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72-2 - The
Will of Almighty Allaah:
Hasan Becomes Rich
On the
620th Night
Hasan
continued his story - "O Lord, As soon as they departed, I went to do my
work and worked until night fell. After my supper I went to bed, and as I
was changing my clothes to go to bed, the lead coin fell on the ground. I
picked it up and kept it carelessly in a small hole in the wall. Now that
very night, it so happened that a fisherman, a neighbor of mine, came to me in need of a
small coin to buy some twine for mending his fish-net, as he had to go to
catch fish next morning; so he had to keep his net ready in the night. He
asked his wife to buy some twine and the woman went everywhere but could
not find it anywhere.
The
fisherman asked - "Have you been to Hasan's house?" and she
said, "No. It is the farthest house among neighbor's houses; and even if
I had gone there, I could not have come back." "Oh, You are very
lazy. Go now and try his house. Maybe he has a copper to lend us." So
the woman, grumbling and muttering, came to my house and said to me -
"Hasan, My husband is in sore need of a piece to buy some twine for
mending his nets." I remembered that coin which Shaad gave to me. I
asked my wife to give that coin to her. She took the coin and thanking me
said - "You have showed us so much kindness, so whatever my husband
will catch in the first catch, I will give it to you. I am sure my husband
will not say "No" to this." When the woman told about this
to her husband, he said - "For the first time in your whole lie you
have taken an intelligent step."
Next
day when he threw his net in the river, he caught a fish only a span long
and wide, which he kept as my share. After this he threw his net again and
again and he caught many fish but none was so big as the first one. As
soon as he returned home, he brought the fish for me - "My wife
promised you to give you the first fish I caught, so here it is to show my
gratitude for it. If Allaah had given me many fish first
time, they would have all been yours, but only this was in your
fate." I said - "I did not give you last night so much that I
should expect you to give me so much in return." and refused to
accept it. But he insisted that it was mine and he could not keep it, so I
kept it. I gave it to my wife and said - "This fish is in return of
the coin I gave this fisherman last night. Shaad told me that by means of
this coin I will become prosperous." And then I told her the story of that
day when Shaad gave me that lead coin.
Seeing
the single fish, she said - "How shall I cook it? I will cut it and
broil it for the children, because we do not have spices to dress it."
So she cut the belly of the fish to cook it and Lo, she found a diamond in
it. She thought it was a glass piece or a crystal, so she gave to the
youngest child to play with it. His other fellows also wanted to have it
for its brightness and they all had it for some time. Then the night fell,
the lamp was lit and all saw it shining in the lamp light. They all
shouted and cried with joy.
We all
had our supper. First I did not pay any attention to their noise, but when
it exceeded, I went to check the reason of their quarrel. My eldest boy
said - "The reason of this quarrel is this glass piece which itself is
shining liking a lamp." I enquired my wife as where did she get that piece
of the crystal?" She said, "From the stomach of the fish." So I thought
that because of that coin, at least now we will not need any lamp and we
will save the oil.
On
the 621st Night
Still
I did not think that it could be diamond. I asked her to hide the lamp. I
placed it at some high wall and its light was so much that we could work
in its light. When the children saw me putting out the lamp and using the
glass instead of the lamp, they shouted and danced with joy and screamed
so much that neighbors came to see what was the reason of so much
screaming. But I sent them back to their houses and we also slept.
Next
day I forgot about that glass piece and went to work. Now there lived a jeweler
nearby us. He used to sell all kinds of precious jewels. He was also
disturbed by the noise children made last night. So when he woke up in the
morning, he and his wife came to our house complaining that there was lot
of disturbance last night. Before she could blame my wife, my wife said -
"You know, How children shout and dance on little things." And
she showed them the glass piece." Now the jeweler's wife had a long experience of precious
stones, so as she saw it she filled with wonder. She asked my wife where
she got it. My wife told her that how
she found that glass piece. At this the jeweler's wife said - "This
piece of glass is much more precious than all glass pieces. I have one
such piece of glass which I wear on occasions. If you would like to sell
it, I will buy it."
Hearing
this the children started weeping and said - "O Mother, Please do not
sell it we will not make noise any more." The jeweler's wife told my
wife not to tell this to anyone else and if any time she wanted to sell it,
just send her a word. And off she went. Then she went to her shop
where her husband was sitting and she told him about the glass piece. He
said - "You immediately go to her and express your desire to buy it,
saying that it is for you. Start with small priced and then increase
it."
The
Jeweler's wife immediately came to my house and offered 20 Asharfees for
it. My wife considered it a lot of money for that glass piece, but she did
not accept it. By that time I also came back home from my work and
saw the two women talking at their high pitch. As my wife saw me, she said
to me - "She wants to buy that glass piece for 20 Asharfees, but I
have not yet given her word, what do you say?" I remembered Shaad's
words, "You will get lots of money for this." so I refused to
sell it at that price. The jeweler's wife said - "If you are not
selling it at 20, I will give you 50 Asharees."
When
she increased the price like this, I thought that this glass is more
valuable than this, so I kept quiet, and did not speak a word. The she
increased its price to 100 Asharfees. Then I said to her - "O Woman,
Why do you talk so foolishly, I will not sell it for less than 100,000
gold coins. This price is for you only because you are our neighbor."
The woman raised the price up to 50,000 and said - "Just wait till
morning and do not sell it until my man comes and sees it."
On
the 622nd Night
Next
day the jeweler came and I showed it to him. He inspected it and found it
better than what his wife had described it, so he said - "My wife
bade only 50,000 but I will give you 20,000 more." I said -
"Your wife must have told you the price I set for it, 100,000, so not
less than that." He was trying to buy it for a lesser price, but I
said - "If you are not buying it at my price, I will sell it to some
other jeweler." At last he agreed to my price and said -
"Tomorrow I will bring the money and take away the diamond."
Next
day he brought the full money and took away the diamond. I thanked Allaah
and hoped to see my two friends, Shaad and Shaadee, soon. Soon I bought a
mansion to live and furnished it to my choice. I saved some money to
expand our business. So I went to many rope-makers and asked them to make
ropes for me. Thus now there was only one rope-merchant, I. I opened many
warehouses in the whole Iraaq.
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