The Merchant's Will
Once upon a time a rich trader of Arabia set sail from his home to faraway lands to make his fortune along with his most trusted slave. He traded at different shores and made a huge profit, which made him rich beyond all measure.
As luck would have it, one day the merchant fell sick. His condition began to worsen by the day. His faithful slave was always by his side trying to nurse him back to health. Try as he may, the best doctors, in the city could find no cure for his strange illness. Finally the merchant realized that the time had come for him to depart from the earth.
He called the slave to his side and asked him to take his last will to his son. In the will, he stated that he had left all the property he owned to his slave, on the sole condition that the slave should allow his son who was living in Arabia to select just one article from his property.
After the merchant’s death, his slave dutifully buried him. The slave was also a good Muslim both in word and deed. He had promised his master on his deathbed that he would carry out his wishes to the last letter. He sailed for Arabia after securing all the riches of the merchant. Upon arriving in Arabia, he placed the entire merchant’s bequest before the young man. He told him it was up to him to honor the promise made by his father and he would honor whatever decision that was arrived by his son, and accept his lot, with good grace.
The young man was greatly astonished about the contents of his father’s will. Nevertheless, he had also been brought up as a good Muslim. He was firm in his belief that if his father had left a will, it must be honored till the last letter. But, try as he may, he could not figure out why his father had acted the way he had. He asked his father’s slave to give him a few days to think over the matter and he would let him know his decision.
He visited one of his father’s very trusted friends and related to him the whole story. The man laughed out loudly as he completed the accounts. The young man was amazed at his reaction. His father’s companion told him: “Your father was a man of great wisdom. By making this will, he had left all his property to you. If he had written it in his will, the devil may have tempted his slave to escape with all his riches, for he was dying in a distant land. In order to ensure their safe delivery to you, he wrote the will in his slave’s favour.”
“Don’t forget that your father’s slave was also his property. And, by the law of this land, when a man purchases a slave, he becomes the sole owner of all his possessions. You may select the slave, and the entire property will be yours according to the agreement that was reached by your father with him at the time of his purchase. However, do not forget the fact that your slave is a believing Muslim like you are and treat him generously after you acquire all the property from him.”
The next day, the young man invited the slave and told him that he was selecting the slave over all his father’s possessions. He further told him, “By the terms of agreement reached with my father, all that you possess now completely belongs to me!”
To his amazement, the slave did not show the slightest resentment over the choice of his son. He placed all the wealth belonging to his father before the young man and complimented him for arriving at a wise decision.
Once the son took possession of all his wealth from the slave, he said: “You have acted like a true Muslim by not betraying the trust of my father and delivering all his invaluable treasures to the last Dinar. Now, I hand over half of this wealth to you out of my own free will, and one half of the entire property, which belongs to my father,” and proceeded to divide the wealth between him and his slave. The slave was astonished at the turn of events and he could hardly believe the turn of tide in his favour. Once he had finished the task. He told his slave; “You are now a free man. You can live in one-half of this house.”
other links:
Think before Choosing your Path
life
A Feast for Clothes
Hospitality
