Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

The Moral Stories (Part 02)

Author: Ahmed .H. Sheriff

www.alhassanain.org/english

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Table of Contents

Foreward 4

Rejection Of Food From Caliph 5

ON THE THRONE OF CALIPH 6

Bahlool Consulted By A Trader 7

Bahlool's Advice To Haroon 8

HIS OUTSTANDING WISDOM 9

Debate With A Jurist 10

A Question From Haroon 12

The Uncontrolable Flies 13

HEAVEN FOR SALE 14

HAROON'S ANGER ON BAHLOOL 15

Evaluation of Haroon 16

THE DRUNKARD CALIPH 17

Argument With Abuhanifa 18

A Joke With Bahlool 19

ADVICE TO ABDULLA MUBARAK 20

Inquiry On Bahlool's Welfare 21

VISIT TO THE GRAVEYARD 22

DISCUSSION ON LIFE HEREAFTER 23

Haroon Seeks Advice 24

BAHLOOL AND A TOURIST 25

Encounter With Haroon On Hajtrip 27

Haroon's Charitable Offer 28

GOD'S BEST BLESSING 29

ON BIRTH OF A BABY GIRL 30

A Mosque Slab 31

DESCRIPTION OF THE VIRTUES OF ALI 32

Bahlool In Basrah 33

Shoes Not Book Of Philosophy 34

HAROON'S NEW PALANCE 35

Refund Of Loan On Reapperrance Of Imam 36

BIBLIOGRAPHY 37

Acknowledgement 38

Foreward

Bahlool is well known in the Islamic history for his readily outspoken ways of expressing his views on deep questions of Islamic jurisprudence and ethics.

What makes his life stories even more interesting is the amusing way in which he behaved and talked, not only to ordinary people but also to those in high positions.

The way he retorted to and admonishedHaroon Rasheed - theAbbaside Caliph for his oppressive and lavish life-style is indeed remarkable.

To enable students of Islamic history to benefit from the moral lessons imparted byBahlool during hislife time , I haveendeavoured to adapt and translate his stories from a number of sources, adding short explanatory notes and relevant quotations from the HolyQura'n andahadith .

Different moral and intellectual topics dealt with and the amusing and logic styles in which they are presentedshould also make this booklet a useful Source for preparing dialogues in schools for the moral training of young ones.

Readers are requested to accord due respect to this booklet in view of the sacred quotations in Arabic from the HolyQura'n . May they also help us in circulationso as to spread its benefit far and wide.

RejectionOf Food From Caliph

Haroon once sent with his servant a tray full of some delicious dishes toBahlool . When theywere delivered ,Bahlool diverted the food to a dog sitting nearby.

On seeing this, the servant protested saying that this wasa disrespect to the Caliph and he would report to him.

Bahlool retorted by asking the servant to keep quiet lest the dog also refused to eat the food if it came to know that the food was from the Caliph. His refusal to eat the food from the Caliph demonstrated his rejection offavours lest it affected his heart to lean towards the tyrantHaroon .

This provides a lesson to us as to how we should avoid suchfavours in public and religious service so as not to be distracted from one's principlesof truth and justice.

The followingayat . of the HolyQura'n guides us not to lean towards those who oppress people:

"And do not incline to those who are unjust, lest thefire touch you, and you have no guardians besides Allah, then you shall not be helped." (11:113)

ON THE THRONE OF CALIPH

One dayBahlool enteredHaroon's palace and saw the throne of the Caliph to be vacant and none of his guards standing nearby. Immediately he went and sat on the throne. When the court men saw him on the throne, they went forward and forced him to step down by beating him.

Bahlool started crying loudly and whenHaroon entered the court, he asked him the reason for crying. The courtiers explained what had happened.

The Caliph comforted him and at the same time scolded his men for the treatment given toBahlool ., To this,Bahlool reacted by saying: "I am not crying for what has happened to me, but I am crying for you, the Caliph.I have been made to suffer so much only for sitting on the throne for a short while.

How much are you going to suffer for sitting on it for so long, because it belongs to someone else while you are the usurper of it".

Haroon was one of those pompous and oppressive kings fromBanu Abbas (descendants ofAbbas bin AbdulMuttalib ) who had usurped the caliphate of the divinely appointed vicegerents of the Prophet.

The above incident afforded an opportunity toBahlool to warnHaroon of the sufferings awaiting him after death. ThatHaroon would not be able to escape the punishment for usurping the rights of and oppressing the household members of the Prophet.

