Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 76
76 did not say, “I brahim, I am saddened by your death. ” Instead, he said “ Ibrahim has reminded me of ‘Uthman ’s ra death. ” This is that for which he gained this distinction. What value does our discomfort for a day or two h ave compared to this? Ha z rat A’isha h ’s ra Spiritually Inspiring Example Ha z rat A’isha h ra survived long after the Holy Prophet sa. During Ha z rat ‘ Umar ’s ra Khilafat , when Iran was conquered, flour grinding grindstones were brought over , which could grind flour in a much finer way. When the first grindstone was installed in M edina , Ha z rat ‘ Umar ra ordered that the first portion of the newly ground fine flour should be sent to Ha z rat A’isha h ra as a gift. So, according to his instruction, th e finely ground flour was sent to Ha z rat A’isha h ra. H er maid prepared very thin flat bread out of that flour. The women of M edina , who had never seen such fine flour, gathered around and formed a crowd at Ha z rat A’isha h ’s ra house to see the flour and the bread made from it. The entire courtyard was full of women, and they were all waiting for the flat bread to be prepared so they could see how it was. You [ladies] might be thinking that it must have been a very special kind of flou r, b ut it was not an extraordinary kind of flour. It was inferior to the flour you use every day. It was inferior to the flour , which even the poorest of the poor among you uses these days. B ut it was far superior to the flour , which had been availa ble in M edina at that time. Anyway, the flat bread was prepared from that flour. The women saw it and were amazed. Out of curiosity, they began to touch the bread and exclaimed, “O, how soft is this bread. C an there be any better flour in the world ?” Ha z rat A’isha h ra took a piece of that bread and put it in her mouth. All the women were looking at Ha z rat A’isha h ra in anticipation of seeing her expression, thinking she w ould show her delight and enjoy it with a certain relish. Bu t , as soon as Ha z rat A’isha h ra put that morsel in her mouth , it remained there as if someone had closed up her throat , and tears began to flow down. The women said , “ O lady , the flour is excellent and the bread is so soft that you can’ t even imagine , so what has happened that you cannot even swallow it and you have started to weep. Is there something wrong with this flour? ” Ha z rat A’isha h ra replie d, “ Nothing is wrong with the flour. I agree the bread is extremely soft, and we have never seen such a thing. But my tears d o not co me because something is wrong with the flour. I nstead, I began thinking of the Holy Prophet Muhammad ’s sa last days.