O Evil Shaykh!

Abu Bakr as-Saidalaani reported that he heard Salim bin Mansur bin ‘Ammar say,

“Upon seeing my father in a dream, I asked him, ‘What did your lord do with you?’

He answered : ‘Indeed, my lord drew me near and close and he said to me: ‘O evil shaykh (old man), do you know why I forgave you?’

I said: ‘No, O my lord.’

He said : ‘You sat before people in a gathering one day and you made them cry (for their sins, etc). Among them was one of my slaves who had never before cried from fear of me and so I forgave him and forgave everyone in the gathering for him; and you were among the ones I donated to him (i.e, among the ones that I forgave for him)’”

(Sifatus-Safwah 2/ 204)