The shopowner and the man who stole out of poverty (II)

In other words, every man has a provision that will come to him inescapably. If someone approves of it, it will be a blessed one for him; and if someone does not approve of it, it will not be made blessed for him and it will not expanded. Surely provision seeks out a man just as his moment of death seeks him out. Such a person relies on God’s treasury and keeps his heart straight with God. He spends all that he has and holds nothing back. This is why the Lord of the Worlds praises and lauds the benefactors among humans: “Those who spend in prosperity and adversity.” Then He says concerning their attribute, “those who curb rage.” They do not become angry at anyone, for they place all sins on themselves and consider themselves subjected and dominated over by the people. They tolerate suffering, or rather, they welcome it with patience and forbearance, for they bear witness that God knows and sees.

And those who pardon people. Yes. “Pardon” has two meanings: One is to efface, as the Arabs say, “The winds pardoned the tracks.” The other is surplus, as God says, “Take to pardoning” [7:199], that is, take the surplus of their property. Here He alludes to the fact that those who pardon people are those who pass over and efface people’s sins, but they do not limit themselves to that. Rather, they care for and bestow upon the iniquitor from the surplus of what they own despite the latter’s iniquity. This is the attribute of the beautiful-doers, and the Almighty is their Friend. He says, “And Almighty loves the beautiful-doers.

Now keep in mind that engaging in beautiful conduct means interacting with the Real (the Almighty). It means worshipping Him as if you see Him. In interacting with people, it is that, when someone is bad toward you, you are good toward him; and when someone does not act worthily toward you, you act worthily toward him. This is why the Almighty commanded – “Take to pardoning,” that is, take the excellent and beautiful things from among the characteristic traits, and pardon those who wrong you; associate with those who cut off from you, and act with beauty toward those who act with ugliness toward you”. The following story caught my attention and indeed speaks to the above discussions in more ways than one.

A very poor father, accompanied by his daughter, went to a grocery store and stole some loaves of bread. He did the act as stealthily as he could. He did it in such a way that he thought the shop-owner would not seen him. However, as soon as he turned to go, the shopkeeper stopped him. The daughter unable to understand anxiously asked the father what had happened. The man became  worried and disturbed and opened his mouth to apologise. But the shop-owner took the initiative and addressed the girl: “My dear child, your father had forgotten to take back the change”. What happened thereafter was beyong the man’s imagination. The shop-owner dipped his hands into the drawer, and counted some money and placed them in his hands. He did all of that as if nothing had happened before then; as if the man had not taken what did not belong to him.

With legs burdened by feelings of remorse and wonderment, with his head bowed down in remorse and helplessness, the father of the poor girl, who had not uttered a statement all the while, proceeded to step out of the shop. But the ‘’miracle’’ had not yet ended. The man then heard a voice from a customer standing in the shop who had all along also witnessed the scene, saying – “Brother you have also forgotten the bag of rice that you purchased, please take this.”

When I first read this story, the ayat that came to my mind is that in Quran 25 where the Almighty extols his faithful and humble servants: those who walk on earth with humility and supplicate that He should avert from them the torments of the day of resurrection; those who repent from their evil ways, believe and do good, for them we shall replace the records of their evil deeds with good for the Almighty is oft forgiving and most merciful” Quran 25: 70.

Yes. The shop-owner understood the circumstances that led to the infraction committed by the father of the poor girl. He also wanted to put the Quran into practice. He therefore turned the evil conduct of the girl’s father upside-down. He ransomed his iniquity with acts of benefaction. What type of a Muslim and a believer are you? Can you act like the shop-owner? Feeding the hungry and helping the poor and needy without hurt.