The
Shop Keeper
A heavy-built man was passing through
the market of Kufa, his step was firm and assured. He had a fine
physique and sun-burnt face; encounters of the battle-field had left
their marks on him and the corner of one of his eyes was slit. A
shop-keeper, to amuse his friends, threw a handful of sweepings onto the
man. The man continued his walk in the same assured and firm manner,
without raising an eye-brow or looking towards the shop-keeper. When he
went away, a friend of the shop-keeper said:
"Do you know who the man is whom you
have insulted just now?"
"No, I do not recognize him. He was a
passer by like thousands of people passing this way every day. But tell
me who this man is."
"Strange! Didn't you recognize him? He
was Malik Ashtar, the renowned commander-in-chief of Imam Ali."
"Strange! He was Malik Ashtar! The same
Malik whose bravery turns the heart of lions into water and mention of
whose name makes his enemies tremble with fear?"
"Yes, that was Malik himself."
"Woe to me! What did I do? Now he will
give orders to punish me severely. I must run to him immediately to
apologize and request him to forgive my misbehavior."
He ran after Malik. He saw him turning
towards a mosque. He followed him to the mosque and saw that he had
started praying. He waited till he finished his prayer. Humbly
introducing himself he told him:
"I am the man who had committed the
silly prank and behaved disrespectfully to you."
Malik said: "By Allah, I did not come
in the mosque but for your sake, because I understood that you were a
very ignorant and misguided man and that you give trouble to the people
without any reason.
I felt pity on you and came here to
pray for you and ask Allah to guide you onto the right path. No, I did
not have any such intentions that you were afraid of." |