The following is an account of a true story which took place during the Ottoman Rule in Syria, and relates the tale of what took place between two giants of that time and led to a positive outcome.
When the details of this event reached the ears of the humane officer M. A. Sheikho, (known as ‘Aslan’, the lion, for his bravery) he was touched by it and gave his wise judgement so that it would be a message for everybody who seeks to learn from the lessons of this life.
On one side this story concerns one of the gendarmes (policemen) who was under the leadership of our great officer ‘Aslan’. This gendarme had been endowed with a huge muscular body and he was known as the powerful giant of his time and he was thought of as a hero. But at the same time, many people were afraid of this muscular monster because of his reputation for brutality and violence, and they took great care not to upset him due to the merciless brutality he might resort to. Indeed, he was a human giant with a colossal stature that was rarely seen and a physical strength that was almost beyond the imagination. At the same time, there was another giant equal in physical stature to the herculean gendarme, both in bulk and height, and with a similar pugnacious personality. Both of them were indomitable and brutal and displayed equal amounts of insolence and conceit.
Therefore each regarded the other as an enemy, and despised opponent, and hoped that he might disappear, or even die so that he would remain the only hero and the one great giant in the eyes of the people who would look at him with awe. He would then live his life feeling that he was all powerful and free from any feelings of annoyance or bitterness.
Eventually the feelings of concealed malevolence and intense hatred that existed between them festered in the hearts of the two giants to the extent that they took every opportunity to abuse each other and to give vent to all the feelings of aversion and hostility they held for one another. Eventually this flood of swearwords and cursing developed into a bloody, merciless struggle and savage fighting that was no different from the struggle of a predatory animal on its prey. Neither one of them ever gave in to the other however badly he was injured. Once started neither one would withdraw from their regular death-defying struggles until the policemen came and fired into the air in order to frighten them and convince them to call a halt. This was the only way their ferocious bouts would end, with no winner or loser, otherwise it would likely go from bad to worse until eventually one of them would surely kill the other.
The terrible skirmishes between these two monsters happened frequently, and every time they met it was just like a confrontation between two great mammoths, each one vying to establish control and superiority over the other.
However, the Hand of Godly Potency was also present during the clashes of these two titans and He always sent policemen to put an end to their savage confrontations, until the day came when the two opponents, having responded to the cursed call of Satan, the enemy of all mankind, met for what proved to be their final bloody bout. The flames of spite and repugnance were clearly apparent on the distorted faces of both men and became translated into vicious, taunting words and malevolent glares. As for their hearts, only God could know what was going on therein!
On this day one challenged the other to meet in distant fields, well away from the eyes of both people and policemen, and a ferocious fight took place between the two giants, their hearts overflowing with blind rage and hatred towards each other. Neither of them displayed the least sign of mercy towards his opponent, each vying to use his incredible, brute force to destroy the other. They set about poking and shoving each other wantonly with painful, relentless blows until it escalated into a full scale fight, ending when one went down and the other walked away victorious. In point of fact, anyone who had witnessed one of these inhuman battles in the past would realise that it might well lead to tragedy.
Anyone who had a conscience would have been stricken with the deepest sorrow and pain if they had been there, at the fighting ground, watching these two brutes trying to kill each other.
Both faces were bloodied, one had a broken nose, the other had lost some teeth, both bodies were slippery from the blood which flowed abundantly from their heads and the multitude of cuts on their bodies. They were streaked with the shades of criminality, wickedness and inhumanity that denoted the influence of Satan, their real enemy. The bloodcurdling battle became even more intense until they were both utterly exhausted; still neither one was prepared to give in and call a halt… they kept on fighting and tusselling, barely able to breathe… gasping for air… the breath rasping in their throats…
Finally, exhausted and staggering from side to side, one of them gained the advantage and with a single blow he knocked his opponent to the ground, where he lay utterly defenceless, his body broken and covered with blood. The victor stood over his fallen adversary looking down on him, feasting his eyes on his fallen enemy… watching him lying in the dust, moaning and gasping as if every breath was his last. Only then did he feel that he had vanquished his opponent and his black heart became satisfied with the taste of victory.
So, he turned his back on his victim who was lying there seriously injured and began to stagger back towards the city, for the effort expended in downing his opponent had temporarily weakened him. He was convinced that he had defeated his opponent and given him a lesson that he would never forget.
But the downed giant was not done for yet! The victor had gone no more than a few steps when he heard the broken voice of his defeated foe, gasping threats, ‘I’ll recover… and be stronger… you’ll see what I’ll do to you… So, watch your back…!’
The victorious giant stopped in his tracks, turned, and went back to his beaten opponent, still lying on the ground in a severely weakened state ‘Really… do you really think so? You’ll come back to challenge me when you’re strong again… when you’ve recovered?’
‘Yeh… yeh…! You’ve got no idea what I’m going to do to you.’
Hearing this, the victor stood motionless for a while, lost in thought and staring at his beaten opponent who was afraid to make any move to get up. It was clear that he had come to a decision as he lumbered off and came back with large quantities of brushwood and firewood and piled it up; then he brought a long rough piece of wood and stood it upright in the middle, pushing it into the ground. After that he walked towards his powerless opponent and started to drag him by his leg towards the pile of wood. There he pulled him to his feet, pushed and pulled him until he had him lined up against the stake, and bound him to it. In cold blood, he set fire to the wood!
It may seem unbelievable to any right thinking man, but that is exactly what he did, without any hesitation or second thoughts. Not content with beating his foe to a bloody pulp he committed a savage crime and burnt him to death, getting rid of him once and for all! He burnt his sworn enemy at the stake and without any sign of mercy or compassion.
This was the fate of that implacable giant: what an outrageous end! What a dreadful tragedy! What barbarity… what terrible brutality!
The news of this crime soon reached the ears of the humane officer Mohammad Amin, and he was given full details of the events of the struggle between the two giants. So when he heard the final words of the defeated giant and the threats against his killer, he felt his heart break, and said, with a voice full of sorrow and grief, ‘Why did the fallen man say such a thing in the hearing of his enemy? He was responsible for his own death. He was stupid to voice his thoughts. He should have kept his plans to himself and waited until he regained his health; then he could have done whatever he wanted and taken his revenge. But by declaring his intentions in this way he virtually committed suicide. Yes, his very own act was tantamount to killing himself: for the Almighty Al’lah had granted him the power of cogent thought to use it appropriately, but he failed to use it at all. Actually he is responsible for his own death.’
Oh Mankind, stop what you are doing to your brother in humanity! Is it for this that you were created? Did God send you to this world to kill your brethren? Where is your humanity? What caused you to wipe it out and discard it? The state of those who withdraw from Al’lah, the Almighty, is very strange indeed!