Two men went to a Sufi Master and asked if they could  become his disciples.  He agreed, on the condition that they undertook a trial period of three months. During these 90 days the Master didn�t give them any work, he never told them any stories, and he never invited them to any meetings.

When the trial period was about to finish, the Master called the two men into his garden and said, "Go out through the gate to where the camels are kept. Each of you must take a camel by the reigns and lead it back here to me, climbing over the wall, and getting the camel to climb over the wall too!"

The first disciple said, "Master, it is written that man must use his intelligence. My intelligence tells me that what you are asking of me is impossible, so I presume that you are trying to find out whether I�m intelligent, and whether I can use my common sense."

"Then you won�t even attempt to make the camel climb over the wall?" enquired the teacher.   

"No, I won�t," replied the disciple.  "Please forgive me if I seem disobedient."

The Master then said to the other disciple, "And you?  What is your answer to my request?"

Without saying a word, the other man went out through the gate.  The teacher followed him, gesturing to the first disciple to come too. On the other side of the wall were the camels.  The second disciple took one of them by the reign, and led it to the wall. He encouraged the camel to climb the wall.  When it was clear to everyone that he couldn�t do such a thing, the Master said to him, "Take the camel back to where you found it, then follow me!"

A short time later, when they were all back in the garden, the Master said, "Everybody knows that those who follow the Way must show certain qualities, which include intelligence and  common sense as well as obedience.  Obedience is just as important as intelligence and common sense. Anyone who has taught will tell you that everybody tries to demonstrate his intelligence and common sense, rather than showing obedience. Most people believe that obeying is less important than finding solutions to problems. The truth is that these three elements are all equally important. Their importance can be seen in our actions. The world is full of intelligent people, but find me an obedient man. The first disciple cannot remain with us, because he gives too much importance to the intellect.  The second, however, is accepted, because he didn�t reach hasty conclusions based on the appearances that men always stop at, preventing them from giving of their best. 

The Master then asked the second disciple why he had attempted this impossible task. 

He answered, "I knew that you knew that the task was impossible, so there was no harm in obeying, to see where that would lead us.  I knew that the easiest answer was to say "that's impossible. My common sense forbids me to try," and that only a superficial person would think like that. We all have enough common sense to refuse to obey when we think it necessary. So I knew that you were putting my obedience to the test, and seeing if I would refuse the easy option."