Moral Story
At the time when he retired from his job as a great general officer who protected the human rights, defended the weakness, established the basics of rights and struck the crimes and the criminals, he devoted his time to teach and recite the Holy book for the students and guided them to the right path.
The Money Lender Woman
The Almighty God says in His Holy Book: “Whoever looks with the Light of God, God will give them salvation and provide for them whence they do not reckon.” [19]
And in one of His Holy Sayings, He (Glory to Him) declared: “Oh My obedient follower, be for Me as I want you to be, and then I will be for you as you want Me to be.”
This is a law and something that, in reality, happens continuously when a human being becomes connected with God’s Robe, meaning Prophet Mohammad (cpth) and abiding by His Statute they will be close to God. Thus whatever good they ask from Him, He will definitely respond to them and fulfill their requests.
The more one is submissive to God and conforms to His sublime Legislation, the more beloved to God they will become and the more God will respond to their call.
Our humane guide, M. A. Sheikho, was extremely close to God, and because he took great care to apply His Orders and to serve His creatures many incidents occurred that showed the effectiveness of this Godly Law and gave proof of the scholar’s high standing with God.
One of these events took place at the beginning of winter when the noble guide was anxious that his new house would not be in a suitable state to receive his disciples during the coming rainy days.
He had bought the house during the summer. It was an Arab-style house in the al-Muhajireen area, including a vast courtyard where fresh air always circulated freely. A fountain was located in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by many beds of green plants and colourful flowers and roses which spread their fragrant perfume to captivate the heart and heal the spirit: it presented a delightful picture when one observed their bright beauty which the Godly Hand had produced and formed in all its excellence.
Like all other Damascene houses, the house of the noble guide consisted of two floors: the ground floor which was inhabited during the summer season while the upper floor was used in the winter. Both floors of this new house contained many spacious, sunlit rooms providing perfect ambiance and comfort to all.
But what distinguished this house from others was that whoever went into it would feel as though they were entering a garden of Paradise. This is because of the serenity and comfort they would sense within; they might experience a state of deep pleasure, or even of bliss: the kind of feeling that could not be found in any other house.
And it was no wonder, for the Envoy of God (cpth) said, “Courts of teaching Godly Knowledge are gardens of Paradise.”
Our noble guide had dedicated his house to weekly religious lectures, and this was in addition to the special gatherings where he used to meet with his close and loving disciples. This blessed house was indeed like a Ka’ba, a focal point, for all his murids (disciples) and all those who honestly sought truth, rectitude and religion.
When this great master, M. A. Sheikho, reached fifty years of age he turned fully to devoting himself in spirit and time to guiding people towards God: leading their spirits into His Presence under his distinguished direction and the superior knowledge God revealed to him. He helped them turn to God and His Envoy with love, through the great realities he unveiled to them concerning God’s Perfection and His Supreme Attributes, and the truthfulness and noble merits of His Envoy (cpth) By virtue of the scholar’s endeavours in creating this feeling of love for God in the hearts of his followers, their spirits were refined and became imbued with the mark of Godly Perfection.
Large groups of young men, whether educated or not, joined his circle (his soul has been sanctified by Allah) where they could acquire great intellectual and spiritual fruits from the superior lessons they received from their teacher, and enjoy happiness simply by talking about the Supreme Attributes of God the Almighty. These lessons breathed life and beatitude into their hearts and therefore they were unable to miss with them for they felt them necessary to their daily lives.
Days rolled by and turned into weeks and then months, and summer faded, then autumn spread its colourful cloak; that too ran its glorious course and gave place to winter which brought with it chilly weather, heavy rain and snow.
With the onset of winter the noble scholar, M. Amin, began to ponder upon the state of his new house and how it would fare in the coming rainy days, for it was the only place available to receive his followers who would be coming to drink from the fount of his heavenly knowledge. When he bought the house, it was still not plastered and the courtyard was covered with dust for it had not yet been paved. At the time this was not a problem for him and his followers for they were still experiencing the warm, dry days of summer.
But on this particular day, thick banks of grey clouds covered the sky and veiled the sun; winds loaded with cool moisture began to blow, causing the rain to fall lightly at first. But it quickly increased and the heavens sent it in abundance. The rainfall lasted long enough to turn the open courtyard into a large, muddy pool. The noble master came out of his room and stood beside the pool observing this new problem and wondering what he could do about it. He thought to himself, ‘Winter is here and the heavens have overwhelmed the earth with its blessings and rainwater; so, what can I do about this unpaved courtyard? I see that it will cause me some problems. Had it been only for me and my family it would not matter. But this situation will affect my disciples and the visitors who come here to learn about God!’
