Inspiring Stories for Students: Fisherman Story!

One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach with his fishing
pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the
sparkling blue surf.
He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of
catching a fish.
About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach trying to
relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman
sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was
fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his
family.
"You aren't going to catch many fish that way," said the businessman
to the fisherman, "you should be working rather than lying on the
beach!"
The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, "And
what will my reward be?"
"Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!" was the
businessman's answer.
"And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman, still smiling.
The businessman replied, "You will make money and you'll be able to
buy a boat which will then result in larger catches of fish!"
"And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman again.
The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the
fisherman's questions.
"You can buy a bigger boat and hire some people to work for you!" he said.
"And then what will my reward be?" repeated the fisherman.
The businessman was getting angry. "Don't you understand? You can
build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let
all your employees catch fish for you!"
Once again the fisherman asked, "And then what will my reward be?"
The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, "Don't
you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to
work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days
sitting on this beach looking at the sunset. You won't have a care in
the world!"
The fisherman, still smiling, simply looked up, nodded and said: "And
what do you think I am doing now?" He then looked at the sunset, with
his pole in the water, without a care in the world.
However, both the fisherman and the businessman were wrong in their
materialistic outlook. We don't have to work hard so that we become
rich, sit in the beach and have no care in the world. Islam teaches us
to work hard to serve our family and our community and earn the
pleasure of Allah (swt), regardless of whether we are poor or rich.