One of the greatest Sufis of Islam was Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, also known as Ghaus-e-Azam. He founded the largest Sufi order Qadriya that has been the most tolerant, harmonious and charitable of all the Sufi orders. An extraordinary incident of his early life teaches us a noble spiritual lesson. His mother, Ummul Khair Fatima, wanted him to be a man of knowledge and wisdom. Preparing him for a long journey towards a city of learning, she took 40 dinars and sewed them under the arm of his coat, giving him the following advice: “O my beloved son! I want you to always speak the truth.” The young Abdul Qadir Jilani bid farewell to his mother and joined a caravan, which was on its way to the city of Baghdad. In those days, long routes passed through dense forests and jungles and robbers and bandits used to rob the caravans. Abdul Qadir’s journey took him into a vast forest wherein his caravan was attacked by a band of 60 looters. The head of those robbers was notorious for mischief-making. Unable to defend themselves, all travellers of the caravan surrendered and handed over their belongings to the bandits. Most of the bandits ignored him. After a long while, one of the robbers asked him if he had anything. The young boy said that he had 40 dinars. Amazed at the boy’s truthfulness, the head of the robbers asked him: “O young boy, none of us knew that you had any valuables. Despite knowing that we are looters, why did you disclose it?” The young boy replied: “When I set out for this journey, I had promised my mother that I would never tell a lie, come what may. How, then, could I deceive my mother for the sake of money?” Hearing these sincere and spirited words from a boy aged 13, the head of the bandits felt extremely ashamed of his age-old wrongdoings. Filled with shame and regret, he said: “O little boy! You are so loyal to your mother that you cannot break a single promise for her. How cursed and mean I am that I have been disobeying my God for long years.” Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi is a Delhi-based writer.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 15:35:47 +0000
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