That the Prophet of Islam had foretold of the oppressive rulers to come and in what way they would gain powercan be readily derived from his following saying:

"Verily times will dawn upon people When power and rule (over people) will not be attainable except with bloodshed and oppression,ner wealth except with by usurpation and miserliness"

Bahlool Consulted ByA Trader

A trader in Baghdad came in for consultation and addressedBahlool as "The Wise". He asked for his advice on which commodity to buy from which he could expect good profit. Hewas advised to trade in cotton and dates.

The trader followed his advice and he made a good profit within a short period. After some time, that trader came in again but this time calledBahlool "The Insane" and asked him for similar advice.

This time he was advised to invest in onions andwater-melons Accordingly he went and bought some good quality onions and melons.But this time instead of being able to sell at a profit, the goods began to rot and eventually had to be destroyed at a loss.

The trader rather dismayed with the loss this time came toBahlool asking him to explain the reason for the loss despite following his advice. In reply,Bahlool explained the first occasion, the trader had called him 'Bahlool The Wise'.

So he offered his advice according to his intellect.But on the second occasion he had called him 'Bahlool the Insane', the advice offered was as such according to what an insane would do.

Obviously a wise trader is the one who puts his investment in such items of goods which are not liable to perish soon. How foolish was it for the trader to consultBahlool at a time when he thought and addressed him to be insane.So Bahlool had taught him a good lesson.

Consultation in Islam is praiseworthy as can be seen from the following saying of the Prophet:

"Consultation is a protection against repentance and safety from the criticism of people".

"The one who seeks advice is helped"

Bahlool's AdviceTo Haroon

Haroon Al-Rashid once requestedBahlool for his advice in matters of administration of his Caliphate. Inreply Bahiool said:

"Suppose for a moment that you get trapped into a jungle and you are suffering from intense thirst whilst there is no water available. If by good luck someone comes to offer you a cup of water to save your life, what would yougivel him in return?"

Haroon said: "One hundred Dinars of Gold". Bahlool said: "If he was not satisfied with this and willing to accept, then what?"

Haroon said: "I would offer half of my kingdom"Bahlool .then asked:

"Supposing after quenching your thirst, you were to suffer fromstrangury (restriction in passing urine), what would you offer to get cured?"Haroon replied:

" The Balance half of my kingdom"Bahlool then advised:

"Do not be arrogant on your kingdom whilst you are willing to give away so much in return for a cup of water and cure of your sickness. It is only wise that you should treat your people fairly and kindly" How rightly has the Prophet said that:

"The worldly life is subject to changes. What goodis meant for you would reach you even in your state of weakness. And what bad is to have, you will not be able to discard even with your power".

HIS OUTSTANDING WISDOM

A trader accompanied by his slave was travelling in a boat to Basra. Bychance Bahlool happened to travel in the same boat. The slave got perturbed with the storm in the river water and started panicking and crying.Bahlool seeked the permission of the Master to calm him by some way.

When the permissionwas granted Bahlool ordered that the slave be thrown into the water and this was done .When the slave was on the verge of drowning, he gave instructions then to rescue him. Following this, the slave sitting quietly in one corner of the boat behaved calmly.

When asked on the wisdom of such a treatment to the slave,Bahlool explained that he had no understanding of a boat and its movement in the water. Only when hewas thrown out into the water did he then come to appreciate the condition of a boat.

The Prophet of Islam hasencouranged people to travel by saying: "Travelsnd you will enrich yourselves' (by new experiences and contacts}

DebateWith A Jurist

AFaqih (jurist) happened to come to Baghdad fromKhorasan andHaroon Rashid invited him to his court. When he arrived,Haroon accorded him everyhonour and made him sit next to him. By chanceBahlool also appeared in the court andHaroon also accorded him due respect and made him sit nearby.

Thejurist on seeing the crazy outlook ofBahlool remarked that it was rather surprising for the Caliph to welcome such people hear him.WhenBahlool overheard thisrernark , he, retorted by telling the jurist not to be puffed up with his little and imperfect knowledge.

