A seeker went running to a mosque, wanting to pray. However, by the time he got there, the time for prayers was over. He saw a religious man coming out of the mosque.
"Is the time for prayers over?" he asked.
The man said, "Yes."
The seeker sighed deeply, "Alas!"
At that point the religious man said, "Will you exchange the merits of your sigh for the merits of my prayers?"
The seeker was thrilled. "Yes! Fine!" he said.
So they concluded their transaction. That night in a dream the seeker had a vision. He couldn't see who was speaking, but he could see a light and hear a voice. The voice said, "O Seeker, what a foolish man you are! The sigh that emerged from you was worth millions and millions of prayers. It came from deep within. And yet you gave it away, just like that."