality and
  ask him why he makes use of me“
“You are right” said devote and then questioned vitality
“Do not find fault with me” answered vitality “Many time a censurer him self is reproved
  while the censured itself found faultless. How do you know that I have forced the hand?
  I was already there before he moved and had
  no idea of the motion I was unconscious and the onlookers were also unaware of
  me, suddenly an agent came and stirred me. I had neither strength enough to disobey
  nor willingness to obey him. That for which you would take me to task I had to do
  according to his wish. I do not know who this agent is he is called Will and I know
  him by name only. Had the matter been left to me I think I should have done nothing.
"All right" continued the devotee "I shall put the question to will and ask him why he
  has forcibly employed vitality which of its own accord would have done nothing"
"Do not be in too great a hurry” exclaimed will "Perchance I may give you sufficient
  reason, His majesty the Mind sent an ambassador named Knowledge, who delivered
  his message to me through REASON saying:
 “ Rise up stir vitality". I was forced to do so because I have to obey knowledge and
    reason but I know not why. As long as I receive no order I am happy but the moment
    an order is delivered I dare not disobey. Whatever my monarch be a just ruler for
    a tyrant I must obey him.
   On my oath, as long as the King hesitates or ponders over the matter I stand quite
    ready to serve, but the moment his order is passed my sense of obedience which
    is innate forces me to stir up vitality. So you should not blame me. Go to knowledge
    and get information there”

“You are right" consented devotee and proceeding asked mind and its ambassadors:
  knowledge and reason for an explanation.

Reason excused himself by saying he was a lamp only but knew not who had lighted it.
Mind pleaded his innocence by calling himself a mere tabula rasa.
Knowledge maintained that it was simply an inscription on the tabula rasa, inscribed
after the lamp of reason had been lighted. Thus he could not be considered the author
of the inscription which may have been the work of some Invisible Pen.

The devotee was puzzled by the reply but collecting himself he spoke thus to knowledge:
"I am wondering in the path of my inquiry, to whomsoever I go and ask the reason I am 
  referred to another, nevertheless there is pleasure in my quest for I find that everyone
  gives me a plausible reason but pardon me, sir, if I say that your reply knowledge fails
  to satisfy me.
 You say that you are a mere inscription recorded by the pen, I have seen pen ink and
  tablet, they are of reed, a black mixture and of wood and iron respectively. And I have
  seen lamps lighted with fire. but here I do not see any of these things and yet you talked
  of the tablet, the lamp, the pen and the inscription. Surely you are not trifling with me.

"Certainly not" returned knowledge, "I spoke in right earnest. but I see your difficulty
  your means are scanty your horse is jaded and your journey is long and dangerous.
 Give up this enterprise, as I fear you cannot succeed. If however you are prepared 
 to run the risks then listen: Your journey extends through 3 regions.

The first is the terrestrial world, its objects--pen, ink, paper hand etc are just what
   you have seen them to be. 
The second is the celestial world--which will begin when you have left me behind.
   There you will come across dense forests, deep wide Rivers and high, impassible
   mountains, and I know not how you would be able to proceed.
   between these two worlds there is a third intermediary region called
The phenomenal world.

You have crossed three stages of it---vitality,will and knowledge. To use a simile:
A man who is walking is treading the terrestrial world:
If he is sailing in a boat he enters the phenomenal world:
If he leaves the boat and swims and walks on the waters, he is admitted in the
celestial world.
If you do not know how to swim, go back!, for the watery region of the celestial world
begins now when you can see that pen inscribing on the tablet of the heart. If you
are not of whom it was said:
 “O you of little faith wherefore did you doubt? Prepare yourself—for by faith you shall
   not simply walk on the sea but fly in the air”

 The wandering devotee stood speechless for a while then turning to knowledge saying:
 "I am In a difficulty, the dangers of the path which you have described unnerve my heart,
   and I know not whether I had sufficient strength to face them and to succeed in the end"

"There is a test for your strength” replied knowledge,
"Open your eyes and fix your gaze on me, if you see the pen that writes on the heart,
  you will  in my opinion be able to proceed.  Further on, for he who crosses the
  phenomenal world, knocks at the door of the celestial world, then sights the pen
  which writes the Hearts."

"A thousand blessing on thee, O knowledge, who has saved me from falling into abysm
  of  anthropomorphism (Tashbeeh). I thank thee from the bottom of my heart, I tarried
  long, but now, adieu !”.

The Devotee than resumed his journey. Halting in the presence of the invisible pen, politely
he asked the same question:
 “you know my reply” answered the mysterious pen. “you cannot have forgotten the reply
   given to you by the pen in the terrestrial world.”
“ yes, I remember”replied the devotee"
“ but how can it be the same reply, because there is no smilitude  between you and that
   pen? Then it seems you have forgotten the tradition:
  Verily God created Adam in his own  image"
“No, Sir” interrupted the devotee “I know it by the heart"
“And you have forgotten the passage in the Quran: 
  and the heaven rolled up  in his right hand"
“Certainly not” exclaimed the devotee “ I can repeat the whole of the Qur’an  by the rote”
“ yes I know, and as  you are now treading the sacred precincts of the celestial world,
   I think I can now safely tell that you have simply learnt the meaning of these passages 
   from negative point of view, but they have a positive value and should be utilised  as
   constructive at this stage. Proceed further and you will understand when I mean."

Filled  with surprise the devotee bent  his head in silent submission.
The hand of the divine mercy stretched towards the helpless devotee, into his ear were
whispered in zephyr tones:
“As for those who strive in us, we surely guide them to our paths,”.(29:69)

Opening his eyes, the devotee raised his head and poured forth his heart in silent prayer:
“Holy art Thou, O God Almighty: blessed is thy name, O lord of the Universe!
  Henceforth I shall fear no mortal: 
  I put my entire trust in Thee: Thy forgiveness is my solace: Thy mercy is my refuge”.
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Taken from "Some Moral and religious teachings of Al-Ghazzali"
in the chapter called "The Allegory of the Pen"