The court of Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi was in session. Thousands of people were present in the court, including saints (Aulia), Qutb, and Abdal. Sultan Mahmood addressed everyone and asked, "Can any person arrange a meeting for me with Hazrat Khidr (peace be upon him)?" Everyone remained silent. A poor villager sitting in the court stood up and said, "I can arrange the meeting." When the Sultan asked about the conditions, he submitted, "I will have to perform a forty-day spiritual confinement (Chilla) by the riverbank for six months. But I am a poor man, so you will have to bear my household expenses." The Sultan accepted the condition; the man was sent for the confinement, and the household expenses became the King's responsibility. After six months passed, the Sultan summoned the man to the court and asked. The villager said, "Your Majesty, some spiritual recitations went wrong, therefore it will take another six months." After another six months passed, the man was presented again in the court of Sultan Mahmood. The King asked, "What happened to my work...?" Hearing this, the villager said, "Your Majesty! Where a sinner like me and where Hazrat Khidr (peace be upon him)! I lied to you... My household expenses were not being met, my children were dying of hunger, so I was forced to do this..." Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi made one of his ministers stand up and asked, "What is the punishment for this man?" The minister said, "This man has lied to the King. Therefore, his throat should be slit." An elderly man with a radiant, luminous face was also sitting in the court; he said, "Your Majesty, this minister spoke absolutely right..." The King asked the second minister, "You tell me?" He said, "This man has committed a fraud with the King. His throat should not be slit; instead, he should be thrown before the dogs so that he dies a humiliated death, and it takes some time for him to die." The same elder with the luminous face sitting in the court said, "Your Majesty, this minister is speaking absolutely right." Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi asked his beloved slave, Ayaz, "What do you say?" Ayaz said, "Your Majesty! The children of a poor man were fed for a year from your kingdom. There was no decrease in your treasury, nor did his lie cause any difference to your glory. If you listen to me, forgive him. If he is killed, his children will die of hunger..." Hearing this statement from Ayaz, the same old man with the luminous face sitting in the gathering said, "Ayaz is speaking absolutely right." Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi called this elder and asked, "You declared the decision of every minister to be correct; please explain the reason for this to me." The elder said, "Your Majesty! Firstly, the minister who said his throat should be slit belongs to a family of butchers, and a butcher's job is to slit throats. He showed his family traits. The mistake is not his but yours, that you made a butcher a minister. Secondly, the one who said he should be thrown before the dogs—that minister's father used to wash the kings' dogs and hunt with dogs. His work itself revolves around hunting dogs, so he introduced his family background. Your mistake is that you gave ministry to such a person. Where such people are ministers, people are bound to die of hunger. And thirdly, regarding the decision Ayaz made, listen Sultan Mahmood! Ayaz is a descendant of the Prophet (Sayyid). The glory of a Sayyid is that a Sayyid lets his entire family be sacrificed in Karbala but never thinks of taking revenge." Sultan Mahmood stood up from his seat, addressed Ayaz, and said, "Ayaz, why did you never tell me until today that you are a Sayyid?" Ayaz replied, "Until today, no one knew that Ayaz is a Sayyid. But today this wise elder revealed my secret, so today I will also reveal a secret. O King! This elder is no ordinary personality; he himself is Hazrat Khidr (peace be upon him)." Copied/Narrated.
