“When he found the cure for death, Gabriel, peace be upon him, comes.
‘O Lokman!’ he says, ‘let me look at what you’re holding.’ ‘No, I won’t
let you look,’ he says, ‘I’ve found the cure for death,’ he says. ‘You
found it’ — ‘you didn’t’ — and the two of them come to grips.
They were on the bridge, so it is said.
Can Lokman Hekim stand up to Gabriel, peace be upon him? The moment he
strikes, more than half of what he is holding spills out. Only a
single sheet of paper is left.
Gabriel, peace be upon him, goes before God Almighty. ‘Don’t touch
Lokman,’ he says. ‘He is a very great saint, a blessed one,’ he says.”
Read the original Turkish, as it was told
“Ölüme çare bulunca Cebrail aleyhisselam geliyo. ‘Ya Lokman!' diyo,
‘Elindekilere bakayım.' ‘Yok, baktırmam.' diyor, ‘ölüme çare buldum.' diyor.
Bulduydun, bulamadıydın diye bunlar kapışıyorlar.
Köprüdeymişler.
Lokman Hekim Cebrail aleyhisselamla çıkışabilir mi? Nasıl vurunca
elindekilerin yarısından fazlası dökülüyo. Sadece bir kâğıt kalıyo.
Cebrail aleyhisselam Cenab-ı Allahü Teâlâ'nın yanına gidiyor.
‘Lokman'a ellemeyin' diyor. ‘O çok büyük bir evliya, mübarek.' diyor.”
From Tuğrul Balaban's collection, as it was told (the first variant); English translation ours.
Informant: Hamdi Keklikçi (b. 1946), Amasya; he heard it from his elders.2
