Officer Mohammad Amin was transferred from his place of work to the al-Zabadani region where he became assigned to the position of a regional manager.
On the first day of his new job, he took along two policemen who would guide him to the al-Dimmas police station where he planned to spend the night, before going on to his new headquarters.
The group walked until they arrived in al-Dimmas where they passed a field planted with sweet melons. There, one of the policemen picked a melon and presented a slice of the succulent fruit to our officer, who was concerned that the policeman had taken it without the owner’s consent. Before accepting the slice of fruit he asked them about the owner of the field, wondering whether they had permission to take the melon. One of them soon put his mind at rest by telling Amin that this field belonged to him so our officer was reassured and ate the delicious slice of the proffered refreshment.
After this short break Mohammad Amin decided to continue walking but the two policemen begged him to let them stay where they were, saying, ‘Oh, Sir! The police station is very close to here, just beyond that hill. Would you please give us permission to go home now?’ They pointed to a hill about two kilometres away. So, according to the common proverb: If you feed the mouth, the eye will get shy, [37]he agreed and continued alone in the direction they had indicated until he reached the hill. But surprise, surprise! He could see no police station beyond it.
Dusk was falling and the darkness of night began to cover the Earth, spreading gradually until all was black. Our officer meanwhile, continued his search becoming increasingly agitated, when suddenly he was surprised by a huge and terrible hyena with flashing eyes that seemed to scatter sparks in his direction.
In a show of power the wild beast let out a loud and terrifying howl which echoed round the hills. Its aim was clearly to dominate our officer and make him so afraid that, overcome by cowardice, he would soon surrender and become a tasty morsel for the hyena’s dinner.
But our officer did not react hastily, though there was a loaded gun and a rifle by his side. He quickly reviewed his options but decided not to use either of them because the deep velvety blackness of the night meant he wouldn’t be able to aim accurately, and should he miss or, even worse, wound the animal, it might well make the situation far more difficult. The hyena, an animal with strong instincts to attack its prey, would no doubt take the opportunity to attack immediately. If he missed or caused a flesh wound it would only serve to make the hyena more ferocious. Indeed, firing a shot that missed would definitely make his situation worse, since at that time rifles were designed to hold only one bullet, and loading another one would take time; unless he could kill the animal with one shot – an almost impossible feat in the darkness – he would be exposed to the danger of a fierce, wounded beast grown even more ferocious because of a painful wound. Accordingly, Mohammad Amin sat down a short distance from the hyena, which was staring at him with green fiery eyes, and undaunted despite his dangerous situation, he looked at the animal with a steady gaze.
From this incident we understand that Al’lah had installed bravery in his heart and overwhelmed his very being with a sense of peace and calm, rather than the extreme terror that other men might have felt.
With exceptional sangfroid he laid his charged rifle across his lap, took the tobacco wallet out of his pocket and rolled a cigarette, then set to smoke it with great enjoyment.
The hyena rose and tensed, ready to pounce, letting out a terrible manic whoop which echoed round the hills, but our officer responded only by shouting a single word:
‘Bullets’.[38]What a strange thing to do! The hyena seemed confused, and squatted on all fours, motionless, regarding Mohammad Amin with a strange quietness, bright eyes glowing and peering into the darkness of the night.
It was a magnificent beast, the size of a donkey, with a massive head, and displayed formidable, muscular strength. It remained calm for about half an hour, its foul breath steaming from its wide nostrils making a sound like the hissing of snakes.
Suddenly and unexpectedly the hyena leapt to its feet and tensed for the attack. With a fearsome, deep throated sound it prepared itself for the frightful leap, and yet our self- assured officer bellowed in a long-drawn-out voice that sounded like the rumble of thunder: ‘Bullets!’ Miraculously, the beast became calm once again and squatted on its haunches, while our officer continued to smoke, utterly contented and totally in control of the strange situation in which he found himself.
Things continued in this manner, with the hyena’s cries reverberating around the hills at regular intervals and the officer responding with the single word: ‘Bullets!’ – in the same way as before, a single word which he now ejected like a missile. This scenario continued until daybreak! As a soft light rose slowly but surely, heralding the start of a new day, familiar shapes began to form in the growing light and gradually blossomed into rocks and trees with a background of wonderful soaring mountain tops. Mohammad Amin looked around and saw a man-made cairn of rocks reaching high into the air. He immediately climbed it, levelling his rifle at the hyena that seized the opportunity to hurtle forward to attack him. He aimed at the animal’s forehead and fired, believing that he had hit his target.
At once, the hyena let out a terrible howl which tore through the silence of the beautiful, gentle dawn and reverberated in the uplands and the valleys. It was a spine- chilling sound!
The hyena then turned and fled.
Our officer readied his rifle to fire again, and as he was doing so he heard a footfall and the sound of men approaching. He turned around and saw a group of armed men coming towards him. They were policemen from the police station which was directly at the bottom of the hill, but on the other side from where he had been searching in the dark the previous night.
The men greeted him and wondered what had happened, seeing him on the crest of the mound with his rifle in his hand and smoke rising from the muzzle. They asked him what had happened and he related to them the facts of the night he had passed sitting with his rifle across his lap, facing the ferocious hyena. On hearing his tale they told him that this hyena had already terrorised the entire region and that it had killed two people in the nearby village, al-Dimmas.
The policemen left Officer Mohammad Amin and followed traces of blood until they found the hyena’s lifeless carcass lying on the ground at the bottom of a slope.
Thus, through the courage and patience that Al’lah had instilled in our officer He had shown Amin the way to achieve the first of his many tasks, by removing a ferocious animal that had been terrorising villagers in the region.
So what was the reason for Mr. Mohammad Amin relating this strange and interesting tale?
We will relate a contrasting tale to show its relevance: One day, our officer was standing and chatting with three men beside the cages of a travelling zoo in Damascus. Suddenly, a lion or a tiger roared loudly and he felt so afraid that he became quite panic stricken. His heart trembled, as did his body, from head to toe; he was very shaken and thought he was about to faint.
He turned to his companions to see whether they noticed what had happened to him, but he found them engrossed in discussing the caged animals.
Our officer then wondered how it was that Al’lah had given him such amazing composure and steadiness for an entire night when he was faced by a ravenous hyena, and had filled his heart with all the necessary emotions and ability to deal with that difficult situation, only to find himself petrified at the sound of a caged animal here, in the middle of a noisy, bustling city, where women and children were wandering happily among the animals’ cages.
So, one can see that in this case courage and fear are at the disposal of Al’lah. He spreads them however He wills, to whomsoever He pleases, as there is no might or power except that which comes from Him.
The Almighty says, “And that He is alone the Provider of our feelings. [39] ”[40]This means that none of our feelings and emotions are under our personal control, but they are entirely God given!