‘Utbah (rahimahullah) explains that he was once travelling out of Basrah when he saw tents belonging to some bedouins who had planted crops. In one of these tents, there sat a girl who seemed to be mad. She was wearing a woollen garb on which the following words were written, “She cannot be bought or sold.”
‘Utbah (rahimahullah) made salaam to her, but she did not respond to his salaam. When he turned around to leave, he heard her reading a few poems which meant:
“The ascetics and worshippers have renounced the world since they remain hungry for the sake of their Master
They keep their eyes awake, spending their nights sleepless
The love of Allah Ta‘ala makes them so worried that people regard them to be mad
They are the wise and intelligent but their recognition (of Allah Ta‘ala) has made them anxious.”
After hearing these couplets, ‘Utbah (rahimahullah) approached her and asked, “Who owns this farm?” She replied, “If it remains (as it is to the end), it will be ours.” He then left and roamed about the other tents when suddenly, there was a heavy downpour. The thought then came to his mind to return to the girl to see what she would say about the storm.
When he reached, he had seen that her crops had been drowned in water, while she stood there speaking to her Rabb saying, “By the Being who has placed in my heart a spark of His purest love, indeed my heart is totally happy with Your decision.”
After saying these powerful words, she turned to ‘Utbah (rahimahullah) and said, “O person! It is He who planted it, caused it to grow, straightened it (on its stalks), grew ears on it, filled the ears with grain, and protected it, but when it was (ripe and) ready for harvesting, He destroyed it completely.” After this, she said, looking up to the heavens and addressing Allah Ta‘ala, “People are all Your slaves. Their food is Your responsibility. So, You do as You wish.”
‘Utbah (rahimahullah) asked, “How do you manage to be patient (when your crop has been destroyed).” She replied, “Remain silent O ‘Utbah. Indeed, my Rabb is Independent and Worthy of all praise. Daily new sustenance comes from Him. All praise is to Him who always does for me far more than what I desire.”
(Sifatus Safwah vol. 2, pg. 261)
Lessons:
1. When a person acquires the love of Allah Ta‘ala and gives up his entire life for Him, it becomes very easy for him to deal with the difficulties and calamities that befall him in this temporary world. Instead of becoming overwhelmed with grief and falling into a serious depression, he understands that everything is from his Beloved and thus takes these difficulties in their stride. In fact, he may even go to the extent of expressing some type of happiness that His beloved chose to test him from the rest of His creation.
2. This bedouin girl had firm yaqeen (conviction) in Allah Ta‘ala and thus understood that everything is from Him alone. Therefore, despite the major calamity that befell her, she was totally pleased with the decree of Allah Ta‘ala, having full conviction that Allah Ta‘ala will take care of her and see to her sustenance, as He had always done. This is a lesson which needs to be firmly embedded in our minds and hearts, especially during this time of financial instability which the world is experiencing.