Think ye that your fatalism gives such thanks;
Giving thanks for blessings increases blessings
But fatalism snatches those blessings from your hands
Your fatalism is to sleep on the road; sleep not
Till ye behold the gates of the King’s palace.
Ah! sleep not, unreflecting fatalists,
Till ye have reached that fruit-laden Tree of Life.
E. Whinfield, trs, Masnavi.
[30] St. Matthew XIV. 55-31. “And in the fourth watch of the night he came unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled saying, It is an apparition and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying: Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said: Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee upon the water. And Peter went down from the boat and walked upon the waters to come to Jesus. But when he saw the wind he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried, saying,: Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and took hold of him and said unto him: O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
[31] Comp. Quran XLII. 11: Nothing is like a likeness of Him. He is the hearing, the seeing.