Juha, also known as Mullah Nasruddeen, was famous among the Arabs for his wit and humour. There are many incidents of Juha recorded in various kitaabs. Below is one such incident, which though humorous, contains a pertinent lesson:
One day, Juha was proceeding to the market. Juha was riding on his donkey, while his young son was walking behind. As they proceeded, they passed by a group of people and overheard them make the following remark regarding him. They said, “Look at this man! His heart is completely void of mercy and kindness! He is riding on the donkey (in comfort) while his (poor) son has to walk behind him on foot!”
Hearing this, Juha (felt embarrassed and thus) dismounted from the donkey, placing his son in the saddle instead. Thereafter, his son rode the donkey while he walked behind.
After some time, they passed by another group of people. As they passed, Juha heard them say, “Look at this young boy who has absolutely no manners, respect or shame! He is sitting on the donkey while his (poor) father has to walk behind on foot!”
When Juha heard this, he decided that it would be best for both of them to ride the donkey. Hence, he mounted the donkey behind his son, and they both continued in this manner.
A little while later, they passed by a third group of people. This group commented saying, “Look at this hard-heartedness (and cruel treatment)! Two people are riding on the back of one weak donkey! Do they not feel sorry for it? By Allah! Their hearts are void of all compassion!”
(By this point, Juha was at his wits end, so) he decided that he and his son would both walk. Thus, they dismounted, and in this manner, Juha and his son walked together with the donkey walking in front of them.
Finally, they encountered a fourth group of people who said, “Look at these two fools! They have a donkey with them, yet they are walking on foot instead of riding the donkey!”
Juha (was now so frustrated that he) pushed the donkey into a river, causing it to perish. He then turned to his son and exclaimed in exasperation, “Did you see, son? No matter what you do, you can never please everyone!” (Nawaadir Juha pg. 41)
In this incident, we see that Juha was always worried about the negative comments and baseless criticism that he was receiving from people, and thus continued trying to please them, whereas one cannot please everyone, as people have different levels of understanding, different perspectives and different inclinations. As a result, Juha suffered a double loss – he lost the approval of people and he also lost his donkey.
Thus, instead of pining for people’s approval, one’s primary concern, at all timesa, should be to acquire the approval and pleasure of Allah Ta‘ala (see here for more on this topic).