It has been my habit since my childhood that when I bought anything from the local shop, they wrapped it in a piece of newspaper and after using the item I must look and read the piece. It was 2007. I was living in a house in G74 next to Satara Market in Islamabad and was preparing for CSS at that time. She was making fresh jalebi in the Satara market, and when she bought it, the piece of newspaper that came with it changed her whole life.
It happened that a column was hidden on that piece. The columnist’s name is no longer remembered, but what he wrote is remembered, not letter by letter, but remembered. Read it too.
He wrote:
Yesterday I went to my business friend’s office for tea and chat and it was time to go home. While leaving the office, the clerk came and made a complaint that Mr. So-and-so is lazy and does not work. The driver also agreed with him.
That friend of mine said that if it doesn’t work, why did you keep it, get rid of it. I immediately intervened and said, “Wouldn’t it be better to talk to him once, do you know he has some problems?” Then I told my friend about the incident.
Sheikh Sahib was working in a modest office in Lahore, the days went by in such a way that the man of that office liked him and thus Sheikh Sahib got married in his family.
Nature was kind to Sheikh Sahib, day turned into night and night into day and Sheikh Sahib went from one shop to a market and then from one factory to two, four, and then the owner of unknown number of factories. The song rained, two children were born. Sheikh Sahib bought an apartment from a rented room and then a two-kanal house in a very posh area of Lahore. When the financial need arose, Sultan, who came from Chakwal, was taken out of the factory and employed in his house at the rate of fifteen hundred rupees per month.
The Sultan was a very polite person and kept to his work, never had any quarrel with anyone, no enmity, and never any complaint. Once Sheikh Sahib returned home from some work at 10 o’clock in the day, he parked the car at the door as he had to go back to the office. God knows what happened between the door and the inner door of the house, the pipe slipped from the hands of the sultan who was watering the plants and a sharp spray fell on the clothes of the sheikh.
Sheikh got wet. The Sultan fell at his feet, mumbled and apologized that he had made a mistake. But Sheikh Sahib’s mind was on heaven. Don’t get angry, don’t look at him, he removed the Sultan standing there from his job. He said leave this house before evening.
The sultan left the house with a bundle of poor things and sat by the door, so that he might call him back if his anger cools down by the evening. In the evening, the Sheikh came back, saw the Sultan still sitting, asked the guard to push him out, he should not be seen here, when the morning came, the Sultan had gone. God knows where he went. As time went on, Sheikh Sahib’s rapidly developing businesses and factories began to come to a standstill. Business growth gradually slowed down. But Sheikh Sahib was very satisfied with life.
Then a fire broke out in a factory, the entire factory was burnt to ashes. Some workers were also burnt. Sheikh Sahib got a shock of crores. When the business started to suffer, bills started falling on Sheikh Sahib’s forehead. The elder son was a university student. He died on an outing with his friends when an accident occurred on his way back and he left the world young. Sheikh’s back was broken.
Loss after loss. After selling the Kothi of two Kanals, they moved into the public-style neighborhood of Ten Marle. When there was nothing to do with reason, the feet went to the beggars that maybe some prayer would help and the ruined life would be restored again. After selling the rest of the business and mortgaging some other properties, took a loan from the bank and gave the younger son a new business. His partner’s friend cheated and often lost money. Sheikh Sahib passed away at the age of sixty.
One day, an old acquaintance came to visit, he felt very sorry when he saw the situation. He said that Sheikh Sahib is an old man who has come from India. He is a great man of God. He is staying in a house near Data Sahib for a few days. Sheikh immediately got ready. Reached this house, met, explained the problem. He closed his eyes, remained in a meditative state for some time, then opened his eyes, saw the Sheikh and said, “Why did you expel the Sultan?”
As if an apocalypse broke over the Sheikh’s head, an unceasing stream of tears flowed from his eyes, the Sheikh fell at the feet of the elder, and started asking for forgiveness. The old man said to him, listen to me. The Lord is Sustainer, He will certainly provide sustenance, but He will make human beings the source of it. The distribution of water coming from above is similar to the distribution of sustenance.
In the eyes of the Lord, each of us is a source of someone else’s sustenance. If you refuse to be a resource, then the sustenance of your share which you were getting as a compensation from this resource will end. You used to get lakhs and crores to give fifteen hundred rupees to the Sultan. You stopped them, the higher-ups terminated our compensation. Now go and find the Sultan, if he agrees to forgive you, your days will be gone again.
Sheikh’s world turned upside down, he came home banging his head and kept looking for old papers to find some address of the Sultan, an identity card, any other information. When nothing was found, Sheikh went madly to Chakwal in a bus bound for Chakwal in search of Sultan.
Sultan was not found.
Searching for the younger son, he came to Chakwal base and brought his father back to Lahore. But the Sheikh’s peace of mind was gone. A few days later, the Sheikh disappeared from the house again, so the son knew where to find him.
When he reached Chakwal, he saw his father sitting on the ground, putting ashes on his head and saying, Sultan, where are you, Sultan, where are you? The son brought the father back crying himself. After a few days, the Sheikh died.
The columnist wrote, I told my friend this whole story and said to him, “Don’t take out the poor man, his livelihood is connected with your livelihood, the Lord will give him from somewhere else so that he has someone to make a resource for him.” There is no shortage of things, but do not let it happen that you are deprived of this rewarding blessing.
Thirteen years have passed since I read this episode. Believe me, it changed my life. I became very careful with finances. If someone is left with 12, then do not ask that the compensation received from the above is not reduced.
I tried to find and be a resource with good intentions, tried to take care of all the deserving ones in the family. I have never been bored in these thirteen years. More than one resource was found and I kept moving forward.