He further claimed that he was prepared to debate with him and prove his ignorance. The jurist reacted to this by saying that what could he talk to an insane person.And Bahlool responded by saying:

" I may confess my insanity but you do not accept the challenge to your own ignorance and imperfect knowledge"

On hearing this hot, exchange,Haroon tried to calmBahlool but he would not.Again he challenged the jurist to enter a polemic conversation with him if at all he was confident of his knowledge.Haroon said to the jurist:

"What is the objection, why not put some questions toBahlool ?" To this, the jurist responded by saying: "I am willing to doso on condition that if he failed to answer satisfactorily, he should pay a thousand dinars in gold coins. Likewise he would pay similar amount if he failed."

Bahlool responded that from the worldlytreasure he had nothing but should he be defeated, he was willing to enter into the slavery of the jurist. The jurist then put forward this question:

"Supposing a woman was sitting in a house with her husband. And a man was occupied in prayers and another person was in the state of fasting. During thatperiod another man entered that house, the marriage of wife and husband became mutually null and void, whilst the prayer of the one who was praying and the fasting of the one who fasted also became unacceptable. Who was the person who entered the house?"

In reply to the above question,Bahlool promptly answered by explaining that the person who entered that house was the previous husband of that woman. He had gone on a journey and had not returned for quite some time. The woman was informed that he had died, so after securing the consent ofHakime Sheria (Executer of Islamic Laws) she married again with the man with whom, she was sitting.

Besides she had arranged with those other two men on behalf of the husband who was reckoned to be dead.

Now as soon as her first husband who was alive entered thehouse , the first marriage revived and the second marriage became automatically null and void. And that prayer and fasting on hisbehalf also became unnecessary, since prayer and fast on behalf of one who is alive is not acceptable in the IslamicSharia Haroon and his courtiers were much impressed by this logic answer.Bahlool then took his turn and posed the following question to the jurist:

"Supposing one bowl is full of sugar syrup andwhile another one with vinegar.

Iffor the purpose of preparing 'Sikanjabin ' (a kind of vinegar syrup), we put them in third bowl and we find a small rat in it. How can we determine whether that rat originally was in the bowl of vinegar or in that of thesupar syrup?" To this question put forward byBahlooi , the jurist had no answer to give.Haroon noticing his. silence , called for the answer fromBahlool himself andBahlool answered:

"We should first remove the dead rat from the syrup, wash it withwater and thence tear open its body to see what was there in its tummy. If we find vinegar, we can conclude that the rat had got into the bowl of vinegar. If however, we find sugar syrup in its tummy, we conclude that it was originally in the bowl of syrup."

On hearing this answer totne question, all those present in the court were awe struck with the remarkable intelligence ofBahlool .

Finally the jurist had to part with the agreed sum of a thousand dinars of gold toBahlool who instead of pocketing them himself, distributed among the poor. This polemic betweenBahlool and the jurist denotes the deep knowledge he had in Islamic jurisprudence. This madehtm famous to be held in high esteem despite his insanely ways of living.

The following sayings of the Prophet are herewith worth noting: "He whose knowledge is higher is considered more in value than others" "A slip by a learned becomes widely publicized whereas that of an ignorant gets covered up under his ignorance".

"The happiness of this world and the nextHas in learning and the evil of this world .and the next in ignorance"

A QuestionFrom Haroon

Sitting in his palace gallery once,Haroon was enjoying the natural scenery of the greenery around and the flow of the river Tigris with the sound of water gushing forward.Bahlool happened to be there andHaroon said to him:

"I shall ask you a question to which if you reply correctly, I shall gift you with a thousand dinars ofgold, otherwise I shall throw you out into the river."Bahlool replied:

"I am not in greed of wealth. If I answer correctly, you should agree to release a hundred of my friends from yourprison, otherwise you may throw me into the water."

Haroon then put forward to him this question:

"Supposing there is a sheep, a wolf and a heap of grass. How could these be transferred from bank to the opposite bank of the river so that neither the sheep eats the grass nor the wolf is able to devour sheep?"Bahlool replied by saying:

"The sheep should first be taken across to the opposite bank of the river. Thence take the grass heap there and return the sheep this side of the river and leaving it here, take the wolf across to that side. Finally returning to this side, take the sheep back to that side of the water. In this way, neither the sheep would have an opportunity toeat the grass nor the wolf to devour the sheep."

Haroon was touched byBahlool's intelligence and admired this answer.Bahlool then presented to him a listof ahundren prisoners , who were all the followers and lovers of Aliibn Abi Taleb (A.S.). Breaking his promise,Haroon refused to release them. However, finally on persuasion, he agreed to release ten of them.

