He sat on the sofa, his face in repose, but still denoting his physical and moral strength. Drops of sweat glistened on his forehead, seeming like pearls as they reflected the gentle light in the shady room. Officer Sheikho had just arrived home after spending many hours, since before sunrise, displaying his customary sacrifice and selflessness working in the pursuit of all that is right.
The blistering midday sun was beating down as he headed for his house where he sat down on the sofa, dragged off his heavy jackboots and put his feet into a basin of cold water, hoping to shake off some of the weariness that had overcome him.
But it seems his rest was soon to be interrupted when there was a knock on the door! It was an old friend who wanted to ask a special favour from Mohammad Amin and begged him, saying, ‘Oh Bey! [128]I’ve seen an excellent horse in the horse market. Its beauty captures the mind and when it prances around it makes one’s heart beat at its unabashed coquetry; you have a lot of experience and knowledge about horses so please would you come and use your expertise to examine it before I buy it… for you’re the only person I trust.’
Mohammad Amin was absolutely exhausted, so what should he do? Would he give an excuse? But it was a request for help from a friend… and after all it would be a good deed… could he refuse? No, in all conscience he could not! He would do the right thing even though he was exhausted and would have liked to rest, so he quickly decided to make the sacrifice, forgo his rest, and accompany his friend to the market.
He donned his military uniform once again and set off with him while the sun was still blazing. As they arrived at the market he spotted the horse immediately: it was really an outstanding animal, a rare horse with a beautiful symmetrical body, a wide chest, long neck, strong straight legs and narrow flanks.
Mohammad Amin mounted the horse, and as soon as he urged it on, it galloped ahead, as though racing against time, and yet, the moment that he tightened the reins, it came to an immediate halt. He dismounted with signs of admiration and astonishment showing clearly on his face. He asked the vendor for the price, and was told, ‘Forty golden pounds’!
Thereupon he turned to his friend and advised him sincerely saying, ‘I don’t think you should buy it… the price is far too low for a horse of that calibre… there must be something wrong with it that isn’t evident at the moment; such a horse normally costs more than a hundred golden pounds.’ He turned to the vendor and asked him, ‘Will you refund the purchase price if any defect appears later?’
The seller replied, ‘No, once it’s sold, it’s sold, and becomes your responsibility! You can try it again now and ride it from here as far as the Barada River; after the sale is completed I accept no further responsibility.’
Mohammad Amin said to his friend once again, ‘I advise you not to buy it, the price doesn’t make sense… anything less than a hundred golden pounds means there must be something wrong with it and that’s why he’s set the price so low.’
But with his voice clearly full of desire, the friend said, ‘I understand what you’re saying but… please agree that I should buy it because… because I love it…!’
However, one should always keep in mind that ‘Having such an overwhelming desire for something makes one blind and deaf (in spirit).’
Mohammad Amin said to him, ‘I’ve advised you and that’s enough! You must now decide for yourself.’
And so, against Amin’s best advice, his friend bought the horse, and paid cash to the seller. He was overwhelmed with happiness and felt as though the world was not big enough to contain his joy. His advisor, his friend Amin, left him to his euphoria and went home, and it must be added that he was astonished at his friend’s decision.
A mere half an hour had passed when there was a prolonged knocking at his door. It was his friend, the new owner of the horse, with his face as white as a ghost and his eyes burning red with anger.
At first he had found the horse to be really wonderful! He was so full of excitement that as soon as he had completed the purchase, he mounted the horse and gave it free rein until he reached the quarter known as White Bridge, where there was a street that sloped up to the grassy slopes of Qassyoun mountain. But his joy was short lived! As he neared this area a tram happened to rush by causing a great amount of noise and startling the horse, whereupon it became very agitated, snorted and neighed, and reared up, raising its forelegs high in the air, and standing only on its hind legs.
The poor man was overcome by fear and threw himself from the back of the horse believing that the only way he could escape death would be to set foot on the ground.
The reason for the low price had just been made very clear to him!
It was perfectly obvious that this is how the horse would react if spooked, and if it fell it would, no doubt, kill its rider. He went straight to the house of Mohammad Amin and when the door was opened he spat out the words, ‘You tricked me!’
