The Devotion of Life — Page 328
328 The story of a saintly person relates that in the locality where he lived, there also lived a man who was a trouble-maker and mischievous, and he revelled in hedonism. He always mocked religion. The saint always tried to admonish him but to no effect. The saint narrates that once he went for Hajj and there he saw the same man performing circumambulation of the Kasbah in great humility. When they finished the rituals, he asked him, ‘What made you come to Hajj? You were the one who used to ridicule religion, and there was no effect on you of any admonition. ’ He replied, ‘The incident that guided me is that once I was passing through a market, absorbed in my self-indulgent thoughts. I was going to a place of sensual pleasures. On my way I heard someone loudly reciting this verse of the Holy Qur’an ‘Has not the time arrived for those who believe that their hearts should feel humbled at the remembrance of Allah’ (57:17). The sound of the voice of whoever recited this had such a burning vexation, ardour and love that it seemed to me that it was not a human sound. On hearing that, my mind took flight and reached new horizons. I immediately returned to my house and demolished all hedonistic devices, and I started my journey for Hajj’. Now, this is the verse of the Qur’an that many recite and listen to, but it has no special effect on them. However, when the same verse of the Holy Qur’an was recited by one whose heart was steeped in the remembrance of Allah, it impressed upon the listener so much that his life was revolutionised.