Beautiful
Repent Stories
Malik ibn Dinar (may Allah be pleased with him) says that he was once walking through an alley of
'How can you say that old
man?' she replied.
'Will your master sell
you?' Malik asked again.
'if
he does, are the likes of you going to buy?' she asked.
'Yes! Even
better than you.'
She laughed and asked her
servants to escort Malik to her quarters. On arriving
at her place, the maid informed her master who also laughed and asked to see Malik. Malik was brought in and
had an immediate impact on the master. 'What do you want?' the master asked
him.
'Sell me your maid.' Malik said
'Can you afford to buy
her?'
'To me she is worth no more
than two rotten date pits.'
Everybody in the room burst
into laughter. 'How can her price be that,' they all asked mockingly.
'Because
she has so many defects.' Malik retorted
'And just what might her
defects be?'
'If she does not wear
perfume her perspiration stinks,' said Malik. 'If she
does not brush her teeth, her teeth give off foul odor. If she does not groom
her hair, it becomes infested with lice and disheveled. If she lives for a few
more years, she will become an old woman. She menstruate,
urinates and defecates. Perhaps she only likes you for selfish reasons. She
probably isn't loyal to you and if you die before her, he will find someone
else just like you. I am in a position to buy for much cheaper than you want
for your maid, a maid whose constitution is of pure camphor: if she were to mix
her expectorate in salty, bitter water, it would become sweet; if she were to
speak to the dead, they would respond to the melody of her voice. If she raised
her hand towards the sun, it would lose it shine; if she appeared at night, it
would radiate with light and if she confronted the horizon with her dresses and
jewelry, she would adorn it (the horizon). She is a maid who has been nurtured
in musk and saffron; raised in gardens and suckled by the waters of Tasneem (Waters of Paradise). She will never be disloyal
and her love for you will never falter. Which one of these maids is more
deserving of a price?' Malik concluded.
'The one you described.'
The master conceded.
'Then you should know that
she is very affordable and accessible.'
'What is her price? May
Allah have mercy on you.'
'Very
cheap. Spare a
moment at night and offer two units of prayer with sincerity. Wyou place food in front of you, think of the hunger and
sacrifice your craving for lavish food (and feed the hungry). Remove stones
(impediments) and dirt (obstacles) from the road. Spend the reminder of your
life on bare necessities. Remove your worries of this world of oblivion so that
you may live in this world with the honor of an abstemious person, go tomorrow
to the station of dignity in peace and dwell in
The master turned to the
maid and asked: 'O maid! Have you listened to what our man has said?'
'Yes.' She replied.
'Has he spoke
the truth, or is he merely telling a tale.'
'No, he has spoken the
truth. He has been kind and offered advice.'
The master then exclaimed:
'If that is the case, then you are free for the sake of Allah. And such and
such property is yours. And all your servants around me, you are all free and
you may have such and such properties. This house is mine and everything in it
is a charity in the path of Allah.'
He then ripped a piece of
rough curtain cloth and replaced his expensive clothes with the curtain cloth.
The maid remarked: 'I have
no life after you, my master.'
She also took off her
attire and replaced it with some rough clothing and set off with her master. Malik saw them off: he took one route and they took
another. (Kitabul Taibeen Minal Mulook Was Salateen:14)
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