As we left together, I asked my friend, 'the weather is so nice, cool and windy, let's go for a walk?' my friend said 'All right, I too love walking' we both were walking along the Duplication road, Kollupity, where I suddenly came out with an idea to have our lunch out since my tummy started making noises. So we changed our direction of walking towards a food restaurant Acropol which is front of Liberty Plaza (A Shopping mall), their prawn fried rice and chilli paste are my favourites.
As we got closer I asked my friend, 'did you pray?' he said 'Oh... I just forgot it. thanks for reminding me' so we walked towards the mosque which is just 3 minutes away from the restaurant.
We entered the mosque and sat on a bench where my friend removed his leather shoes to take ablution and he left his shoes under the bench, I saw a lady begging with three little children, they were playing at the entrance gate's corner, I said to my friend, 'Look at them, how peaceful they are, playing, even though they have nothing to eat for tonight, I should not forget to give something before I leave the mosque' my friend looked at me and said, 'Aadhil, don't encourage them for begging and I do not help beggars who are able to earn for the day' this statement immediately reminded me the incident what happened to me at Majestic city (An another shopping mall in Bambalapitiya) where I have wrote this story on Dealing beggars with an Iron HEART so I realized my friend will learn his lesson in long time and I remained silent.
My friend offered the Luhar prayer, I offered the Sunnath prayer (Not an obligatory prayer but additional prayer), both finished praying and we were about to leave the mosque, so my friend went and sat on the bench to put on his shoes and I too sat next to him till he is finished with it, he put his hand under the bench and pulled out his shoes and my friend called me 'Aadhil look, there is only one shoe, the other one is missing' we both looked around...searching for the lost shoe... this went on for 5 minutes. suddenly the lady who was begging pop-out with my friend's shoe and gave it us and said, 'there are robbers around here and there are big number of records for lost shoes in this mosque, your shoes seems to be expensive, so I took one of your shoes and kept it with me so that the robbers will not steal your shoes which is singled'
My friend and I were shocked for a while (this shock is because of what we spoke about not helping that lady little while ago), and we regained our conciousness and looked at each other, while leaving I took sum of money and gave it to her and I looked at my friend, he too took his wallet and pulled out sum of money and gave to that lady and left the place.
So we started walking back towards the restaurant, I said to my friend 'This lady don't know who we are nor does she knows where we came from, it's her good heart, caring for others which saved your shoes today'
My friend remained silent, I asked him 'Why are you silent? what do you feel about this incident?' he looked at me and said 'I said something just before the prayer that I don't help the able beggars but this lady's kindness has terribly effected me, It was like 10 people together slippered me at once, and I have changed my mind, I don't care who they are or what they do, I will help them to my best from today'
My friend remained silent, I asked him 'Why are you silent? what do you feel about this incident?' he looked at me and said 'I said something just before the prayer that I don't help the able beggars but this lady's kindness has terribly effected me, It was like 10 people together slippered me at once, and I have changed my mind, I don't care who they are or what they do, I will help them to my best from today'
I thanked GOD and said to myself 'Sometime God teaches lesson instantly, it's not just my friend learned his lesson but it's a great lesson to me as well, those who ask for help are not the beggars but it is us who did not have the heart to help them'
"It is good if you (give openly and) let your charity be known. But truly excellent it would be, if you give to the poor and let your charity remain a secret. Allah will rid you of your sins! And Allah is very well Aware of everything you do!" [Quran 2:271]
"It is good if you (give openly and) let your charity be known. But truly excellent it would be, if you give to the poor and let your charity remain a secret. Allah will rid you of your sins! And Allah is very well Aware of everything you do!" [Quran 2:271]