Pleasant Stories & Anecdotes — Page 30
30 The king arrived and was very angry to see her sleeping in his bed. She was punished with lashes. When she was being punished, she cried as well as laughed at the same time. The king asked her the reason for this. She said, ‘I am crying due to the pain inflicted by the lashes; I am laughing just thinking that I have been given this punishment for sleeping in this bed just for a few moments; only God knows how much punishment those will receive who always sleep in this comfort’. (Malf ūzā t, vol. 7, p. 114–115) Difference Between the Looks of Love and Enmity A pious man said to King Mahmood, ‘The fire of Hell is forbid- den for one who sees me once’. King Mahmood said, ‘Your claim is loftier than the claim of the Holy Prophet of God (may peace and blessings of Allah be on him). The non-believers like Ab u Lahab and Ab u Jahl saw him; however, the fire of Hell was not forbidden for them’. The pious man said, ‘O king, do you not know that God has said: 1 َ ۡصِرُو�ۡن ج �ُ ي � َ ۡک َ و َ ھُم ۡ ل ي ُرُو�ۡ ن َ اِل�َ ن �ۡ ن �َ ي � 1. You see them looking towards you, but they see not ( S u rah al-A‘r ā f, 7:199). [Publisher]