This is the talk of ancient times. Somewhere, in the farthest corner of world away from the sight of man, amidst the solitary chain of silent knolls, stood a lone dwelling to which the passage of years had left only crumbling walls and damaged roof. The dwelling consisted of only a solitary room immersed completely in darkness and smeared by the damp air. Room was bereft of any furniture save an old empty oil lamp and a tattered bed whose appearance was a reflection of dire poverty, destitution, and want. Upon the bed was lying she–thin, pale and moaning in excurating pain with face turned to floor as if taking refuge in it from the cruelties of man and avoid being discovered. Upon her face were naked the signs of oppression and disappointment. Her eyes were soaked with tears and her head was heavy under the burden of grief. Thus, was she lying down on the bed in despair under the feet of life and death, waiting for the promised emancipator, and it appeared from her agony that any time her wearied body may bid her soul an untimely farewell and free it from the painful cage of life. She had no one around to care her and attend to her needs. But she was not this type all through her history. Her story is as old as the story of man himself and she was born as his twin. Her initial years were a radiating beauty. She too had tasted the bounties of life and seen its brighter side. There was a time when she was young, beautiful and full of energy and had a fine abode in the heart of human civilisation. Misery and tribulations were unknown to her. The nectar of love between mankind was her drink, fragrance of morality was her breath, charity was her food, chastity was her clothing ,patience of man was her strength and Tauheed was her crown. These, she would consider, were her necessities and possessions of life. She used to store these necessities in separate cups and eat and drink from these cups and cover her charm by fine clothing. Crown would adore her honourable head. Thus she had a cup of love, a cup of values, a cup of charity, a cup of patience, a garment of chastity and crown of tauheed. Her cups contents and possessions well being were related to man’s behaviour and it is said that whenever man would indulge himself in afflictions it would affect her cups, garment and crown negatively. For example When he would talk ill of others and spread hate it would affect the cup of love. Similarly, When first man’s son killed his own brother on a nupital issue purely out of arrogance and jealousy, it affected her cups of love, patience, morality and sound values. Later incident was the first painful scare the lady received on earth. But, Allah’s will, whenever any of her cups would run out of its stuff a noble soul from among mankind would rise, come forward, fill the cup and help her live. This done she somehow managed to live thousands years of life. It is said that more than one lakh such noble souls have helped her live and restore glory during her course of earthly life. The last time she was attended by a noble soul, the Allah’s dear, and filled all her cups was some six hundred years before.He not only filled the emptied cups upto the brim and stitched her torn robe but also repaired the damaged crown and restored it honourably on her head. Unfortunately since his departure from earth and ascend to the heaven, and with no one around to care her she was subjected to uncountable atrocities–humiliations, tests, troubles, tribulations and tensions by men of earth which emptied all her cups one by one and tore her clothes to tatters. So was she left with only her crown in dent,bent and wrecks. One dark night, however, when she was absorbed in the thoughts of vices of mankind and unconscious about the things happening around her, a wronged man who was drunk of Devil upto the brim , secretly sneaked into her abode, stole her crown and scurried away. Thus this way she lost her all possessions and she was left with nothing but tears of grief. She was oppressed. She was the prey of animals in men. She was a flower trodden underfoot. With no point in living among people any more and fearing more oppressions and death she decided to leave the mankind and retreated herself to the farthest corner of the world. It had been nearly four centuries that she has distanced herself from the man to this corner. There she hopelessly kept on waiting and praying for her saviour about whom she had heard high from all noble men she had met. She had heard from them that a man will come who will be performing miraculous deeds, whose charater will turn the enemies into friends,who will fill the Earth with love, justice and peace. Tired of her sorry state she turned her being to God and prayed, “Glory be to you, O Allah, and all praises are due unto you, and blessed is your name and high is your majesty and none is worthy of worship but you. Oh Allah I seek refuge in you from the withholding of your favour and from all sorts of wrath. Oh Allah to You belongs the all that is in between the heaven and earth. You are the master of all. In Your command is turning of fates. May Allah have mercy on my pain and change my fate. Oh Allah verily You have promised to answer the call of your servants. Answer my prayers and sent down on Earth the promised one, the one whose tender touch will rejuvenate my lost youthfulness and fill my veins with new blood, who will restore my esteem and fill my cups with his eternal love, care and patience, who will cloth me anew and restore the crown on my head, who will held my crumbling hand and lead me to dwell among the mankind again, whose potion will bestow me eternal life , oh Allah let love conquer hate and life conquer death.” The supplications reached the heaven. The pain in the prayers shook the heaven and gained them to the level of acceptance. Prayers returned back accepted. Allah’s special mercy began to shower on her and He sent down to earth his most beloved servant from entire human race to guide and help her. The coming one was the noblest of the noble and the best among the best. Finally the blessed day came when he descended from a mountain cave with a potion having miraculous power of healing all sorts of ailments. He gave the potion to the poor oppressed and she took the first sip. The first sip was, “Read with the name of your Lord who created (every thing), He created man from a clot of blood. Read, and your Lord is the most gracious, who imparted knowledge by means of the pen. He taught man what he did not know.” As soon as she took the sip, a cloud of tranquility descend over her, as delightful and soothing as the first sight of the Man who brought the potion. She felt a new life infused into her soul and muscles full of energy. All of a sudden she saw her cups were filled full and body adorned with new garment and head covered with honourable crown. “I am Lady Humanity. But who are you Oh noble man and what this wonderful potion has your dignified self bought for me,” amazed she. “I am Khatam-un-Nabiyyin, the seal of Prophets, Mohammad (PBUH) and the potion I bought is Quran, the word of God,” replied he.
(The author is a teacher by profession. Views are his own)