What a profound sense of intelligence as well as deep concern for the innocent prisoners held byHaroon on accusation of professing the love of Aliibn Abi Taleb (A.S.) and belief in him as the rightful divinely appointed Caliph.

Bahlool always looked down upon the worldly wealth and never compromised against the principles of righteousness and justice. This fact made him feared byone and all and he proved to be one among a few pious personalities of his time.

TheUncontrolable Flies

Haroon once toldBahlool that if he would give correct answer to a question, he wouldgift him with a thousand dinars in gold. Failing to give the answer, he would give instructions to shave off all his beard and moustache.Further he would be exposed before the people in the streets andbazars , mounted on an ass. To thisBahlool said:

"I do not need any worldly wealth or money from you. But if I reply correctly, then you undertake to order the flies not to harass us."Haroon after a little thought replied:

"That is not possible as the flies around were not under his control" To thisBahlool retorted:

"What could be expected from a person who has no control over tiny weak creatures like theflies. "

By this statement,Bahlool implied that one who could not control and rule over flies, howcould he be expected to rule over the whole world as claimed. The true and legitimate Caliph and vicegerent of the Prophet could only be the one who had control and rule over all the creatures.

Every small or big thing should be under submission to him. Assuch Bahlool meant that he may not answer a question fromHaroon on his stipulated conditions.

"O people!a parable is set forth, therefore listen to it: surely those whom you call upon besides Allah cannot create fly, though they should all gather for it, and should the fly snatch away anything from them, they could not take it back fromi weak are the invoker and the invoked." (22:73)

Anyhow,Haroon then asked what that tree was which had twelve branches and every branch had thirty leaves, and every leaf had one side shining while another dark.

Bahlool replied:

"The tree is the year, the twelve branches are the twelve months and thirty shining and dark leaves are the thirty days of the months"Haroon and his courtiers were flabbergasted to hear this logical answer.

HEAVEN FOR SALE

Once sitting on the bank of a river and playing with mud,Bahlool was constructing small houses and gardens. At that moment,Zubeida - the wife ofHaroon - happened to pass nearby. She asked what he was doing and the reply given was that he was building houses in heaven.

"Would you sell to me?" inquiredZubeida . "Why not!" repliedBahlool .

"What is the price?" she asked. "One-hundreddinnars for each house", said he.

Thinking that it would be a sort of help to the poor and insaneBahlool ,Zubeida asked her servant to bring themoney which she paid to him. The same night she dreamt seeing a fabulous palace in heaven with beautifulhooriya in it. They told her that this palace was theone which she had bought fromBahlool .

Zubeida on waking up in the morning related the dream to her husbandHaroon - the Caliph. Upon hearing this,Haroon sent someone with one- hundred dinars toBahlool with a request to sell him a house in heaven.

Bahlool smiled and said thatZubeida had purchased without first seeing or knowing whereasHaroon wanted to have it after coming to know about its true existence in heaven.Therefore he would not sell to him.

The followingayat in the HolyQura'n stresses the need of having faith in the unseen:

"This Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who guard (against evil).hose who believe in the unseen and keep up prayer and spend out of what We have given them." (2: 2-3)

HAROON'S ANGER ON BAHLOOL

Haroon had employed some special secret officers to investigate and report on the actual faith and belief ofBahlool . The information passed to the Caliph was thatBahlool was one from the staunch followers ofAhl-ul-Bayt and a close friend of Imam Musa Al-Kazim (A.S.).

Haroon called inBahlool to accuse him of inciting enmity against him whilst posing as an insane person. He enquired what the Caliph planned to do to him and the reply given was:

"I shall get you unclothed and make you go round the city seated over a donkey and thence kill you."

As this punishmentwas being arranged ,Jaffer Barmaki arrived. On seeing the conditionol Bahlool , he enquired of what wrong he had done.Bahlool said the punishment was because he had uttered the truth.

Hearing this, they all laughed.Haroon then instructed thatBahlool be presented with nice and rich clothes instead but he would not accept them. Putting back his old clothes on, he went away.

What is worth noting herewith is thatBahlool remained always steadfast on Islamic principles of justice andfairplay and refused to accept materialfavours from the oppressive and unjust ruler of thetime.

