THE JUSTNESS OF GOD (II)

First, IBN JAD’AAN: More than a century ago, there lived a wealthy man called Ibn Jad’aan. He had many camels, then the ultimate wealth of the Arabs. One day as he was inspecting his camels, he noticed a particularly healthy she-camel whose udder was so full of milk. He immediately remembered his poor neighbour and […]

First, IBN JAD’AAN: More than a century ago, there lived a wealthy man called Ibn Jad’aan. He had many camels, then the ultimate wealth of the Arabs. One day as he was inspecting his camels, he noticed a particularly healthy she-camel whose udder was so full of milk. He immediately remembered his poor neighbour and his family who hardly had anything to eat. So he said to himself that he would give the she-camel out and her calf as Sadaqa (charity) to this neighbour.

He took her along with her calf and knocked on the door of the neighbour and told him to accept it as a gift from him. The neighbour’s face broke into happiness and gratitude, but he was so overwhelmed he was unable to utter anything. The poor family tremendously benefitted from the she-camel’s milk.

As usual with Bedouin nomads, after the spring had passed, the dry summer would come with its drought and they would have to begin looking far and wide for water, which was usually found in the duhool (plural of duhul, or ‘holes in the earth’), situated underground leading to water traps underneath the ground. Ibn Jad’aan and his three sons found one such waterhole. He entered into it so as to bring some water to drink while the sons waited outside. However he did not return. They waited for him for three days and finally became hopeless. They thought he might have been stung by a snake and had died. As it so happened, they were keen on his demise for their greed to take over his wealth.

So they returned home and divided their father’s wealth. Then they remembered the she-camel. They went to the neighbour and asked for its return, promising to give him another camel in place of it, or they would take it by force. The neighbour said that he would report them to their father. They laughed and informed him that he had died. He inquired as to how and where Ibn Jad’aan had died and they told him.

The neighbour said: “Please take me there! And take your she-camel; I don’t want anything from you in return!” They took him to the waterhole and left him there. He brought a rope, tied it to a tree outside the hole and to his waist, and then stepped into the hole, crawling on his back. Eventually the smell of moisture became closer, and then all of sudden he heard the sound of a man by the water groaning and moaning.

He went closer and closer towards this sound in the darkness, putting his hands out all over, until his hand fell on a man. It was Ibn Jad’aan! He checked his breath and found he was still breathing after one week! He pulled him out slowly, covering his eyes so as to protect him from the sudden sunlight. He carried him to his house and nurtured him back to health without telling the sons. After Ibn Jad’aan’s strength had returned, the neighbour asked him: “Tell me, by Allah, how come one week underground and you didn’t die?”

“I will tell you something very strange,” Ibn Jidaan said, “I got lost, so I said to myself I had better stay close to the water. So I started to drink from it, but hunger had no mercy and water alone does not suffice. For three days, my hunger intensified. While I was lying on my back weak from hunger, I surrendered myself to Allah and put all my affairs in His hands. All of a sudden, I felt the warmth of milk pouring into my mouth. It was dark, and did not know where it was coming from. I drank from it until my hunger abated! This occurred three times a day. But then as suddenly as it had come, the milk stopped these last two days, and I didn’t know what happened. My hunger then returned.”

His neighbour, full of surprise, said: “If you know the reason why the milk stopped you will be amazed! Your sons thought you had died and they came to me and took away the she-camel which Allah was giving you from its milk! But Allah saved you for your original kindness.”

Allahu Akbar! Exalted be His name! But note, even if you don’t give on your own volition, the Good Lord can and may intervene, as in this second story, THE GROCERY LIST:

A poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would give her a few groceries on credit. She softly explained that her husband had fallen ill and was unable to work. They and the children needed food. The grocer scoffed at her and ordered that she leave his store. Visualising the family needs, she said: ‘Please, Sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can.’ The grocer told her he could not give her credit, as there was no way she could pay.

Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family. The grocer asked the woman in a very reluctant voice, ‘Do you have a grocery list?’ ‘Yes Sir,’ she replied.

’OK,’ he said, ‘put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries.’ The woman hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed. An amazing thing happened: the scales went down on the weight of the paper, and stayed down. The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, ‘I can’t believe it.’

The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more. The grocer stood there in utter disbelief. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement. It was not a grocery list; it was a prayer, which said: ‘Dear Lord, You know my needs and I am leaving this in Your hands.’ The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned silence as the woman left the store.

Only God knows how much a prayer weighs. The grocer couldn’t believe it. I could. You can. Therefore, O Allah, our paper is on the scales! Deliver us from the calamities of today and of tomorrow! Amin!