One day, our officer Mohammad Amin met up with his friend Mohammad al-Taghlibi who was also an officer in the military but held a higher rank than our officer; however, the latter yielded to Mohammad Amin because of his sublime morals, his bravery, fearlessness and innate goodness that he had observed throughout their friendship, and for his consummate approach to his Provider.
Mohammad Amin said to his friend, ‘I’m involved in a business proposition which I’m sure will prosper. I’m going to put all of my money into it, but that won’t be enough, so I’ll be looking for partners.’ Nervously, Mohammad al- Taghlibi replied, ‘I do have… I’ve got a certain amount of money… I’d like to finance you!’
The trustworthy master said, ‘First of all wouldn’t you like to know what kind of business it will be?’
His friend replied, ‘For me, I defer to you wholeheartedly as I’m quite sure that it’s impossible for whoever goes into partnership with you to lose; in fact I’m certain that he will profit. He will gain also in the Hereafter, for those who have a similar essence to yours wouldn’t invest anything in this lower life unless they do so in order to seek the Afterlife. As I’ve always been aware of your deeds, it must surely be a charitable project aiming at attaining greater closeness to the Almighty Al’lah.’ Mohammad Amin answered him, ‘May God bless you my friend! I intend to buy a full ship-load of Egyptian rice and store it in the empty stores and houses which belonged to my father and keep it for a considerable period of time. It may be one year… less or more… at any rate we’ll need partners as the money we have now is not enough.’
Mohammad al-Taghlibi said, ‘Leave it to me. I’ll try to find some more investors.’
Once they had come to an agreement, they settled for two traders known for their honesty, and as Mohammad al- Taghlibi had done, they placed their absolute trust in Mohammad Amin for all the same reasons that he had: his forbearance, complete honesty and faithfulness to His Provider.
Within a few days, they drew up agreements with the traders after they had expressed their wholehearted approval for the project. Mohammad Amin showed them the details and the target of the proposed business, so, they concurred and managed to gather the full amount of financing required for the business.
After some weeks, the highly respected master was able to buy a ship-load of Egyptian rice and set about distributing it to the stores, warehouses and vacant houses that he and his three partners owned.
All the essential precautions were taken as the load was safely stored so that it would not be affected by humidity or rodents, or be spoiled in any other way.
Days and months went by, while Mohammad Amin did not sell even a grain of rice in spite of the huge profits which were offered to him by Damascus traders; his partners did not question him at all about the investment because of the complete trust they had placed in him.
Matters stayed as they were for a whole year, and during this long period the sacks were inspected and rearranged several times, to ensure ventilation, so that the rice would not deteriorate.
At that time, people were still living in safety and going about their daily lives free from worry: opening their shops, buying and selling, living normally and fearing nothing… but Mohammad Amin remained cautious and guarded about his valuable wares, for it was still not the time to do anything with it.
Then, the disaster occurred!
This was the situation for which that honourable master had provided, by his prudence and foresight. World War I flared up and the Ottoman State entered it and began to apply compulsory military recruitment, calling up many able-bodied men to go into battle.
The Ottoman forces were making enquiries in the villages to recruit youths and men to send to the raging battle front, and so, there were no men left to work in the fields and farms. In addition to the outbreak of the war there were princes of war who aspired to gain supreme influence over the state, so they had their own, lesser battles to fight. They began to transfer much of the available victuals and and fresh foodstuff to their own camps, and there was no longer any nourishing basic foodstuff to feed the inhabitants of many of the cities and villages in Syria. Moreover, the situation worsened because the country was afflicted with a serious drought and swarms of locusts destroyed the remainder of the crops. Famine prevailed and thousands and thousands of Syrian citizens starved. Many families suffered from lack of food and children groaned with the hunger pangs in their bellies. People were forced to sell their furniture and whatever else they had of value to be able to buy bread.
It was a terrible situation and one could relate so many desperate stories which would make hearts bleed!
