Sheikh Abdul Qadir AL-Gelani was a great saint who lived in Afghanistan about one thousand years ago.
One day when child Abdul Qadir was grazing his cows 🐄 , he heard a cow saying,"What are you doing here in the grazing fields? It is not for this that you have been created."
He promptly ran back to his house feeling utterly terrified and climbed on to the roof of his house. From there he saw a large group of people returning from the Arafat Mountain, after performing Haj.
Bewildered, Abdul Qadir went to his mother and asked her permission to make a journey to Baghdad to pursue a career in knowledge.
His mother heard the divine call and promptly gave permission to Abdul Qadir to go.
She gave him forty gold coins, which was his share of inheritance from his father, and stitched them inside the lining of his coat.
When she stepped out of the door to bid him farewell, she said,"Oh,my son ! You are going ! I have detached myself from you for the sake of Allah knowing that I shall not see your face again until the day of the last judgement. But take one advice from your mother : Always feel the truth, speak the truth and propagate the truth even when your life is at stake."
Abdul Qadir set out with a small caravan heading for Baghdad. While passing through rough terrain a group of robbers on horses 🏇 suddenly attacked the caravan and started looting.
None of them however took the slightest notice of Abdul Qadir, until one of the looters turned to him and said,"You here ! Poor beggar ! Do you have anything with you?" Abdul Qadir replied,"I have got forty dinars which are stitched by my mother in the lining of my coat underneath my armpit."
The looter smiled and thought that Abdul Qadir was just joking and left him alone and moved elsewhere.
A second looter came and asked the same thing. Abdul Qadir again repeated his answer. This looter also didn't believe him and left him.
When their leader came they took Abdul Qadir to their leader and said to him,"this boy looks like a beggar but claims that he is in possession of forty gold coins.
We have looted everybody but we have not touched him because we don't believe that he has got gold coins with him and is trying to fool us."
The leader put the same question to Abdul Qadir who gave the same reply. The leader ripped open his coat and discovered that indeed Abdul Qadir has forty gold coins inside the lining of his coat.
The astonished leader asked Abdul Qadir what prompted him to make this confession.
Abdul Qadir replied,"My mother made me promise always to be truthful even at the cost of my life. Here ,it was a matter of only forty dinars. I promised her and shall never betray her trust,so I told the truth."
The looters started weeping and said,"You have adhered to the advice of your great mother but we have been betraying the trust of our parents and the covenant of our creator for many years.
From now onwards,you shall become our leader in our repentance."
And they all decided to give up robbing and looting and become righteous persons.
This is how the world saw the birth of a great saint, Sheikh Abdul Qadir AL-Gelani, starting from a truth a mother gave to her child.
One day when child Abdul Qadir was grazing his cows 🐄 , he heard a cow saying,"What are you doing here in the grazing fields? It is not for this that you have been created."
He promptly ran back to his house feeling utterly terrified and climbed on to the roof of his house. From there he saw a large group of people returning from the Arafat Mountain, after performing Haj.
Bewildered, Abdul Qadir went to his mother and asked her permission to make a journey to Baghdad to pursue a career in knowledge.
His mother heard the divine call and promptly gave permission to Abdul Qadir to go.
She gave him forty gold coins, which was his share of inheritance from his father, and stitched them inside the lining of his coat.
When she stepped out of the door to bid him farewell, she said,"Oh,my son ! You are going ! I have detached myself from you for the sake of Allah knowing that I shall not see your face again until the day of the last judgement. But take one advice from your mother : Always feel the truth, speak the truth and propagate the truth even when your life is at stake."
Abdul Qadir set out with a small caravan heading for Baghdad. While passing through rough terrain a group of robbers on horses 🏇 suddenly attacked the caravan and started looting.
None of them however took the slightest notice of Abdul Qadir, until one of the looters turned to him and said,"You here ! Poor beggar ! Do you have anything with you?" Abdul Qadir replied,"I have got forty dinars which are stitched by my mother in the lining of my coat underneath my armpit."
The looter smiled and thought that Abdul Qadir was just joking and left him alone and moved elsewhere.
A second looter came and asked the same thing. Abdul Qadir again repeated his answer. This looter also didn't believe him and left him.
When their leader came they took Abdul Qadir to their leader and said to him,"this boy looks like a beggar but claims that he is in possession of forty gold coins.
We have looted everybody but we have not touched him because we don't believe that he has got gold coins with him and is trying to fool us."
The leader put the same question to Abdul Qadir who gave the same reply. The leader ripped open his coat and discovered that indeed Abdul Qadir has forty gold coins inside the lining of his coat.
The astonished leader asked Abdul Qadir what prompted him to make this confession.
Abdul Qadir replied,"My mother made me promise always to be truthful even at the cost of my life. Here ,it was a matter of only forty dinars. I promised her and shall never betray her trust,so I told the truth."
The looters started weeping and said,"You have adhered to the advice of your great mother but we have been betraying the trust of our parents and the covenant of our creator for many years.
From now onwards,you shall become our leader in our repentance."
And they all decided to give up robbing and looting and become righteous persons.
This is how the world saw the birth of a great saint, Sheikh Abdul Qadir AL-Gelani, starting from a truth a mother gave to her child.