I saw that a mother would gently beat her son and start crying herself along with the child. I stepped forward and asked, "Sister, why are you beating the child when you are crying yourself?"
She replied, "Brother, you know that his father has passed away (become dear to Allah) and we are very poor too. I work as a laborer in people's houses and barely bear the expense of his education. This unfortunate boy goes to school late every day and comes home late every day. On the way while going, he gets involved in playing somewhere and does not pay the slightest attention towards studies. Because of which he dirties his school uniform every day." I explained a little to the child and his mother and walked away.
One day early in the morning, I went to the vegetable market (Sabzi Mandi) to buy some vegetables etc., when suddenly my eyes fell on the same ten-year-old child who used to get beaten at home every day. What do I see, that the child is roaming around in the market, and when the shopkeepers bought vegetables for their shops and put them in their sacks, if any vegetable fell from them onto the ground, that child would immediately pick it up and put it in the front of his shirt (lap). Seeing this scene, I was getting worried as to what the matter was. I started following that child secretly. When his lap was filled with vegetables, he sat on the side of the road and started selling them by calling out in loud voices. With dirt on his face, a dirty uniform, and moisture in his eyes, I was seeing such a shopkeeper for the first time in my life...
While watching, suddenly a man got up from his shop in front of whose shop that child had set up his tiny shop. Upon arriving, that person gave a forceful kick and scattered that tiny shop across the whole road in a single jerk, and grabbing him by the arm, picked up that child and pushed him away as well. With tears in his eyes, the little shopkeeper started gathering his vegetables again and after a little while, fearfully set up his vegetables in front of some other shop. Bless that person in front of whose shop he now set up his tiny shop, that person did not say anything to that child. It was a small amount of vegetables, it was sold out soon. And that child got up and entered a cloth shop in the market, and giving those money to the shopkeeper, picked up his school bag lying in the shop and walked towards the school without saying anything. I was also walking behind him. When that child went to school, he was already an hour late. Upon which his teacher beat him a lot with a stick. I quickly went and stopped the teacher, saying he is an orphan child, do not beat him. The teacher said, "Sir, he comes an hour late every day, I punish him every day so that out of fear he comes to school on time, and several times I have sent a message to his home as well." After getting beaten, the child sat in the class and started studying. I took his teacher's mobile number and walked towards home. Upon reaching home, I realized that I had forgotten the vegetables I had gone to buy.
As usual, after coming home from school, the child must have been beaten by his mother once again. All night my head kept spinning. The next day, I offered the morning prayer and immediately called the child's teacher to reach the market at market time under any circumstances. To which I received a positive reply. The sun rose and it was time for the child to go to school, and the child went straight from home to the market to arrange his tiny shop. I went to his house and said to his mother, "Sister, come with me, I will tell you why your son goes to school late." She immediately walked with me, muttering to herself that today this boy will not be spared at my hands. I will not leave him today. The boy's teacher had also arrived in the market. The three of us took up positions at three different places in the market and started watching the tiny shopkeeper from hiding. As usual, today also he had to take scoldings from many people, and finally that boy sold his vegetables and walked towards the cloth shop.....
Suddenly my eyes fell on his mother, and what do I see, that taking very painful sobs, she was crying bitterly, and I immediately looked towards his teacher, and his tears were flowing with great intensity. In the crying of both of them, it seemed to me as if they had committed a great oppression on an oppressed one and today they were realizing their mistake.
His mother went home crying and the teacher also went to school sobbing. As usual, the child gave the money to the shopkeeper, and today the shopkeeper gave him a ladies' suit and said, "Son, today all the money for the suit has been completed. Take your suit." The child took that suit, kept it in his school bag, and went to school. Today also he was an hour late; he went straight to the teacher, kept the bag on the desk, took up the position to get beaten, and stretched out his hands forward so that the teacher could beat him with the stick. The teacher got up from the chair and immediately hugged the child and cried so loudly that even I could not control my tears upon seeing it. I composed myself, stepped forward, consoled the teacher, and asked the child whom this suit in the bag was for. The child replied, "My mother goes to work as a laborer in the houses of rich people and her clothes are torn. She does not have any suit that completely covers her body, therefore I have bought this suit for my mother." "Will you take this suit home now and give it to your mother???" I asked the child the question.... The answer swept the ground right from under my and his teacher's feet.... The child replied, "No Uncle ji, after school closes I will give it to the tailor for stitching, and by collecting a little money every day I will pay the stitching charges; when the money for stitching is completed, then I will give it to my mother.."
...The teacher and I kept crying thinking that this innocent one will still have to go to the market more, and will have to get pushed around by people, and will have to set up the tiny shop................... After all, until when will the children of the poor keep setting up tiny shops. After all, until when?...........
