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Divine Jealousy

One day Fudayl ibn Iyad was holding in his lap a four-year-old child, and by chance placed his mouth on its cheek as is the wont of fathers.

“Father, do you love me?” asked the child.

“I do,” replied Fudayl.

“Do you love God?”

“I do.”

“How many hearts do you have?” the child asked.

“One,” answered Fudayl.

“Can you love two with one heart?” demanded the child.

Fudayl at once realized that it was not the child speaking, but that in reality it was a Divine instruction. Jealous for God, he began to beat his head and repented. Severing his heart from the child, he gave it to God.

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