First Grain of Sand — Page 56
40 FIRST GRAIN OF SAND Russian cellmates, two or three of them passionately expressed a strong desire to learn the Holy Quran from me. But it was a great regret of mine that my Russian fluency was not yet at a level where I could teach them, nor was I to remain in this cell with them very long. When our cell had its turn for our daily strolls, other Russian and Turkish prisoners would ask my cellmates about me, and my cellmates would respond with a great deal of praise. In par- ticular, I noticed one guard whose heart had softened so much towards me that when he arrived for his shift, he would find me and inquire about my condition. He would also watch me from afar frequently and even comment that I am a humble man from India. His surname was Шанко [pronounced Shanko]. While still in the first cell of Tashkent, the other Muslim cellmate would frequently beg Russian cellmates for the food they received from outside the prison, which would irritate the Russians. Once, I stopped him from begging and gestured to him in Russian that Islam prohibits us from begging. Of course, Islam also teaches us not to refuse if someone asks for anything. How lovely are these two commandments from the Quran. On the one hand, it teaches us to avoid asking for things to safeguard our- selves from humiliation and greed, while inculcating self-respect and a spirit of being content with what we have while putting our trust in the existence of God. And on the other hand, it teaches that when someone asks for something from you, give it to them so that you inculcate the spirit of charity and sympathy within yourself and prevent miserliness. A few days later, a major event took place when the prisoners banded together to start a голодовка [pronounced golodovka].