The Leper, the Bald Man, and the Blind Man
Three men...
They lived long ago.
Three men...
Each one was tested by Allah with a different affliction.
The first was a leper.
The second was bald.
And the third was blind.
People avoided the first because of his illness...
They kept away from the second because of his baldness...
And as for the third...
He could not see anything at all.
Three men...
Three different trials.
But Allah wanted to test them.
So He sent an angel to them.
The angel came to the leper first.
He asked him:
“What would you like most?”
The man replied:
“Good color...
Good skin...
And for this condition, which makes people avoid me, to be taken away.”
The angel touched him...
And his illness disappeared.
His skin became beautiful...
And his complexion became healthy.
Then the angel asked him:
“What kind of wealth do you like most?”
The man replied:
“Camels.”
So he was given a pregnant she-camel.
And the angel said:
“May Allah bless it for you.”
Then the angel went to the bald man.
He asked him:
“What would you like most?”
The man replied:
“Beautiful hair...
And for this condition, which makes people avoid me, to be taken away.”
The angel touched him...
And his baldness disappeared.
He was given beautiful hair.
Then the angel asked him:
“What kind of wealth do you like most?”
The man replied:
“Cattle.”
So he was given a pregnant cow.
And the angel said:
“May Allah bless it for you.”
Then the angel went to the blind man.
He asked him:
“What would you like most?”
The man replied:
“That Allah would restore my sight...
So that I may see people.”
The angel touched his eyes...
And Allah restored his sight.
Then the angel asked him:
“What kind of wealth do you like most?”
The man replied:
“Sheep.”
So he was given a pregnant ewe.
And the angel said:
“May Allah bless it for you.”
Then the years passed...
And the lives of the three men completely changed.
They were no longer the men they once were.
The first man...
Now had a valley filled with camels.
The second...
Had a valley filled with cattle.
And the third...
Had a valley filled with sheep.
They had become wealthy.
Their herds had multiplied...
And their lives had been transformed.
But the real test...
Had not yet begun.
The angel returned to them.
But this time...
He came to them in the form of a poor man.
First, he went to the man who had once been a leper.
He said:
“I am a poor traveler...
My means have been exhausted during my journey.
There is no one who can help me except Allah...
And then you.
I ask you, by the One who gave you your beautiful color...
Your beautiful skin...
And your wealth...
Give me one camel...
So that I may complete my journey.”
The man replied:
“I have many responsibilities.”
In other words...
He claimed that he had too many obligations...
And could not spare anything.
The angel then said:
“Perhaps I recognize you...
Were you not once a leper...
And people used to avoid you?
Were you not poor...
And then Allah gave you wealth?”
The man replied:
“I inherited all of this wealth from my forefathers.”
He denied his past.
He denied the blessing.
And he denied that Allah had given him what he possessed.
The angel said:
“If you are lying...
Then may Allah return you to the condition you were in before.”
Then the angel left him...
And went to the bald man.
He spoke to him in the same way.
He reminded him of his past.
He said:
“Were you not once bald...
And people used to avoid you?
Were you not poor...
And then Allah gave you wealth?”
The man replied:
“I inherited all of this wealth from my forefathers.”
He too...
Denied his past.
He too...
Forgot the One who had blessed him.
So the angel said:
“If you are lying...
Then may Allah return you to the condition you were in before.”
Then the angel left him...
And went to the third man.
The man who had once been blind.
The angel said:
“I am a poor traveler...
My means have been exhausted during my journey.
There is no one who can help me except Allah...
And then you.
I ask you, by the One who restored your sight...
Give me one sheep...
So that I may complete my journey.”
But this man...
Was different.
He remembered his past.
He remembered the days when he could not see.
He remembered his weakness...
And he remembered his poverty.
Then he said:
“I was once blind...
And Allah restored my sight.
I was once poor...
And Allah made me rich.”
Then he said:
“Take whatever you wish...
And leave whatever you wish.”
“By Allah...
I will not make things difficult for you today because of anything you take for the sake of Allah.”
The angel then revealed the truth.
He said:
“Keep your wealth.
You have all been tested.
Allah is pleased with you...
And He is angry with your two companions.”
And just like that...
The test was over.
Three men...
They had started from the same place.
Three men...
They had known poverty, illness, and weakness.
Then Allah gave them health...
Wealth...
And comfort.
But the blessing did not reveal how much wealth they possessed.
It revealed what was inside their hearts.
Two of them...
Forgot their past.
They forgot their weakness.
They forgot their poverty.
And they attributed what they had to themselves.
But the third man...
Did not forget.
He remembered his weakness.
He remembered his poverty.
And he remembered that his sight...
His wealth...
And everything he possessed...
Were blessings from Allah.
And here lies the lesson.
The test is not always poverty.
Sometimes...
The greater test comes after poverty.
When you become wealthy after being poor.
When you become strong after being weak.
When you receive everything you once prayed for...
And then forget the One who gave it to you.
So if your life changes one day...
Do not forget where you came from.
If Allah opens doors for you...
Remember the days when those doors were closed.
If Allah makes you wealthy after poverty...
Remember the One who enriched you.
Because true blessing...
Is not simply having a lot.
True blessing...
Is knowing...
Who gave you everything you have.
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