The Envoy of God (cpth) said, “Anyone who sees an abominable act, let him change it by his hand, if he cannot, let him resort to his tongue, if he cannot, let it be by his heart, and that is the weakest (degree of) belief.”
One day some gendarmes entered the office of their commandant, Officer M. A. Sheikho, who was the head of the police station in al-Salhiyeh quarter. They told him that they had seen a drunken Turkish officer of the rank of first lieutenant with his two revolvers strapped to his hip. He was staggering in a very disorderly fashion along the streets of al-Salhiyeh, making improper advances to the women he passed and hitting out at anyone that stood in his way.
On hearing this Officer Sheikho immediately ordered his gendarmes to bring the drunken roisterer to the police- station even if they needed to do so by force.
They saluted their officer and left immediately to carry out the task and brought the drunken officer in by force while he was issuing a constant stream of threats and roaring with rage. Nevertheless our officer immediately set about punishing him, by applying God’s Law rather than the law of mankind. So, to discipline him, he gave him a good beating and being very skilled at this he left no mark on his body; then he tied him tight to a pillar in the middle of the police-station. But the Turkish officer was furious at what he thought was wrongful behaviour towards him and started to swear and curse at Officer Sheikho. The Turk was a member of the ruling class at that time and believed that he was above the law, but our officer would not allow that fact to deter him from carrying out his purpose and continued to beat him until he calmed down.
Thus, whenever the Turk’s anger flared up, as it did repeatedly, our officer punished him yet again to deter him until finally he cooled down and came to his senses.
The errant Turkish officer was left tied to the pillar all night, and the next morning our officer brought him some breakfast and undid the rope by which he was tied to the pillar all night, but the Turkish officer refused to eat. Then our officer, who was full of God’s Grace, looked him straight in the eyes and said, ‘You offensive man! If you want to get out of here safely, you had better eat something otherwise I’ll punish you again. So stop behaving badly, calm down and accept the hospitality!’
Hence, the Turkish officer really had to accept the offer of breakfast though he was still boiling with rage. After that, our officer set him free and let him leave the police-station. Without delay the high born officer headed for his superiors to lodge a complaint about his beating and the insults rained on him by a Saracen67]officer who had paid no attention to the fact that he was an officer of the Turkish ruling class.
But Officer Mohammad Amin had foreseen that the Turkish officer would react in this way, so he took his own appropriate measures. He advised all the policemen under his command to deny that he had beaten the Turk when they were questioned, as surely they would be: then he formulated an ingenious plan.
Actually, the high commander of the Turkish army came in person to enquire about such a serious matter which was, in fact, a breach of military law. For according to military custom it was not permitted to beat an officer for any reason whatsoever, especially if he was a member of the ruling class of that time.
So, when the high commander arrived and started to question the policemen of the station, they all denied the Turkish officer’s complaint that he had been offended or hit, but they agreed that they had tied him to a pillar in the station since he was drunk and aggressive, and striking out at anyone who approached him; they said that they had tied him up for his own safety and until he could come to his senses. Then when he had sobered up by the morning, the head of the station treated him hospitably, ate breakfast with him and calmed him down.
That was the unanimous testimony of all the policemen in the station along with that of their hero, our officer, Mohammad Amin.
By the end of the enquiry, the high commander actually believed the ‘lies’ of the plaintiff, the drunken Turkish officer, and so, our officer, wise man that he was, entertained him and offered him an excellent meal. So they sat together eating and chatting in a contented and relaxed way, as two well-born officers would be accustomed to do.
Here, our officer, Mohammad Amin who was beloved and dear to the high commander, took advantage of his happy state and said to him, ‘Would you like me to tell you a version of the truth as friends, or the lawful, military version?’
The general commander enquired, ‘What is the ‘friendly’ truth and what is the ‘lawful and military’ one?’
Our officer replied, ‘From the legal and military point of view the truth is that we found the Turkish officer drunk and disorderly; he was beating innocent people at random, intruding on their privacy, and making improper advances to women. He refused to listen to reason so we had no choice but to arrest him! He resisted and lashed out at me and other police officers so we were forced to tie him to a pillar in the station until he sobered up, then we offered him food and let him leave peacefully.’
The general commander of the Turkish army said, ‘Well done! Your wise behaviour deserves our praise. Now, tell me, what is the ‘friendly’ one?’
Our officer replied, ‘We found him drunk and disorderly, bothering women and beating men who approached him to try to calm him. So, when he resisted arrest and tried to hit us, we cornered him and forced him to the ground, then we tied his hands and disciplined him until he calmed down and stopped being so arrogant and obnoxious. But he flared up once again and began to curse and swear, so we struck him repeatedly and left him tied to the pillar all night. Finally, by this morning he had curbed his anger and calmed down. Then we treated him well and offered him breakfast, so he gave in and pretended to become reasonable, albeit somewhat reluctantly.’
Here, the general commander flared up and jumped to his feet, shouting, ‘Have you dared to beat a Turkish officer?’
‘No, Sir,’ the officer replied, ‘Nobody has beaten him or even offended him. We only tied him up because he wasn’t in control of his actions because he had consumed an excessive amount of alcohol. But when he regained consciousness, we treated him well and brought him some food, thus, whatever we did was simply to keep him safe from harm.’
On hearing this the general calmed down and relaxed, so he sat down again. Then he asked, ‘But didn’t you tell me that you beat him and insulted him?’
‘No, Sir,’ our officer answered. ‘That account was just a ‘friendly’ one. I told you that out of my love and respect for you. But when you got upset, I informed you of the legal and military version!’
Having reflected for a short while the high commander said to our officer, ‘Ah now I understand, so I’ll answer you from the legal perspective: you performed your duty perfectly when you tied him to avoid the consequences of his intoxication and then you entertained him when he sobered up. So, in fact, we should praise your behaviour and that of your men.’
Then he winked at Amin indicating his acceptance of the matter and that he sided with what was right, even if it went against his ruling compatriots. He continued, ‘As for that evil miscreant he received his just reward and, definitely, after this harsh lesson he’ll never dare to cause any harm to your region which has been cleansed by your wonderful deeds and excellent performance.’
And so the general left Amin wrestling with the broad smile on his face and his heart brimful of happiness.
God says, “If you help [the Cause of] Al’lah, He will help you, and plant your feet firmly.”[68]