HIBBA2009
Daughter of Adam
:salam2:
A madman once passed by a hermit who was praying to Allah and tears were flowing on his cheeks as he said:
‘O, God, please don’t send me to Hell; be merciful and kind to me. O, You, most merciful and most gracious, do not torture me with Hell. I’m weak; I have no power to stand Hell, so be kind to me. My skin is too thin to stand the fire, so be kind to me. My bones are too weak to stand the massive fire, so be kind to me…’
The madman laughed loudly…
The hermit turned to him and asked him, ‘what makes you laugh, madman?’
‘Your words,’ answered the madman.
‘And what’s so funny about them?’
‘You weep because you fear Hell!!’
‘Don’t you fear Hell?’
‘No I don’t.’
The hermit laughed and said ‘a madman indeed.’
‘O, come on you hermit,’ replied the madman, ‘how come you fear Hell, when you have such a merciful God whose mercy encompasses all?’
‘I’ve committed so many sins; and if Allah punished me for those out of His justice, I’ll go straight to Hell. So I’m weeping to beg Him to be kind and merciful to me; to forgive my sins and judge me by His kindness, gentleness, and mercy, not His justice, so as not to go to Hell.’
The madman laughed even louder, and this irritated the hermit, ‘what’s so funny?’
‘O, hermit, you have a God who is so just and never does anyone injustice, then you fear his justice!! You have a merciful and forgiving God, and you fear his Hell!!’
‘Don’t you fear Allah, you madman??’
‘I do. I fear Allah, but not His Hell.’
‘If not His Hell, then what do you fear?’ the hermit wondered.
‘I fear confronting Him. I fear the question of “why did you disobey Me, My slave?” If I were meant to go to Hell, I wish He’d send me there without a question. The torture of Hell is much easier. I cannot look at Him with a treacherous eye and answer with a lying tongue. If me going to Hell makes my Beloved pleased, fine by me.’
The hermit wondered at the madman’s words.
‘You know, hermit,’ the madman said, ‘I’ll tell you a secret but promise you keep it.’
‘What’s that, wise madman?’
‘Allah won’t send me to Hell. You know why?’
‘Why?’
‘Because I’ve worshipped Him out of love and longing, while you worshipped Him out of fear and greed. My beliefs about Him are better than yours, and also my expectations. Think about it, why don’t you hope for what is better than you already hope? Moses went to get a flame of fire for warmth, and came back a prophet; I went to see Allah’s beauty, and came back a “madman”.’
The madman left – still laughing – while the hermit went on weeping and said:
‘I can’t believe it. This madman is the wisest; and I am the true madman. O, God, how could I forget you when you always think of me? How could I be distracted from you when you always watch me?’
A madman once passed by a hermit who was praying to Allah and tears were flowing on his cheeks as he said:
‘O, God, please don’t send me to Hell; be merciful and kind to me. O, You, most merciful and most gracious, do not torture me with Hell. I’m weak; I have no power to stand Hell, so be kind to me. My skin is too thin to stand the fire, so be kind to me. My bones are too weak to stand the massive fire, so be kind to me…’
The madman laughed loudly…
The hermit turned to him and asked him, ‘what makes you laugh, madman?’
‘Your words,’ answered the madman.
‘And what’s so funny about them?’
‘You weep because you fear Hell!!’
‘Don’t you fear Hell?’
‘No I don’t.’
The hermit laughed and said ‘a madman indeed.’
‘O, come on you hermit,’ replied the madman, ‘how come you fear Hell, when you have such a merciful God whose mercy encompasses all?’
‘I’ve committed so many sins; and if Allah punished me for those out of His justice, I’ll go straight to Hell. So I’m weeping to beg Him to be kind and merciful to me; to forgive my sins and judge me by His kindness, gentleness, and mercy, not His justice, so as not to go to Hell.’
The madman laughed even louder, and this irritated the hermit, ‘what’s so funny?’
‘O, hermit, you have a God who is so just and never does anyone injustice, then you fear his justice!! You have a merciful and forgiving God, and you fear his Hell!!’
‘Don’t you fear Allah, you madman??’
‘I do. I fear Allah, but not His Hell.’
‘If not His Hell, then what do you fear?’ the hermit wondered.
‘I fear confronting Him. I fear the question of “why did you disobey Me, My slave?” If I were meant to go to Hell, I wish He’d send me there without a question. The torture of Hell is much easier. I cannot look at Him with a treacherous eye and answer with a lying tongue. If me going to Hell makes my Beloved pleased, fine by me.’
The hermit wondered at the madman’s words.
‘You know, hermit,’ the madman said, ‘I’ll tell you a secret but promise you keep it.’
‘What’s that, wise madman?’
‘Allah won’t send me to Hell. You know why?’
‘Why?’
‘Because I’ve worshipped Him out of love and longing, while you worshipped Him out of fear and greed. My beliefs about Him are better than yours, and also my expectations. Think about it, why don’t you hope for what is better than you already hope? Moses went to get a flame of fire for warmth, and came back a prophet; I went to see Allah’s beauty, and came back a “madman”.’
The madman left – still laughing – while the hermit went on weeping and said:
‘I can’t believe it. This madman is the wisest; and I am the true madman. O, God, how could I forget you when you always think of me? How could I be distracted from you when you always watch me?’
jazakallah khaira for sharing this with us