A destitute man was standing by the side of the road one day, hoping to receive alms from passersby, when he saw a group of men walking toward him dressed in colorful silk livery with brilliant, bejeweled belts. He had never seen people like these before and asked a person standing nearby: “Who might they be? Which kings and notables are they?”
“They're not kings or dignitaries; they're the servants of Omid of Khorasan, one of the sultan's ministers.”
As soon as the poor man heard this, he turned to God in despair and let the words roll off his tongue: “God, why don't You, too, look after Your servants like Omid of Khorasan does?”
The poor man uttered these ungrateful words out of desperation, for he never had enough clothes to keep warm or enough food to stave off his chronic hunger. But not long after the incident, the sultan turned against Omid, accusing him of treachery, binding his arms and legs, and throwing him in prison. He ordered Omid's servants to be arrested, tortured, and interrogated until they divulged where Omid had hidden his treasure.
For an entire month, the innocent servants were tortured day and night. The frustrated tormentors threatened to cut out their tongues if they didn't reveal where the treasure was kept, but none of them spoke. In the end, the sultan became exasperated and ordered them to be killed. Their limbs were severed from their bodies, their tongues were cut out, and their corpses were thrown into a sewage-filled ditch outside town.
That very same night, when the poor man who had earlier cried out in despair at the wealth of Omid's servants was soundly asleep in the dark, damp entryway of a neighborhood mosque, he had a revealing dream. In his dream, a holy man approached him, saying: “This is a lesson for you! You must learn how to be a true servant, like Omid's men. Only then may you approach the door of God and be worthy of seeking His grace!”