had tremendous amount of wealth, but he didn't have peace of heart. So
hedecided to be a good Muslim. He heard that there is a very pious man
who stays in a jungle and that many people go to visit him for advice.
The king decided to visit him for some advice also. When he got there,
he asked the pious man"How can I become pious like you?" The pious man
replied that remember death 40 times a day for 40 days. The king
thoughtthat it was very easy and he thanked him and left for his
palace. He remembered death 40 times a day for 40 days but no change
came to hislife. He was same as before.
The king became angry and called that pious manto his court. The king
told him that he is nothing buta liar and that he should be killed
before he fools other people. It was decided that he will be beheaded
the next day. But the Pious man had a request. He asked if he could
become the king fora day. He promised that after getting the command,
he will not kill the previous king or do any harm to him. So, the king
agreed and made thepious man the king for a day. As soon as the pious
man became the king, he went to the market and saw a man selling
peanuts. He told the soldiers to catch that manand bring him to the
palace. So, the peanut sales man was brought tothe court. The pious
man told the peanut sales manthat he will be killed tomorrow. The
peanut sales man became frightened and dropped all his peanuts. He
started crying and asked what he did. But the pious man said that he
will be killed tomorrow and locked up in jail for today.
Now, as the peanut sales man knew that he is going to die, he forgot
about everything else andstarted asking forgivenessfrom Allah. He
started praying and doing excessive dhikir (remembrance of Allah). The
Pious man ordered that the most beautiful prostitute in the city
should be brought and placed in the jail with peanut sales man. She
was brought and she asked the man to commit adultery with her. Now the
pious man brought the previous king and toldhim to watch. The peanut
sales man started yelling at the woman to get away because he is going
to die tomorrow and this evil deed will surely causehim problems with
Allah.
Then the pious man askedthe previous king if he understood what is
going on. The Pious man explained that when you really know that you
will die, then you will surely stay away from all evil deeds and
engage yourself into the worship of Allah. So, remembering death once
properly would be enough to change the life of a human being.
Ofcourse, the peanut salesman was released afterwards.
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