Stories - Be Grateful

Luqman(A.S.) had great love for the Almighty, that it created within
himhigh moral character andexemplary habits. This was a clear sign of
his nobility and nearness to Allah . The details of that is described
in Surah(Chapter) Luqman in the Glorious Qur'an.
Luqman(A.S.) used to be in the employment of a rich man. The nobility
of Luqman(A.S.)'s character had a great effect on his master, so much
so that the master considered him as a great friend anda beloved
companion. Although he was the master, yet in fact the master became
like a slave to his employee.
It became the practice of the master that whenever he had something
special to eat, he would first feed Luqman(A.S.) of it and after
Luqman(A.S.) had filled himself, he would eat the left overs.
Luqman(A.S.) would consider the love of the master and his habit, so
he would eat moderately and send what was left over to the master. One
day, during the melon season, the master received a melon from
somewhere. At that time Luqman(A.S.) was not present. The master sent
one of his slaves to go and call him.
When Luqman(A.S.) arrived, the master cut the melon into slices and
slice by slice started giving thereof to Luqman(A.S.) to eat. As heate
the slices, the master inwardly became pleasedat the effect his love
was having upon Luqman(A.S.). Luqman(A.S.) ate the slices with great
PLEASURE and all the time expressed THANKS for thefavour shown to him
by the master. After having eaten the slices, when just one slice
remained, the master said: "Let me eat this slice and see howsweet is
this melon." Saying this, he put the slice into his mouth.
Immediately, such bitterness spread from the tip of his tongue down to
his throat, that as a result of the extremebitterness of the melon, he
fell down unconsciousand remained unconscious for a whole hour.
When he regained consciousness, he questioned Luqman(A.S.):" O Beloved
one, how didyou manage to, so heartily eat those slices of melon ?
Just one slice of the melon had such aneffect on me, then how did you
manage to eat somany slices ?"
Luqman(A.S.) replied: "O Friend, from your hands Ihave received
hundreds of gifts. The burden of thanks upon me is so great, that my
back has gone crooked. Hence, I felt ashamed that the hand that had
granted me so much favours, if one day some distastefulness or
bitterness should come, how can I turn away from it? O Friend, the
pleasure of knowing thatit comes from your handshas changed the
bitterness of the melon to sweetness."
LESSON:
At every given moment there are numerous bounties and favours of Allah
upon mankind. But if ever for a moment some such incident takes place
which brings with it, a problem and outwardly causes some difficulty,
man loses patience and fails to be grateful.
On the other hand, there are those who are granted understanding, so
that when sorrows and difficulties touches them, they remain
happy,pleased and grateful to their Lord. At such times, they draw
strength from their good understanding and realise that this world is
like a hospital and we are like patients in it.
There are times when thedoctor gives the patient "sweet" medicine and
at other times " bitter" medicine. However, in both these, there are
beneficial results for the patient. Similarly, Allah is the "Al
Hakeem", the All-Wise and at the same time is the " Haakim"- Ruler. He
is also "Ar- Raheem", the Merciful One. Hence, whether it brings out
comfort or discomfort, all these are for our benefit and interest.
So be Grateful and Thankful under ALL circumstances and conditions to
the Almighty.