Two Instructive Incidents of a Sudanese Man A man from Sudan has written an article. In it, he narrates two interesting incidents that happened to him. First Incident: I had to take a medical exam in Ireland. The exam fee was $309. I did not have exact change, so I paid $310. The important thing is that I sat for the exam, completed it, and after some time, returned to Sudan. One day, out of the blue, I received a letter from Ireland. It stated, "While paying the exam fee, you accidentally deposited $310 instead of $309. A check for one dollar is being sent to you, because we do not take more than what is rightfully ours." Even though they too knew that the cost of the envelope and the stamp would have been more than one dollar!! Second Incident: On the route I used to walk between my college and my residence, there was a woman's shop from whom I used to buy a can of cocoa for 18 pence. One day, I noticed she had placed another can of the same cocoa, but the price written on it was 20 pence. I was surprised and asked her if there was any difference in the quality of the two cans. She said, "No, the quality of both is identical." I asked, "Then why this difference in price?" She replied, "Some problems have arisen with Nigeria, from where this cocoa comes to our country, due to which there has been a surge in price. The higher-priced stock is new, so we are selling it for 20, and the lower-priced one is from earlier, so we are selling it for 18." I said, "In that case, people will only buy the 18-pence one until it runs out? Anyone would buy the 20-pence one only after that." She said, "Yes, I know that." I suggested, "Mix both the cans together and sell them all for 20. It would be difficult for anyone to notice this difference in price." She whispered in my ear, "Are you some kind of a robber???" I found her response strange and walked away. But even today, this question echoes in my ears: Am I a robber? What kind of morality is this? In reality, this should have been our morality. This is the morality of our faith (Deen). This is the character taught to us by our Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), but...? Tell honestly, are we not robbers? In the pursuit of quick fixes (Jugaad), we keep trampling over Halal and Haram with the exact same vehicle.