Evaluation ofHaroon

By chance onceHaroon andBahlool both were going toHammam (a public bath).Haroon asked him:

"What would my value be if I were a slave?"Bahlool replied: "Fifty dinars"Haroon in anenranged voice remarked: "Oh mad man! How could thatbe. My own valuable clothes are worth that much or more"

Bahlool reacted to this saying: "The value I had suggested was for your clothes, otherwise you yourself are of no value at all!"

Perhaps whatBahlool meant to tauntHaroon was that if he were a slave, he would not be able to provide any service to his master because of his easy and lusty life-style. Assuch he would be of no value on the slave market.

THE DRUNKARD CALIPH

Bahlool once arrived atHaroon's palace to find him drinking wine.Haroon wanted to cover up his vicehence he put this question to him: "Is itharam if one were to eat grapes?"

"Certainly not." RepliedBahlool . "Howis it if one were to drink water after eating grapes?" askedHaroon . "Nothing wrong in it" repliedBahlool . "Is there anything wrong if after eating grapes and drinking water, one were to sit in the sun?" further question byHaroon .

"Not at all" repliedBahlobl .

Bahlool understood what the drinking Caliph was driving at. After pausing for a while,Bahlool put forward toHaroon the following questions: "If a little earth were to be put over someone's head, what harm would it cause to him."

"No harm" repliedHaroon . "If then a little water were to be added to that earth?" askedBahlool . "No harm also" repliedHaroon .

"If bricks were to be made by mixing earth and water and thence strike his head with it, what would happen?"Bahlool asked this question.

"His head would burst open andblood come out" repliedHaroon .Bahlool thereafter argued that just as earth and water mixed together could cause severe harm to one's head,

similarly water and grapes (grape juice) when converted into the form of wine would cause much harm and misery to man.Hence the prohibition of drinking wine in the IslamicSharia . The followinghadtth of the Prophet of Islam on the harm of wine drinking is worth noting:

"Alcohol is a collection of sins" Obviously one is likely to commit any sort of sin when in senseless condition under the influence of drinks. The ghastly crimes committed today under the intoxication of alcohol need no enumeration.

ArgumentWith Abuhanifa

AbuHanifa was once giving lessons to his disciples and disclosed to them his disagreement on threethings which ImamJaffer Sadiq (A.S.) had been teaching.

Firstly: Satan would go to hell. Howcould this happen when Satan himself was created from fire and how could fire burn fire?

Secondly: God is not to be seen. Why could we not see God when everything in existencecan be seen ?

Thirdly: Every person is responsible for his action and not Allah. Experience shows the opposite thatevery action of man is caused by God , man has no control over it.

WhenBahlool heard of this, he picked up a lump of mud and threw it at the forehead of AbuHanifa . He then tried to run away quickly from there but the disciples of AbuHanifa managed to arrest him. They dragged him before the Caliph and lodged their complaint of what he had done.

Before the case was tobe convened before the Caliph,Bahlool requested that AbuHanifa should also be present in the court. When he arrived,Bahlool put forward to him the following questions:

"What inquiry did you receive from me?" "My head pains as a result of the lump ofmtid you threw at me" said AbuHanifa .

"Show me the pain", askedBahlool .

"How could the pain, which is an invisible, beshown " replied AbuHanifa . "But you yourself had argued before your disciples that what is in existence is possible to be seen with naked eyes" retortedBahlool and added:

"That the lump of mud had injured you is also untrue. According to your belief, how could something made of earth and mud injure and cause pain to man who is made of earth?"

"You had also argued that whatever actions committed by man are caused by Allah. Therefore why complain against me for hitting you?" concludedBahlool . On hearing these words fromBahlool , AbuHanifa was ashamed and dumbfounded. He had no choice but to withdraw from the court.

In this way, bystricking with a lump of mud,Bahlool adequately replied and solved the three objections raised by AbuHanifa before his disciples.

The practical lesson taught byBahlool to AbuHanifa was so profoundly logic that it made him dumbfounded.Indeed it was a lesson of Pure TAWHID as expounded byAhl-ul-Bayt of the Prophet but presented in a practical form byBahlool .

In his farewell sermon, the Prophet of Islam reminded his followers that they would never go astray should they follow what he was leavingbehind.for them:

"Verily I have left behind among you that which if you take hold of, you will never go astray: The Book of Allah (the HolyQura'n ) and my progeny (the people of my house)

A JokeWith Bahlool

OnceBahlool was sitting in the court ofHaroon . In order to create some fun, one of thevazirs of the Caliph said this to him:

"Congratulations OhBahlool ! I understand the CaliphHaroon has decided to entrust to you the kingdom andrulership over the animals of the cocks and the pigs etc."

