19/09/2020
Assalaamu Alaykum!
Please, read on.
One day, a very wealthy man was walking on the road. Along the way, he saw a beggar on the sidewalk. The rich man looks kindly on the beggar and asked:
"How did you become a beggar?”
The beggar replied, “Sir, I’ve been applying for a job for a year now but haven’t found any. You look like a rich man, Sir, if you’ll give me a job, I’ll stop begging.”
The rich man smiled and said, “I want to help you. But I won’t give you a job, I’ll do something better. I want you to be my business partner. Let’s start a business together.”
The beggar blinked hard. He didn’t understand what the older man was saying. “What do u mean, Sir?”
“I own a rice plantation, said the older man, you could sell my rice in the market. I’ll provide you the sacks of rice. I’ll pay the rent for the market stall. I’ll even give you food allowance everyday for the next 30 days. All you have to do is sell my rice. And at the end of the month, as Business Partners, we’ll share in the profits.”
Tears of joy rolled down his cheeks. “Oh Sir,” he said, “You’re a gift from Heaven. You’re the answer to my prayers. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”.
He then paused and asked, “Sir, how will we divide the profits? Do I keep 10% and give you the 90%? Do I keep 5% and give you the 95%? I’ll be happy with any arrangement.”
The rich man shook his head and chuckled. “No, I want you to give me the 10% and keep the 90%.”.
For a moment, the beggar couldn’t speak. When he tried to speak, it was gibberish. “Uh, gee, uh, wow, I mean, huh?” He couldn’t believe his ears. The deal was too preposterous.
The rich man laughed more loudly. He explained, “I don’t need the money, my friend. I’m already wealthy beyond what you can ever imagine. I want you to give me 10% of your profits so you grow in faithfulness and gratitude.”
The beggar knelt down before his benefactor and said, “Yes Sir, I will do as you say. Even now, I’m so grateful for what you’ve done for me!”
Each day, the beggar, now dressed a little bit better, operated a store selling rice in the market. He worked very hard. He woke up early in the morning and slept late at night. And sales were brisk, also because the rice was of good quality, and after 30 days, the profits were astounding.
At the end of the month, as the ex-beggar was counting the money, and liking very much the feeling of money in his hands, an idea grew in his mind. He told himself, “Gee, why should I give 10% to my Business Partner? I didn't see him the whole month! I was the only one who was working day and night for this business. I did all this work! I deserve the 100% profits!”
A few minutes later, the rich man was knocking on the door to collect his 10% of the profits. The ex-beggar opened the door and said, “ You don’t deserve the 10%. I worked hard for this. I deserve all of it!”. Leave me alone, and he slammed the door.
Now,
--- If you were his Business Partner, how would you feel ???
--- What do you think should be done to this ungrateful man?
Whatever your answer(s) is/are, keep it to yourself and bear in mind that you are the ex-beggar and ungrateful man, because this is exactly what happens between us and God.
God gave us everything. He gave us life, every single moment, every single breath, every single second. God gave us talents, our ability to talk, to create, to earn money. God gave us our body, our eyes, our ears, our mouth, our hands, our feet, our heart , HE gave us our mind, our imagination, our emotions, our reasoning, our language. God gave us opportunities, some taken some lost. God put us in positions, he gave us all we have to make the wealth.
YET we take all of it for granted walking on the earth with pride as if we are self-made? We forget His immeasurable bounties and goodies, and become ungrateful using the very same blessings He gave us to sin and throw back at Him.
The big questions are;
--- which of the favours of our Lord would we deny?
--- When will we turn back to Him with gratitude and obedience?
God has granted us all the opportunities to always remember Him so be in constant remembrance of Him (Dhikrul Laah), Pray, pay your Zakat/Sadaqat, do good and always remember you will give account of your sojourn on earth.
Are we doing it, and in faithfulness?
It is up to us to answer this question in sincerity.
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23/04/2025
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