Being truthful in seeking what one wants is the basis of success as it is said, ‘Be true, and you shall be given’, also by means of truthfulness humanity learns and achieves.
Our venerable master was still a young child growing and developing day by day when death took his father, Hajji Ismael from this life, leaving behind him a poor widow and a fatherless child.
This little master was not allowed the freedom to go out of the neighbourhood after his father’s death or even before it occurred.
His father had never allowed him to roam far from the quarter for he was still young, and after the father’s death, this little child became the only one at home with his mother: his elder brother, Saleem having left the house to join the army. Thus, her worry and concern for him were so great which is why she did not permit him to venture away from the quarter as other boys did unless she accompanied him. She watched him constantly, her eyes never roamed: she took care of him, scolding him and reminding him again and again, ‘My beloved son! May God protect you… don’t leave the quarter… I’m afraid that something will happen to you, my son! I have nobody in this world but you, so please, let me have peace of mind and know that you are close by me and safe.’ Being a dutiful and obedient child he always reassured his mother, saying, ‘As you like Mother… I’ll do as you ask!’ He kept his word and never once left the neighbourhood unless he did so with his mother; and this was the way all through the years until he grew into a fine upstanding youth.
At that time, and when springtime blossomed, most young boys used to go along to the banks of the tributaries of the Barada River in the city of Damascus and other areas. Here they would learn how to swim in the crystal clear waters by the river banks and in the sparkling, babbling springs and streams: there were so many of them at that time that they could choose to swim in a different place every day! But because of his mother’s loving concern Mohammad Amin was not given the opportunity to learn to swim in his early childhood as most boys do.
In his youth Mohammad Amin entered the Royal Ottoman College, and after some years he graduated from there with the rank of officer and was appointed to a fitting position in the Syrian security services[45].
One day, while he was sitting in his office pondering on the nature of his work and his qualifications for it, his thoughts alighted on the subject of swimming. He thought seriously about his need to be an accomplished swimmer. Discussing the matter with himself, he thought, ‘I’m an officer who fights daily against criminality and villains; what would happen if just once during the course of a struggle with one of them, we fell into a river… what would I do?’ Or, another thought,‘If I were pursuing a wanted criminal and came up against a deep river that he was able to cross, how would I be able to follow him as I don’t swim at all well?’ Through this logical and positive train of thought he came to an important decision: ‘It’s simple… I should learn to swim. It’s important for me to be proficient at it, so the sooner I start, the better.’ With his mind made up he quickly decided on a day and went to a district near to al-Rabwa where the main stream of the Barada River flowed in full force. Nowadays the Sheraton Hotel occupies this area yet at that time the Barada was wide and deep all year round, whatever the season, but especially in the springtime.
The praiseworthy young man, Mohammad Amin, arrived at the riverbank and sat watching a crowd of boys and youths who were swimming and diving in the clear, flowing waters of the river. He observed their movements, the position they took as they dived into the river and the strokes they used to cross from one bank to the other. He saw them jump from high rocks, and plunge down through the abundant waters to the riverbed, then surface and swim quite some distance away to grasp a big, overhanging branch of a tree; here they would cling for a while to rest and regain their strength to continue swimming. After taking this break they resumed their swim towards the other side of the river where they got out of the water… and repeated the entire routine again and again.
The officer, Mohammad Amin, continued to watch in this way and observe each of their movements for nearly an hour until they all stopped swimming and left the riverside. Then, alone, he approached the river, took off his clothes and fastened a wrapper around his waist. He climbed up to the place from where the swimmers had been jumping into the river just a few minutes before, and he leaped into the river from that considerable height showing his usual great determination and strength, and as soon as he entered the water he began to move his arms and legs and cut through the strong current in exactly the same way as he had seen the youths do. He kept swimming until he reached the large branch where they had stopped temporarily and he grabbed hold of it to take a rest as they had done, and then resumed his swimming to the other bank with powerful, even strokes, where he got out of the river and repeated the exercise twice more with dazzling success and great skill. After the third dive he got out of the river, dried himself with a towel that he had brought with him, then dressed and, leaving the river behind, he went back home.
Next day, he went to meet his officer friends and told them what he had done and how he had learnt to swim within less than an hour, and had even dived from a height of many metres just like the professional divers and swimmers. They were astonished at his words and afraid for him as they loved him dearly. They found his dangerous adventure so odd but they greatly admired him for learning to swim so well within such a short space of time! They were particularly surprised because they knew for certain that he had never learnt to swim when he was a boy, so they said to him, ‘Dear Aslan![46]We want to see you swim.’
He agreed and they all accompanied him to the same place where he had taught himself to swim. Once there he undressed, boldly climbed the high rocks and prepared to dive as he had done before when alone. At the very moment that he approached the edge he was stopped by the shouts of his friends, the officers, warning him, afraid that he might drown, ‘Aslan, Aslan, wait! Don’t jump until we say, “Go”.’ So, to please his friends Mohammad Amin stayed where he was on top of the rocks, and immediately they took off their clothes and four of them went down in to the river and went off in different directions to save their friend, Mohammad Amin, from being drowned. Until this very moment, they knew that he was a truthful man and did not doubt his word but they were still uncertain of how well he had mastered the ability to swim, given that until then he could not swim at all! They saw the deep river flowing rapidly, its waters abundant at that time, so it would not treat kindly anyone who was not a strong and powerful swimmer.
Once they had taken up their four separate positions in the river, one of them shouted, ‘Aslan! Jump now!’ When he heard the signal he immediately dived into the river like a professional with great strength and displaying perfect style, his strong arms then cut through the turbulent water until he reached the large bough where he took his usual rest before continuing to swim strongly followed by the amazed eyes of his four friends. He cut strongly through the water towards the other side of the river, yet barely two metres short of the bank, he felt that he had lost his momentum and was in danger of drowning. Seeing the potential danger his four friends hurried to save him from going under the water even though he was very close to the river bank. In fact, once he depended upon their support, his attention weakened and his ability waned and, he did almost sink. After that, through practice and determination, he went on to attain unrivalled proficiency in swimming, outdoing even the best of swimmers.
Thus, one comes to understand that by being honest in seeking to fulfill their aims, mankind can achieve whatever they wish; but truly, has anyone ever shown such candour in learning to swim as this noble officer, Mohammad Amin?