Assalamualaikum to all! =) Here, I want to share a story
which I read from a book, The Story of the Reed by Osman Nuri TOPBAS. This is a
conversation between a master and his slave as a good example which testifies
to the truth of friendship with Allah:
A man bought a slave. The slave was a religious, praying
believer who protected himself from what Allah forbade. When his master took
the slave to his home, they had the following conversation: “What would you
like to eat in my house?” the master asked.
The slave replied, “Whatever you give me.”
The master asked, ”How would you like to be dressed?”
The slave replied, “Whatever you give me, I will wear it”.
The master asked, “In which room of my house would you like
to stay?”
The slave replied, “In whichever room you want me to stay.”
The master asked, ”What sort of work do you want to do in my
house?”
The slave replied, “Whatever you want me to do, I will do
it.”
After this last response, the master thought for a while and
then spoke while trying to dry his tears: “I wish I was a friend like this to
my Lord. That would be the greatest happiness.” Upon this, the slave said: “O
my master! How could a slave have any other preference or will than his
master’s?” Then the master said: “I give you your freedom. You are free to
Allah’s sake. But I would like you to stay with me so I can serve you with my
power and my money.”
Whoever knows Allah truthfully, and turns to Him with love,
relinquishes their will and preferences to Him voluntarily; rather simply
saying: Why should I ask for anything from Allah?” A believer who loves their Lord
needs to be aware of the fact that nothing belongs to them, for they are to
submit everything in their possession to their Beloved. This is because love
requires sacrifice and there are no ‘possessions’ in its nature. Love brings a
tendency to offer things both spiritual and material to the heart. This can be
realized to the extent of the depth of one’s love. For this reason, the
greatest sacrifices are those that are made for love. One can even go so far
for love as to give up one’s life for the sake of the Beloved; the sacrifice
depends on the depth of one’s love.
“By no means shall you attain righteousness unless ye give
(freely) of what which ye love….”
(3: 92)
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