Sufism is alchemy; it aims to purify hearts that are "inferior and sick" and transform them into gold, "pure and precious." In terms of Sufism, this statement is not limited to spirituality only; Sufis are reported to transform inferior substances into gold and precious stones. Farid ud-Din Attar in his grand work "Tadhkirat-ul-Awliya" loves telling such magical stories that one cannot help but be mesmerized.

Dhul-Nun al-Misri (the Egyptian) is one of the most remarkable protagonists of those out-of-this-world stories. Even his name comes from an extraordinary incident. Attar of Nishapur narrates:

"After his encounter with a mysterious woman questioning his love of God, Dhul-Nun went to a riverside where he saw people sitting in a boat and he joined them. Among them was a merchant whose jewels were lost later. They blamed Dhul-Nun and started humiliating and torturing him, but he kept his silence except when things got out of control. Then he just uttered the words: 'O Lord, you know.' A thousand fish raised their heads from the river, each holding a jewel in its mouth. He took one of them and gave it to the merchant, which made everyone on the boat regret and ask for forgiveness. That is why they named him Dhul-Nun, 'the master of the fish.'"

Dhul-Nun was an ascetic, leading an austere way of life dedicated to Allah, holding Allah above everything else. It is reported that he found a pot full of gold and while everyone got his share of the gold, he asked for the board laid across the top of the pot which had the name of Allah written upon it. He kept kissing it as it had the name of his friend on it and for his respect, he was bestowed the most precious gift of all.

Attar narrates other stories involving Dhul-Nun performing miracles like turning a stone into an emerald or blowing into pellets and making them rubies.

It is intriguing that the stories told about him all revolved around jewels, gold, emeralds, rubies and so on while he had nothing to do with them except for pointing out their worthlessness compared to the real beauty and prosperity that is Allah and his friendship.

Miracles are an important part of the Sufi discourse but as it is emphasized in Sufi texts it is more important not to rely on them. They can only be interpreted as proof of the intimate relationship of the vassal with Allah. As the ascetic is absorbed by the divine power until his self is effaced, Allah takes upon and performs actions through and on behalf of the vassal. At that point, the vassal is nothing but an agent. When the power is attributed to Allah, it is inevitable to believe that chrysopoeia is real and possible as no natural law can limit Allah's actions.

It is a magic-like, rare incident proving the intimacy and sincerity of a Sufi. It is never a goal that Sufis pursue because they are more focused on the transformation of the heart which is the only way that can lead to the ultimate goal: the knowledge of Allah.

In this respect, Sufism is a sort of alchemy. Great names like Ghazzali and Ibn Arabi wrote pieces named "The Alchemy of Happiness" believing that hearts can be healed from whatever illness they carry. They present Sufi masters as doctors prescribing their disciples practices such as hunger, isolation, self-blaming, etc. For instance, Dhul-Nun said, "Wisdom does not dwell inside a person whose stomach is full," implying that the cure is hunger; or another Sufi said: "Whoever chooses to retreat over the company of men must be free from all recollections except the recollection of his Allah."

Their prescriptions are hard to apply because it is the self’s nature to desire. However, Sufis maintain the idea that a "self" can be trained and disciplined and the rewards that follow are worth the pain. As long as the self is powerful, it controls the thoughts and actions of the novices, which makes them more and more rooted in this world and forget about the real reason why they are here. In the Quran, Allah states that he created humans to worship. According to Sufis, "to worship Allah" means also "to know Allah." This is a reciprocal relation actually. By worshipping Allah, one gets to know Allah, and by knowing Allah, one worships.

When a person worships Allah, he/she acknowledges his/her reality which can only be described as powerless unless supported by Allah. In this respect, "know thyself" is no longer a philosophical maxim but a guideline showing how to act. Know that when you are hungry, it is Allah who feeds you; know that when you are helpless, it is Allah who protects you. In the Quran, it is stated that: "Your Allah says, ‘It is easy for Me, just as I created you before when you were nothing!’" Coming from nothingness, it is on the created to know his creator. And the way to know Allah, according to Sufis, is to get rid of all temporal attachments piling up on you the moment you arrive in this world and the illusions of power attributed to you as if you are taking off all your clothes each garment representing another corporeal epithet. When all the titles are gone, and one becomes like "when you were nothing," then what happens?

Sufis often report a hadith qudsi in which Allah said: "My servant does not draw near Me with anything more beloved to Me than the religious duties I have obligated upon him. And My servant continues to draw near to me with supererogatory deeds until I love him. When I love him, I become his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. We he to as (something) of Me, I would surely give it to him; and were he to seek refuge with Me, I would surely grant him refuge."

This summarizes the Sufi path: Performing supererogatory deeds following the obligatory ones and being stripped of desires and pretensions, one becomes a complete vassal in front of Allah and when he/she does, he/she becomes an agent through whom Allah acts. When the spiritual alchemy is complete and the heart, body and mind are purified, it is no longer impossible to believe miracles as it is not a human performing them. And when this is the case, who would care about emeralds and gold?