The Robes of Honour The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “He who gives up wearing beautiful garments when he is able to do so (out of humility) will be clothed by Allah with the robe of honour, and he who marries for Allahs sake will be crowned by Allah with the crown of Kingdom.” [Sunan Abu Dawud] The governor of Nahawand district was a person named Shibli. One day the king summoned all his governors so Shibli went too. The king presented them all with beautiful robes due to a joyous occasion and requested them to wear them the following day to an assembly. All the governors gathered the following day for the assembly and discussion. When the discussion was at its height, with everyone deeply involved, a governor had the irrepressible urge to sneeze. He tried vainly to suppress but uncontrollably sneezed loudly four or five times. Everyone looked at him because the discussion had been disrupted. As he did not have a handkerchief, the governor wiped his nose with a corner of his robe. The king saw him do. Seeing the precious robe he had given as a gift used in this disrespectful fashion, the king became so angry that the governor was ordered out of the palace in disgrace for failing to honor his king. Silence now fell over the gathering. The king concluded it and everyone went home. Soon after this event, a palace guard announced that the Governor of Nahawand sought an audience with the king. He was allowed in. The governor began by saying, “My king, I just want to know if my fellow governor’s sneeze was within or beyond his control?” The king became irate and said, “I sense the stench of argument in your question. Do not dare raise such a question again!” The Governor of Nahawand was not deterred and continued, “Did you have to punish and humiliate him in such a manner by throwing him out of your palace or could a lesser punishment have sufficed?” The king grew angrier and said, “I urge you to desist or face a similar punishment.” The Governor of Nahawand finally said, “I have understood one thing today, my king. Today, you totally humiliated a person in front of others and threw him out of your palace because he failed to honor the robe that you had given him. Allah (azza wa jall) has also adorned man with a garb, the honorable garb of humanity, and if he fails to honor this and fulfill its rights, then he too will be thrown out of Allah’s Court on the Day of Judgment!” Saying this, he threw off the robe given by the king and left the palace. He then came into the service of Hadrat Junaid al-Baghdadi (rahimuhullah) and became the great Hadrat Shibli (rahimuhullah) who is renowned today as one of the elders of Islam. Hadrat Shibli was especially blessed with the love of Allah because of the great sacrifice he had made by turning his back on a governorship.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 19:50:28 +0000
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