It is narrated that a person requested Syed Sheikh Nizam-ud-Din, a saint, for prayers for a personal matter. Sheikh Nizam-ud-Din said, ‘Bring rice and milk for me.’
The person thought in his heart, ‘What a strange saint! I have come to him to present my need, and he has asked me to fulfil his desire.’ However, the man went home and came back with the dessert of rice and milk. After eating the dessert, Sheikh Nizam-ud-Din prayed for him, and this man’s issue was resolved.
Nizam-ud-Din then explained to the man, ‘I asked for the milk and rice dessert from you because when you came to me with your request, you were a stranger to me. I had no reason to have sympathy for you. I thought of this method to develop a relationship with you.’
(Malfuzat, Vol. 9, p. 50)