Only Today Have I Experienced the True Essence of Poverty

There once lived a poor barber in a village who used to cut people's hair and shave their beards under a tree, setting up a single chair. He was barely making ends meet. He had no house to live in, no wife, and no children. His entire worldly possession consisted of just a single sheet and a pillow. When night fell, he would spread his sheet outside a closed school, place his pillow, and go to sleep. One morning, a sudden flood struck the village. When he woke up, there was chaos and commotion everywhere. He got up and climbed onto the water tank built next to the school. There, he spread his sheet, leaned his pillow against the wall, lay down, and began watching the people. People were running for their lives, carrying their belongings and valuable household items; some were fleeing with cash, some with jewelry, some with their goats, and others with whatever precious assets they could grab. In the midst of this panic, a man came running by, carrying gold jewelry, money, and clothes. When he passed by the barber and saw him lying down so peacefully, he snapped in anger: "Hey! All our belongings have been ruined, our lives are at stake here, and you are lying there fast asleep with your legs stretched out!" Hearing this, the barber calmly replied: "Sir, only today have I experienced the true essence of poverty!" When I heard this story, I laughed at first, but then a profound thought crossed my mind—perhaps the scene on the Day of Judgment will be quite similar. When accountability is taken from all mankind, on one side, the account of the poor will be audited: just their two meals a day, their clothes, the rights of Allah, and the rights of humanity. On the other side, the account of the rich will be audited: their plazas, shops, factories, vehicles, bungalows, gold, jewelry, servants, accumulated wealth, lawful and unlawful earnings, luxuries, comforts, Zakat, the rights of Allah, and the rights of humanity. While giving account for so many possessions, the rich will be drenched in sweat and trembling out of absolute fear. At that moment, perhaps like that barber, the poor will be looking at these rich individuals with a strange sense of peace on their faces, and perhaps saying deep down in their hearts: "Only today have I experienced the true essence of poverty." We pray to Allah Almighty to grant us the ability to be grateful for every single blessing, and to give us the guidance to use and distribute it according to His divine will. Ameen, O Lord of the Worlds! (Narrated — Selection: Islamic Tube Pro App)

• Anas Memon Palanpuri