In fact, the problem might well affect more than three hundred people who were used to attending the lessons in person; and this number is apart from the groups who would visit him all during the week, morning and evening, to quench their thirst from his heavenly knowledge. Unfortunately, the noble master was facing this problem at the same time that he was passing through financial difficulty, and so he did not have the money to solve it. He knew that the problem could easily be rectified by paving the courtyard, but this would cost a lot of money as the area in question was large, and he would have to buy the floor tiles and the materials needed for paving, also pay the delivery costs and the wages of the workers.
He had always been in the habit of keeping a sum of money to provide all the daily needs for himself and his family, and other necessities, including the alms he gave to the deserving needy. So whatever difficult circumstances he passed through, he would carry all the burdens to face them easily and without any trouble, but with this new situation he felt a heavy burden on his shoulders. He had to pave the courtyard as soon as possible because winter had arrived, but at the same time, he did not have the money to pay for it. So, what could he do?
He thought that he might borrow the necessary amount from his close disciples, but he realised that they were all poor and thus unable to cover the cost of the work. A feeling of anxiety began to flow into his pure heart when suddenly he heard a knock at the outer door of his house. The great guide walked steadily towards the door and opened it, and to his surprise he found an old woman standing before him although it was still early morning; the woman seemed to be strong and active even though she was advanced in years. He recognised her, for she was a famous usurer known not only to all the people in the region where she lived and, incidentally, where Officer Sheikho had once been the director of security, but many of the people of Damascus had also heard of her. She was well known for her abundant fortune, and her wide area of influence. In short, she was like a moving bank, for what money she has was equal to, or perhaps more than, all the deposits in any bank. And now, this money lender was standing at his door holding a heavy bag. In a trembling voice she greeted the noble guide, saying, ‘Good morning, abu Fat’hi.’
‘Good morning!’
‘May I come in, please?’
‘Yes, of course! Welcome, come in!’
She passed across the doorstep, still carrying the heavy bag, and then the noble master closed the door behind her. Once inside the house she put the bag down on the floor and revealed her careworn face, dripping with sweat. In a breathless voice she addressed the noble guide and began to tell her story, ‘Oh abu Fat'hi! Last night I could not sleep at all. I was so afraid that burglars would burst into my home… at any moment I expected them to come over the wall… from all directions. Oh, sir I was sure that they would steal my money and deprive me of so much of the fruit of my life’s work. I couldn’t close my eyes for even a moment. I waited, on tenterhooks, for the coming of morning, but it was needless for last night passed peacefully, but who knows what may happen tonight or any other night? So I’ve decided to resort to your protection, sir. I can put my trust only in you, sir, for I believe in your honesty and truthfulness. I still remember your reliability and noble manners when you were the director of our region. I still remember your honourable conduct therefore I find no-one to be more trustworthy than you, sir.
‘That is why I have brought these golden pieces for you to take care of on my behalf; in this way I will protect myself and my beloved money from the eyes of thieves and burglars. And with this I give you a full and free hand to take whatever sum of money you need and to spend any of it in whichever way you see fit. But this will be on one condition only, and that is to hand the full amount of golden liras back to me on the day I return to collect them. If you agree on this condition you can take the amount you need and I will not charge you any interest on it at all. I just want to find the full amount of money when I come back to get it. Here is the bag of gold coins, take it and protect it. Now I can go to my business with a peaceful mind. But again I remind you, when I visit you again I want to see it as I left it, without a single penny missing. Do you agree?’
The noble master took the bag from the woman, saying, ‘As you like, but don’t you want a receipt for this money?’
‘Not at all,’ the woman answered, ‘a man like you who is entrusted with men’s souls can surely be entrusted with even the greatest amount of gold. No... No I will not take a receipt from you.’
However, the noble guide refused to keep the money in his charge without giving her a receipt which he wrote and signed with his own pen. And so, the woman said goodbye to the honorable master and left the house with a calm mind and tranquil heart. Her heavy steps expressed the exhaustion she suffered because of the previous sleepless night she had spent, worrying that thieves might break into her house and steal her bag of gold.
Glory to Him! How Great He is! He directed this woman to his obedient servant at the proper time, and did so even before M. Amin prayed to Him to ask for His Help! It was only because the feeling of a heavy burden had begun to creep into his noble spirit as he thought of the new situation of his house in winter and joined it to his straitened circumstance, that the Almighty soon dispelled his worries by totally unexpected means. He sent to him a “moving bank” and placed at his disposal a sum of money, interest free, and many times greater than the sum he needed. Thus, the noble master was relieved of his worry and his features relaxed as he decided to borrow some of the woman’s money since she had willingly offered it to him. In this way he could pave the courtyard and make some necessary improvements in the house so that the entire problem would be quickly resolved.
When the work was finished, the noble master was extremely happy for everything had been easily accomplished. He turned to God in praise for His Arrangement and Help which enabled him to continue his lofty lessons of guiding people to Him without any trouble.
