In Asrar Nameh, Farid al-Din Attar recounts the famous Sufi anecdote where an arrow is pulled from Imam Ali's foot while he is completely absorbed in prayer. Attar uses this narrative to illustrate the ideal state of prayer, where the soul is so filled with the divine light that it becomes entirely detached from physical pain and the material world.

The Anecdote of the Arrow Removed from Ali's Foot during Prayer in Asrar Nameh

In the *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sanai recounts the anecdote of an arrow being removed from Imam Ali's foot while he is deeply absorbed in prayer. Sanai uses this story to illustrate the concept of extreme humility (*khushu*) and complete presence of the heart (*hudur al-qalb*) during prayer, where the worshipper's spiritual absorption renders them entirely oblivious to physical pain and the material world.

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در احد میر حیدر کرار 
یافت زخمی قوی در آن پیکار
ماند پیکان تیر در پایش 
اقتضا کرد آن زمان رایش
که برون آرد از قدم پیکان 
که همان بود مرورا درمان
زود مرد جرایحی چو بدید 
گفت باید به تیغ باز برید
تا که پیکان مگر پدید آید 
بستهٔ زخم را کلید آید
هیچ طاقت نداشت بادم گاز 
گفت بگذار تا بوقت نماز
چون شد اندر نماز حجامش 
ببرید آن لطیف اندامش
جمله پیکان ازو برون آورد 
و او شده بی خبر ز ناله و درد
چون برون آمد از نماز علی 
آن مر او را خدای خوانده ولی
گفت کمتر شد آن الم چونست 
وز چه جای نماز پر خونست
گفت با او جمال عصر حسین 
آن بر اولاد مصطفی شده زین
گفت چون در نماز رفتی تو 
بر ایزد فراز رفتی تو
کرد پیکان برون ز تو حجام 
باز نا داه از نماز سلام
گفت حیدر به خالق الاکبر 
که مرا زین الم نبود خبر
ای شده در نماز بس معروف 
به عبادت بر کسان موصوف
این چنین کن نماز و شرح بدان 
ورنه برخیز و خیره ریش ملان
چون تو با صدق در نماز آیی 
با همه کام خویش باز آیی
ور تو بی صدق صد سلام کنی 
نیستی پخته کار خام کنی
یک سلامت دو صد سلام ارزد 
سجدهٔ صدق صد قیام ارزد
کان نمازی که عادتی باشد 
خاک باشد که باد برپاشد
اندرین ره نماز روحانی 
آن به آید که خشک جنبانی
جان گدازد نماز بار خدای 
خشک جنبان بود همیشه گدای
بود از روی جهل و نااهلی 
چون بجوید طریق بوجهلی
گرت باید که مرد باشی مرد 
خشک بگذار و گرد دریا گرد
گرت نبود ز بحر در خوشاب 
هم تو دانی که در نمانی از آب
چنگ در راه حق زن ای سرهنگ 
گرت نبود مراد نبود ننگ
مرد کز آب و خاک دارد عار 
به هوا بر نشیند آتش وار
کله آسمان منه بر سر 
تا بیابی ز جبرئیل افسر
تاج گردد ترا کلاه ملک 
باشگونه شود کلاه فلک
تا بدانی حق از هوا و هوس 
کین همه هیچ نیست زی تو و بس
عدمت چون وجود یکسانست 
هرچه تو خواستی همه آنست

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## English translation
In Uhud, the Commander, Haydar the Attacker,
Received a powerful wound in that battle.
The arrow point remained in his foot;
His judgment at that time required
That he bring the arrow point out from his foot,
Which was the only cure for him.
As soon as the surgeon saw it,
He said it must be cut open with a blade
So that perhaps the arrow point would appear,
To become the key to the locked wound.
He had no endurance for the forceps;
He said, 'Leave it until the time of prayer.'
When he went into prayer, his surgeon
Cut his delicate body.
He brought the entire arrow point out from him,
And he became unaware of the moaning and pain.
When Ali came out of prayer,
He whom God has called 'Vali' (Saint),
He said, 'That pain has lessened, how is it?
And from what place is the prayer-ground full of blood?'
The beauty of the age, Hussein, said to him,
He who has become the adornment for the children of Mustafa:
He said, 'When you went into prayer,
You went up before the Lord.
The surgeon brought the arrow point out from you,
Before the salutation of the prayer was given.'
Haydar said to the Greatest Creator,
'That I had no news of this pain.'
O you who have become so well-known in prayer,
Characterized by worship among the people,
Perform the prayer like this and know its explanation,
Otherwise, stand up and do not vainly stroke your beard.
When you come into prayer with sincerity,
You will return with all your desires attained.
And if you perform a hundred salutations without sincerity,
You are not ripe, you perform raw work.
One greeting is worth two hundred salutations;
A prostration of sincerity is worth a hundred standings.
For that prayer which is merely a habit
Is dust that the wind has scattered.
In this path, a spiritual prayer
Is better than if you move your body drily.
The prayer of the Lord melts the soul;
He who moves drily is always a beggar.
It was out of ignorance and unworthiness,
When he seeks the way of Abu Jahl.
If you wish to be a man, a true man,
Leave the dryness and circle the sea.
If you do not have a lustrous pearl from the sea,
At least you know that you are not left out of the water.
Cling to the path of Truth, O captain;
If you do not reach your desire, it is no shame.
The man who feels shame for water and earth
Will sit upon the air like fire.
Do not place the cap of the sky on your head,
Until you receive the crown from Gabriel.
Let the king's hat become a crown for you;
Let the hat of the heavens be overturned.
So that you may know Truth from whim and desire,
That all this is nothing to you and that is all.
When your non-existence is equal to existence,
Whatever you wanted, all is that.

بخش ۶۲ - المثل فی الخشوع و حضور القلب فی الصّلوة قصّة امیرالمؤمنین علیه‌السّلام / Section 62 - The Parable on Humility and Presence of Heart in Prayer: The Story of the Commander of the Faithful, Peace Be Upon Him

In the *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sana'i contrasts the mere physical performance of prayer with its true spiritual essence. He warns that prayer performed in a state of heedlessness (*ghaflah*), lacking sincere supplication (*du'a*), entreaty (*tadarru'*), and presence of the heart, is spiritually empty and unacceptable. For Sana'i, true prayer is an intimate dialogue that must arise from a place of spiritual pain and genuine need to be received by the Divine.

The Distinction Between Inward Presence and Outward Ritual in Sana'i's Hadiqat al-Haqiqah

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The Anecdote of the Arrow Removed from Ali's Foot during Prayer in Hadiqat al-Haqiqah

In Section 64 of the *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sana'i uses the story of the ascetic Abu Shu'ayb and his wife Jauharah to illustrate the spiritual virtue of contentment (*qana'ah*) and voluntary poverty. Jauharah's willingness to live with Abu Shu'ayb in a mountain hermitage with minimal worldly goods highlights that true devotion and the curtailment of prayer (focusing on spiritual essence over lengthy outward forms) are achieved when the heart is freed from worldly desires and satisfied with divine decree.

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