Lesson No. 14 - Simplicity

S I M P L I C I T Y

Once upon a time there was a Khalifah whose rule was known for his beneficent administration. He worked for the prosperity and well being of the people. But there were some distinguished people belonging to the house of Ummyads, who were a cause of constant worry for him. They had shunned the ways of God. They enjoyed life at the expense of the common man and indulged in merrymaking. The Khalifah thought of teaching them a lesson.

He invited some prominent people to a dinner. Since the dinner was from none other than the ruling Khalifah, they readily accepted the invitation. The Khalifah ordered his cook to serve the meal late.

On the appointed day, they dressed well, and proudly came to the house of the Khaliofah in time. He greeted them well and made them sit in a comfortable environment. The guests felt exalted and honoured. They started chatting merrily while waiting for the dinner.

But it never was served. The guests looked towards one another but could not say anything. They became restless and hungry. Looking at their condition the Khalifah shouted to his cook to hurry up. At the same time he ordered some parched grams to be served which he and his guests ate to their fill.

A few minutes later the cook brought steaming hot food. Had it been served earlier the guests would have finished the last remains of the food but it came at an hour when they had already eaten grams and did not feel hungry anymore. The guests refused to eat, saying that they were full. Thereupon the pious Khalifah spoke out, "Brothers when you can satisfy your appetite with so simple a diet, then why do you play with fire and snatch the properties and rights of others." These words deeply moved the guests of the house of Ummyads who burst into tears. They never tried to be extravagant in future. This is how the pious Khalifah taught a lesson to those who had forgotten the teachings of the Holy Prophet (SAWW).

The Khalifah was none other than Hazrat Umer bin Abdul Aziz (R.A.), whose life was full of such incidents. He himself led a life of simplicity and honesty. His truthfulness and integrity has few parallels in the history of Islam. That is why he is considered to be the fifth pious Khalifah of Islam.

Words - Meaning

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Prosperity - state of being rich or successful
Indulge - allow oneself the pleasure of
Serve - work of somebody
Prominent - important
Exalted - Dignified
Restless - impatience
Refuse - Deny
Pious - having deep devotion to religion
Extravagant - Wasteful
Appetite - physical desire for food
Incident - event
Integrity - quality of being honest.

EXERCISES

Q:1 Answer the following questions.

i) How did the Khalifah teach the distinguished guests to live a life simplicity?
Ans: When the distinguished guests felt very hungry, the Khalifah ordered some parched grams to be served which he and his guests ate to their fill. A few minutes later the guests were served hot food but they did not feel hungry anymore. Therefore, the guest refused to eat, saying that they were full. Thereupon the pious Khalifah spoke out, "Brothers when you can satisfy your appetite with so simple a diet, then why do you play with fire and snatch the properties and rights of others." These words deeply moved the guests of the house of Ummyads who burst into tears. They never tried to be extravagant in future. This is how the pious Khalifah taught a lesson to those who had forgotten the teachings of the Holy Prophet (SAWW).

ii) Write down the chief characteristics of the personality of Umer bin Abdul Aziz (R.A).
Ans: Hazrat Umer bin Abdul Aziz (R.A) was a very wise, true, honest, God fearing, kind, just and pious Khalifah. He served the people by acting upon this saying that, "The ruler of a nation is a servant of the nation."

Q:2 Tick (-/) the right answer. (correct answer is highlighted in blue and bold)

i) The guests invited by the Khalifah belonged to the house of
(a) Ummyads (b) Quresh and (c) Abbasids

ii) The Khalifah asked his cook to
(a) bring the food quickly (b) delay the preparation of food and (c) serve the meal late.

iii) The guests ate
(a) roasted nuts (b) parched grams and (c) steaming hot food

iv) The guests
(a) tasted the food when it was served (b) didn't eat the food and (c) served it to others.

v) The Khalifah's words
(a) moved the guests (b) had enraged the guests and (c) pleased them.

Q:3 Fill in the blanks.

i) The Khalifah's rule was known for his beneficent administration.
ii) He invited some prominent people to a dinner.
iii) /the Khalifah ordered his cook to serve the meal late.
iv) The Khalifah was none other than Hazrat Umer Bin Abdul Aziz (R.A).
v) He is considered to be the fifth pious Khalifah of Islam.

Q:4 Match part of the sentence in column I with the relevant part in column II
Note:- Colour matches the correct sentence.

He worked for the prosperity and (1) expense of the common man. (2)
They enjoyed life at the (2) parched grams (4)
The Khalifah thought of (3) exalted and honoured. (5)
To satisfy the hunger he ordered some (4) well being of the people (1)
The guests felt (5) teaching them a lesson. (3)

Q:5 Answer the following questions.

i) Why did Khalifah invite certain people to dinner?
Ans: Khalifah invited them to dinner to teach them a lesson.

ii) Why did he order his cook to serve the meal late?
Ans: He ordered his cook to serve the meal late because he wanted to make his guests conscious of their wrong ways.

iii) What did he serve when his guests were hungry?
Ans: When his guests were hungry, he served them parched grams.

iv) Why did the guests refuse to eat the dinner?
Ans: The guests refused to eat the dinner because it came at an hour when they had already eaten grams and did not feel hungry anymore.

v) What was the lesson taught by the Khalifah?
Ans: When the guest refused to eat, saying that they were full, the pious Khalifah spoke out, "Brothers when you can satisfy your appetite with so simple a diet, then why do you play with fire and snatch the properties and rights of others? These words changed their lives and they became pious and gentle.

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