A young man, a university student,

was one day taking a walk

with an old wise manStory from Qisas.comWith some modifications

By Junaid Qadir

They supposed that the shoes must belong to the poor man who works in the field close by.

As they went along, they saw lying in the path a pair of old shoes.

The student turned to the old wise man saying:

“Let us play the man a trick: we will hide his shoes, and conceal ourselves behind thosebushes, and wait to see his perplexity when he cannot find them.”

“My young friend, …”answered the wise old man.

“We should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give yourself a much greater pleasure by means of this poor man. ””

The old wise man continued

“Put a coin in each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how this affects him.”

The poor man, while putting on his coat,slipped his foot in one of the shoes.

Feeling something hard, he stooped down to feel what it was, and found the coins.

Astonishment andwonder

were evident on his face.

The poor man felt:

Fortunateand

Very Happy

He gazed upon the coin

turned it around

and looked at it again and again.

The student stood there deeply affected.

The old man asked then:

“We did surprise the poor man,

but is this way not better”

The youth replied:

You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget.

I feel now the truth of these words which I never understood before:

[Sahih Muslim]

It was related on the authority of Abu Hurairah, radiyallahu 'anhu, that the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said:

“ Whosoever relieves from a believer some grief pertaining to this world, Allah will relieve from him some grief pertaining to the Hereafter”

[Sahih Muslim]