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The Cobbler's Hajj… January
4, 2008 — morals and ethics It is related that a noted
Muslim scholar Abdullah bin Mubarak, had a dream while he was sleeping near the
Kaaba. Abdullah bin Mubarak saw two
angels' descend from the sky, and start talking to each other. One of the angels asked the
other: "Do you know how many people have come for Hajj this
year?" The other angel replied:
"Six hundred thousand have come for Hajj." Abdullah bin Mubarak had also
gone for Hajj that year. The first angel asked: "How
many people's Hajj has been accepted?" The second replied: "I
wonder if anyone's Hajj has been accepted at all." Abdullah bin Mubarak was
grieved to hear that. He thought, "So many people have come from all over
the world, crossing so many obstacles like rivers, jungles, mountains, suffered
so many hardships, and meeting so many expenses. Would their effort be wasted?
Allah does not let anyone's effort go to waste". He had thought only so far when
he heard the other angel speak: "There is a cobbler in Damascus. His
name is Ali bin al-Mufiq. He could not come for Hajj, but Allah has accepted
his intention of Hajj. Not only will he get the reward for Hajj, but because of
him, all the Hajjis will be rewarded. When Abdullah bin Mubarak woke
up, he decided he would go to Damascus and meet that cobbler whose Hajj
intentions carried such a lot of weight. On reaching Damascus, Abdullah
bin Mubarak inquired if anyone knew a cobbler named Ali bin al-Mufiq. The town
people directed him to a house. When a man appeared from the house Abdullah bin
Mubarak greeted him and asked his name. The man replied "Ali bin
al-Mufiq". Abdullah bin Mubarak asked:
"What do you do for a living?" Ali replied: "I am a
cobbler". Then Ali asked the stranger's name that had come looking for
him. Abdullah bin Mubarak was a very
well-known scholar of Islam, when Abdullah bin When Abdullah bin Mubarak asked
Ali to tell him if he had made any plans to go for Hajj. Ali replied "For
thirty years I have lived in the hope of performing the Hajj. This year I had
saved enough to go for Hajj, but Allah did not will it, so I couldn't make my
intention translate into action. Abdullah bin Mubarak was eager
to find out how could this man's Hajj be accepted and blessed for all the
people who went for Hajj that year when he didn't go for Hajj in the first
place. While talking to the cobbler he could feel a certain purity in his
heart. Islam regards greatness not in wealth or in power, but in civility, in
good manners and the goodness of heart. Abdullah bin Mubarak further
asked: "why could you not go on Hajj?". In order not to disclose the
reason, Ali again replied "it was Allah's will". When Abdullah bin Mubarak
persisted, Ali revealed: "Once I went to see my neighbour's house. His
family was just sitting down for dinner. Although I was not hungry I thought my
neighbour would invite me to sit down for dinner out of courtesy but I could see
that my neighbour was grieved about something and wanted to avoid inviting me
for dinner. After some hesitation the
neighbour told me: "I am sorry I cannot invite you for food. We
were without food for three days and I could not bear to see the pain of hunger
of my children. I went out looking for food today and found a dead donkey. In
my desperation I cut out some meat from the dead animal, and brought it home so
that my wife could cook this meat. It is halal (lawful or permitted) for us
because of our extreme condition of hunger, but I cannot offer it to
you." Ali continued: "On hearing
this, my heart bled with tears. I got up and went home, collected the three
thousand dinars I had saved for Hajj, and gave my neighbour the money. I too
had to go hungry but that was to save money for Hajj, but I thought helping
my neighbour during his difficult times was more important. Although I
still desire to go for Hajj if Allah wills." Abdullah bin Mubarak was
greatly inspired by the cobbler's story and told the cobbler of his dream. God is merciful and shows mercy
to those who do likewise to his creatures. This act of compassion on the part
of the cobbler was so pleasing to God that it not only earned him the reward of
Hajj but was extended to all the people who came for Hajj. Hajj is a journey that can ignite
the soul to be reminded of the time it was created and takes it beyond the
dimensions of this life to the time it will meet the creator. The sincere performance of
Hajj can transcend a person's day to day life into a spiritual awakening of the
highest magnitude. A successful Hajj
experience connects us to our creator and the greater compassion of humanity. Posted
in Moral stories. http://moralsandethics.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/the-cobbler%E2%80%99s-hajj%E2%80%A6/ |
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