That person one night was crying ‘O Allah!’
That his mouth might be sweetened thereby,
And Satan said to him ‘Be quiet, O austere one!
How long wilt thou babble O man of many words?
No answer comes to thee from nigh the throne,
How long wilt thou cry “Allah!” with harsh face?’
That person was sad at heart and hung his head
And then beheld Khizr present before him in a vision
Who said to him ‘Ah! thou hast ceased to call upon God,
Wherefore repentest thou of calling upon Him?’
The man said ‘The answer “Here am I” came not,
Wherefore I fear that I am repulsed from the door.’
Khizr replied to him ‘God has given me this command
Go to him and say “O much tried one!
That calling ‘Allah’ of thine was my ‘Here am I;’
And that pain and longing and ardour of thine was my messenger;
Thy struggles and strivings for assistance
Were My attractions and originated thy prayer.
Thy fear and thy love are the covert of My mercy,
Each ‘O Lord!’ of thine contains many ‘Here am I’s’.’

— Rumi Attributed A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations (1911)

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