A dervish faced a necessity and stole a rug from a friend's house.

The ruler ordered that his hand be cut off.

The owner of the rug interceded and said: I have forgiven him.

He said: I will not forgo the legal punishment because of your intercession.

He said: What you said is true, but whoever steals something from endowed property does not necessarily have his hand cut off, and the poor man owns nothing. Everything the dervishes have is endowed for the needy.

The ruler refrained from cutting off his hand and began to reproach him, saying:

Had the world become so narrow for you that you could not steal except from the house of such a friend?!

He said: O master! Have you not heard that they say: Sweep the house of friends and do not knock on the door of enemies.

When you are in dire straits, do not surrender to helplessness,

Strip the skin off your enemies, and the fur coat off your friends.