Pleasant Stories & Anecdotes — Page 42
42 Action of Imām Abū H anīfa A person approached Hadrat Imām Abū H anīfa (may Allah have mercy on him) about their plans to build a mosque and asked him to contribute. Imām Abu H an i fa excused that he cannot donate anything. In fact, he could have contributed a lot if he had wanted to. That person insisted, ‘We do not want a lot from you; please contribute something just as a token’. At last Imām Abū H anīfa gave a pennyworth of a coin. The person came back in the evening with the coin and said, ‘Sir! This coin came out to be fake’. Imām Abū H anīfa was overjoyed and said, ‘It is fantastic. In fact, I never wanted to donate anything. There are so many mosques around, and it appears that there is an extravagance’. (Malf ūzā t, vol. 2, p. 299) Contentment A person was riding a horse, and on the way, there was a beggar who was hardly wearing any clothes. He asked the beggar, ‘How are you, sir?’ The beggar exclaimed, ‘How would one be who has had all his wishes granted?’ The rider wondered how this per- son’s wishes had been fulfilled. The beggar said, ‘I abandoned all desires; it means they all have been fulfilled’. In short, when you desire something, then you face challenges,