A great number of men left the country looking for food and sustenance for their families; sadly, they failed to find any and were not able to return home. That situation sparked off a further grave and tragic situation: thousands of children, women and old people were badly affected, firstly in the outlying villages, and then it reached the big cities. Moreover, the greed of the big traders during those crucial days escalated the dreadful situation, when they raised the prices of the vital basic foods. There were crowds of hungry paupers and desperate needy men outside their offices and residences, calling for food and provisions. However, they refused to give them anything and scornfully sent them away because most of these poor people had no income at all, except the people of Damascus… but why?
Meanwhile, in dealing with this urgent need for food Mohammad Amin’s business began to flourish, and rightfully so. He decided that the time was right to offer the Egyptian rice for sale when food was extremely rare, and so, the profits were high!
Mohammad Amin put up a signboard to advertise his commodity, on it he wrote: ‘For sale, decayed and mouldy rice, being sold for a tenth of the price of the best quality rice.’
When the crisis began and was still in its early stages, people laughed at this commodity for it was rotten and inedible, but day after day the big traders’ monopoly and high prices of foodstuff restricted them to influential men and those people fortunate enough to have ample funds. On the other hand, the masses were likely to die because of hunger and poverty while they were witness to the unspeakable avarice of those inhumane traders in people’s souls.
Hence, faced with such a harrowing fact they had no choice but to go unwillingly to buy rice from Mohammad Amin. They were compelled by the severe and cruel hunger that their families were suffering and thought that decayed and mouldy rice was better than nothing at all, and at any rate, the price was reasonable and could be afforded, albeit with difficulty!
Then… what a surprise!
Imagining all kinds of things, and able only to guess what their families would say about it, people turned to buying the mouldy rice. Anyhow… it was dire need which had forced them to this, since there was nothing else, and if one is hungry and desperate enough even rotten food is better than nothing to allay that hunger… however bad it may look or disgusting it might taste.
As soon as an impoverished buyer stood before Mohammad Amin or one of his partners at the store, he would be astonished at what he saw and heard! They would present to him a copy of the Holy Qur’an to swear by God, the Great, and take a serious oath that he would never inform anyone, whatever the degree of kinship, friendship, or any other link with him might be, where he had bought the rice or what he had paid for it.
After taking this oath, and being puzzled by those conditions which had been made as a condition of the purchase, they would be asked for details of the number and ages of their family members. What was this? What kind of idea could be occupying the minds of Mohammad Amin and his partners, who had become well known for their Godly-inspired benevolence and bounty.
After taking this oath and supplying the information about the number of people in his family, the buyer’s astonishment would grow increasingly when his eyes feasted on the incredible sight of sacks of Egyptian rice of the best, unspoilt quality; he would not be able to contain his unutterable joy, and at that moment Mohammad Amin and his partners would remind him again of the oath he had taken after they had recognised his honesty. They would say to him, ‘Here’s your allocation… take it, it’s free… we don’t want anything from you, and if you keep your oath and never break it, you will have a monthly allowance for every one of your family members.’ This would ensure that he kept this secret in the same way as if he had found a treasure… and why not? Since his secrecy would ensure him a monthly ration to maintain him and his entire family and keep them, by Al’lah’s Will, at the time that many people might starve.
Through these steps taken by the virtuous scholar (his soul has been sanctified by Al’lah) no-one except the very needy pauper and those on the brink of starvation came to receive the portion of rice for them and their families.
Thus, this wise venerable master remained as the best aide, and support who stood up to those who hid their malicious intentions by foiling their aims and frustrating their plans. He fed the citizens of Damascus all during that period according to Al’lah’s Inspiration and Instruction and established fairness among the poor and destitute when he dealt with them in his wise and gentle manner.
By virtue of the Sublime Wisdom and Estimation of Almighty Al’lah, this assistance to the poor was never in danger of running out, since the crisis came to an end just as the rice in his stores was exhausted. Clearly this was as a result of Great Godly Management, and so Mohammad Amin saved many Muslims… both body and soul.