short islamic story🌱
I want to tell you a story—one as old as time. A story of two brothers united in purpose but divided by choice. A choice that sent them on different paths and, thus, different destinations altogether. You think you know this story, and you do, but I promise you, it’s not the story you’re thinking of right now.
Our story begins with a king. He was wealthy and wise and ruled far and wide. One day on one of his expeditions, he met two brothers who needed his help. The just and wise king decided to help them by helping themselves, as it was better to teach a man to fish than to feed him fish.
“I have a task for you!” declared the king. “It’s simple, but it’s consequences are great and will only take a short time. I will return to you in three months with what you need.” The brothers were excited, knowing that their problems would be solved.
“Each one of you has been assigned a pile of bricks,” said the king. The task is easy; move these bricks to the point marked X in the manuals provided to you and re-arrange them according to the instructions provided therein.” The brothers looked at each other in anticipation of their reward for this odd but rather simple task.
“If you do this,” the king continued, “I will personally invite you into my castle, where all your needs will be taken care of until you die. I will also invite your families and take care of them, too. And depending on how well you do this task, I will give you luxuries beyond your imagination. " The brothers gasped in astonishment: all these for just moving bricks, “this is a steal of a deal!”
"However,” the king echoed, “if you do not do this, I shall consider that an act of disrespect and disobedience to my authority, and as such, I will throw you into my dungeon for as long as I see fit. Do I make myself clear?”
“of course, Your Highness, who in their right mind dares disobey the mighty king!” the brothers humbly said.
“Who in deed... remember our appointment is in three months; do not disappoint me!" The king soon left with his words lingering in the air.
Brother A took out the manual and started reading it while Brother B decided he didn’t need it; what’s there to know about moving bricks? He thought. So he went to work. And at first he was energetic, carrying 20 bricks at a time, and he made good progress working the whole day. But by the second day, he was worn out, his muscles ached, and he was no longer interested in doing any work. Brother A on the other hand, had finished reading the manual, and he discovered that the trick was slow and steady. He also learned from the manual that he needed to take a break 5 times daily to regain his strength. Something that Brother B couldn’t be bothered to find out.
By the seventh day, Brother A was in the lead, and Brother B was already bored by the task's simplicity. So, when their friends came to visit, Brother B was overjoyed for that much-needed distraction. On the other hand, Brother A stayed focused, remembering his mission.
Fast-forward three months. The King comes to visit as he had promised, only to find that Brother B has remained distracted for most of the time and has barely stacked two rows, which are in ruin because of the hasty manner in which the task was done. On the other hand, Brother A had almost finished stacking all the bricks. It was carefully done even though some chipped during stacking, and some even broke.
I don’t need to tell you how the story ends because this is not the story of Brother A and Brother B. This is my story and your story, our collective story of choices. And we all know how the story ends—one of two ways. Of course, to Allah belongs the highest example, but the moral of the story is that distractions will be there, boredom will set in, and complacency will take root; nonetheless, we must stack those bricks! After all, isn’t man just a sum of his efforts? And his efforts will certainly be laid bare.
Quranreflect@muzanigi