Amin was dumbfounded and said, ‘What? Did I? Stop…! Don’t say another word!’ He left him at the door and went back into the house; within moments he returned, bringing out a small bag. He thrust the bag into the man’s hands and said, ‘Take it!’ He had only forty golden pounds, money which he had saved, and gave the whole amount to his friend. Yes! He sacrificed the gold and took the horse unwillingly from him, and then he led it to the stable.
Mohammad Amin had no need of this horse at all, for he was an officer and the government provided him with excellent horses and whatever stabling and fodder the animal needed. But he thought it was in his own best interests to preserve his dignity which led him to sacrifice the money, and to have a clear conscience and avoid any repercussions from the friend.
In the afternoon, our officer left his house leading the high spirited horse behind him and accompanied by his aide-de-camp. He started to think about the matter, and just then his face brightened and he began to smile. He turned to his aide asking him, ‘Do you know those clay vials that are made in Aleppo?… the lower part of the container’s shaped like a swelling belly and has a long neck… go and bring me four of them while I go ahead to al-Hashish meadow. Join me there.’
At that time, people were still kindly disposed towards one another and were accustomed to doing good deeds: civilization had not yet left the stamp of cruelty, stinginess, and selfishness on them. If one of their animals grew old or lacked the strength to work, they felt sorry for it and took it to al-Hashish meadow which lay on the banks of the River Barada, on the same site where the Damascus International Exhibition is situated today.
Higher up lay the River Banyas, and below it the River Barada. Fresh green grass covered the area all year round, and moreover, whenever the people of al-Sham [129]were afflicted with difficult times, they brought sacks bursting with barley and fed it to the old and debilitated animals: this wonderful gesture of almsgiving helped to drive away their misfortunes.
These generous human actions ensured that the animals had a comfortable life and were well fed, until the day they died. The cavalry also used al-Hashish meadow as the area where they trained in riding skills as it was a vast field where they found a chance for acquiring experience and advanced riding skills.
Our officer saw his aide coming and carrying the four vials, then he called out to him, ‘Half fill each of them with water from the river.’ This done, our officer fixed them just in front of him on the horse’s neck, and no sooner had he prodded the horse than it galloped off at full speed seemingly intent on flying!… And the more it galloped, the faster it seemed to want to go!
The onlookers were amazed and overcome with admiration; their eyes followed every movement of the horse and the brave rider on its back. Their hearts beat in time with the sound of the horse’s hoofs, showing their appreciation of the rider’s skills and his beautiful horse. Suddenly, the horse stopped short! Our horseman grasped the reins firmly and sat squarely on its back, as it whinnied and snorted, and reared high into the air as if it would reach the sky.
That was the moment our horseman was waiting for: he held up a vial from the neck of the horse and banged it on its head between the ears, The animal heard a sound like a loud clap of thunder and was deafened, this was followed by drops of water falling on its head as if it was raining. The result was instantaneous! It lowered its forelegs to the ground, terrified!
But as soon as the reins were loosened it galloped off once again like a bullet from a gun… and the moment that it tried to repeat this behaviour, it was subjected to the same treatment with the second vial. It was beginning to understand: this time it submitted and set off once again without rearing, but still it galloped ahead quickly as if escaping from a pack of wild animals. And for the third time, as soon as it started to repeat the same behaviour as before, another vial landed on its head with the same clamour and water cascading over its face, leaving no chance for it to try to throw its rider once again.
After that, our officer continued to gallop back and forth for a long time until he was sure that the horse had overcome its habitual bad habit which resulted from fear. Officer Mohammad Amin was extremely happy with the amazing results which had been brought about by his ability to assess the situation and take the appropriate measures. He turned to his aide and gave him the fourth vial with a smile of confidence, knowing that it was the Creator of heaven and earth who guided him to such a solution, for had it not been for the Guidance of Al’lah, he could never have resolved the problem.
A few days later, he took the horse to the market and offered it for sale, and within a very short time it was sold for 100 golden pounds, so he thanked God and praised Him.
When he met his friend he said to him, ‘May Al’lah forgive you! Why did you lie and say that I had deceived you? Indeed Al’lah inspired me so that I found the problem with the horse and fixed it by imposing the correct methods of discipline; then I sold it for 100 gold pounds and made a profit of 60 gold pounds within a week. With that, the face of his ungrateful friend turned pale… he was furious and extremely upset at his loss.