As the story goes, many Sufis had taken up residence in Baghdad during the 11th Century. When they heard that Sheikh Abdul Qadir from the Jailan Province in Persia (modern-day Iran) was about to enter town, they sent him a symbolic message: a vase filled to the brim with water. The full vase meant that there was no place for Abdul Qadir in Baghdad. The Sufi "newcomer" had been flatly denied entry to the city.

Without being asked, Abdul Qadir