Many days passed before another favor came from God to this noble guide when one of the shops which he had inherited from his late father was sold; so he took a part of the price he received for the shop, equal to the sum he had borrowed from the money of the money lender, and put it back in her bag after he changed it to golden coins.
That same evening our noble man went to bed with his heart full of immeasurable gratitude for the Almighty Allah (Glory to Him) Who supported him and eased the difficulties in his way, helped him to finish the work and return the money he had borrowed to the bag before the woman came back and asked for what was hers.
That night he closed his eyes, delighted and at ease, and surrendered to sleep. Then, as dawn broke the muezzin called for the dawn prayer, and so our great guide performed the communication with God and then he began to glorify the Almighty Allah. Suddenly he heard the echo of a voice as though coming from a distance. It reverberated around the entire quarter repeating one phrase, ‘I have missed it… I have missed it.’
‘How odd! Who could it be?’ the noble master thought to himself, ‘It’s still early morning, so who is shouting like this and in this area? Oh God! I hope it’s good news.’
The quarter where he lived was known as the area where the upper class of society and the ruling element in Damascus lived in and where silence and tranquility constantly prevailed.
‘So,’ he thought, ‘who is causing this clamour and speaking in such a strange voice?’ But the answer was soon revealed when he heard loud banging on his street door followed by the same voice echoing the same words:(I have missed it… I have missed it)
With this, he could guess who the source of all this noise was, so he got to his feet and quickly rushed to open the door. It was she, the money lender! She had come back to reclaim her bag of money.
Without any word of greeting she said to the noble man, in her Bedouin accent, ‘I’ve missed it… my money… my gold… I want my bag of golden liras.’
‘Okay… okay… you will have it,’ the noble master replied, ‘the gold is complete, not one lira less.’ She went into the house and the noble master entered one of the rooms and then came back holding the weighty bag and handed it to the woman.
She drank the delicious cup of coffee that had been offered to her and then said goodbye to the noble guide and left the house holding her beloved bag, not just with her hands, but seemingly with her eyes and heart too.
Behold, dear reader, the Wise Actions of the Almighty and Merciful God!
Unaware of God’s Will and against her own will, the Almighty directed this money lender to relieve His beloved obedient servant of his distress and to alleviate his difficult circumstances. He sowed in her heart a feeling of alarm about the security of her gold and so pushed her to seek refuge in the noble guide and bring him, unconsciously, a release from his own anticipated troubles. He did not allow his obedient follower, the man of high intentions, to suffer straitened circumstances or to be put in any kind of tight situation.
Rather, He sent that woman at the appropriate time to solve his problem and, again at exactly the right time, He sent her back to reclaim her money after the borrowed sum had been replaced, and not a moment sooner.
If this demonstrates anything at all, it shows the great rank of this truthful guide with his Provider.
The Almighty says in His Holy Book, the Qur’an, ‘Every difficulty is followed with ease’ [20]
In this noble Verse, Allah, Glory to Him, states a firm rule and effective law: “Whoever is straight in observing His Commands and Statute, He will assuredly raise his prestige and remove any difficulty that may stand in his way.”
This is true for every righteous human being. As for those whose difficulty arises in their spirits out of their care for the advantage of their brothers and sisters in humanity and for fear of their future in the after-world, and not out of any personal purpose, how high their spirits are and how close to God they are!
Let all humanity strive in that same way.
Self-Activity:
I consider and understand the Holy Verses and their sublime meaning in Surah Al-A’la, consequently I appreciate and love the Almighty God for His favor and charity, His mercy and sympathy, His Omnipotence and Grandeur. After I read the story of the great scholar Mohammad Amin Shikho (God has sanctified his soul) and know how God relieved him by ease and smoothed his path and accomplished all his wishes, I will try to perform his guidance including his interpretation of the Verses in the Holy Qur’an by attaining humane, good deeds then I am (God Willing) going to achieve happiness and to draw nearer to the Almighty God.
Questions and exercises:
1- The Almighty God says “Make (people’s spirits) glorify the Name of your Provider, the Most High”
What is the meaning of the word “glorify” which means in Arabic “Sabeh”? Who is the one who helps people to swim in the Name of their Provider?
2- What does this Verse “...The Name of your Provider, the Most High” indicate?
3- What is the meaning of this Verse “Then turns it to precious desiccated containers”?
4- What is the reason behind the old lady coming to meet the great scholar M. Amin in the morning on that day when he decided to pave the out yard floor of his house?
5- Why did the old lady entrust her money to the great scholar, why did she rely on him very much?
6- What do you deduce from the story of that old lady and what is the wisdom of her coming and resorting to the great scholar Mohammad Amin Shikho (God has sanctified his soul)?