PromptlyBahlool reacted to this by saying:

"Be careful not to go against any rule in my kingdom.I shall be very strict to those going against. But I shall be very considerate to those obeying me and providing more grass and water."

On hearing this,Haroon was much amused. He laughed and laughedtill he fell backward.What a logic and prompt wayBahlool always responded to any matter put forward to him.

"Throw a stone in return from where one comes to you because evil can be met only with evil."

ADVICE TO ABDULLA MUBARAK

Abdulla Mubarak once approachedBahlool with a request to show him a way of salvation and purification from sins.Bahlool replied that what could be expected from him whenhe was considered as an insane person by people .

Why not find a sensible person to guide you? he added. Abdulla said that insane persons are quite often expert in their profession hence one ought to listen to words of wisdom from those considered mentally unbalanced. On Abdullah's insistence,Bahlool agreed upon four conditions narrated as under:

What better reason other than this could it be for one always to remain on the path of obedience toAllah.

Firstly: "If you go against any command of Allah then you should refrain from eating from His sustenance. How dare you as a sensible person, claiming to be servant of Allah and enjoying His bounties yet turn against Him?"

Abdulla admitted that this was the absolute truth Secondly: "When you disobey Him, you should not reside in His domain."Adbulla said: "This was rather, difficult condition to comply with"Bahlool said:

"But how unfair it was to enjoy His blessings and reside in Hisdoinain yet disobey and go against His commands. Allah Himself has said in the HolyQura'n :

"Surely toUs is their turning back, Then surely upon Us is the taking of their account." (88:25-26)Thirdly ; "If you are bent upon committing a sin, then do so at a place where Allah cannot see you at all"

Abdulla said: "This is impossible"Bahlool said: "How unfair it was for one to enjoy His bounties, reside in His domain and yet commit sins despite the fact that He is seeing you.And Allah has stated in the HolyQura'n :

"And do not think Allah to be heedless of what the unjust do; He only respites them to a day on which the eyes shall be fixedly open." (14:42) Fourthly: "When the angel of death approaches you for taking away your soul, tell him to wait so that you may bid farewell to people and perform some good deeds for the benefit of life after death" Abdulla responded saying:

"This was impossible because the angel of death does not allow any respite to anyone"

Bahlool reacted to this by saying:

"How dare you then commit a sin when you know for certain that you are not going to be spared anytime when deathapproaches. Is it not possible that death comes to you at the very moment when you are committing sin and you are unable tomove. And Allah had said in the Holy Quran:

"And for every nation there is a doom, so when their doom is come they shall not remain behind the least while, nor shall they go before." (7:34) Abdulla toldBahlool that he had carefully listed and understood his four conditions and wanted to hear more from him.Bahlool then added: "Man,when committing action, or uttering, or hearing any word, ought to keep in view the commands of Allah"

InquiryOn Bahlool's Welfare

Haroon once inquired fromBahlool abouthis welfare and how he was keeping . Inreply he said:

"So long as I do not take over upon myself the responsibility of governing and matters pertaining to the MuslimUmmah , I shall remain alright" "But don't you know that to maintain justice andfairplay among Muslims isIbadat - an act of virtue", saidHarooh .

"I know that but theCafiph himself ought to be obedient and notan usurper since the caliphate is the right of the children of Ali (A.S.)".retorted Bahlool . "Don't you like to live forever with pleasure and happiness?". asked Haroon .

"No, because if I were always to enjoy the pleasure of worldly blessings, I am likely to forget Allah, the reality of my true self and my welfare and salvation in the next world and I do not want to risk that. I am only willing to accept and be satisfied with what is my right", repliedBahlool .

Thus Bahlool demonstrated his profound sense of contentment besides his strong belief in the fact that the more one is attached to worldly pleasures, the more the risks of forgetting Allah and the life hereafter. How truly is the saying of theProphet:

"Contentment is such a wealth which does not get exhausted" Contentment has been regarded as capital and estate for the reason that just as the estate and area under sway dispels need in the same way when a man adopts contentment and feels happy over his livelihood he becomes free of turning to others in the time of need.

Whoever is contented with the morsel he gets, dry or wet, is the king of all the land and sea.