An Inspiration ...

On Sacrifice

A thought came to my mind when thinking of sacrifice and fulfilling my rights and obligations in life. The life of Owais Al Qarni r.a. came to mind. Owais Al Qarni lived during the Prophet's (peace be upon him) time, but never saw him in person.

He made just one trip or maybe two to meet the Prophet (peace be upon him), but unfortunately for him the Prophet (peace be upon him) was not in Madinah at that time. Owais Al Qarni then spent the rest of his life in Yemen, in the wild, in anonymity. He did not return to Madina because he took care of his old mother. It was because of his mother's needs that he was never able to visit Madinah again. He took care of her until she passed away. Thus, making a tremendous sacrifice of not seeing the most beloved person to him, even more beloved to him than his mother!

Imagine what went through his heart - the Prophet (peace be upon him) was so close to him, probably just a few weeks journey - at most a month or two. Yet, he could not go see him. But, by serving his mother, and his separation from the beloved, he reached the status of a Companion!

His sacrifice must have been extremely difficult for he was madly in love with the Prophet (peace be upon him). It is said that upon hearing of the Prophet's (peace be upon him) injuries at Uhud, Owais Al Qarni broke his own teeth out of - his love.

It wasn't until Umar r.a. and Ali r.a. visited him, after the Prophet's (peace be upon him) physical passing away from this world that the Muslims got to know who this "mad man" was.The same mad man about whom the local inhabitants said to Ali and Umar r.a.: "he laughs when others weep, and weeps when others laugh".  Imam Ali and Umar r.a. visited him on the instructions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and to deliver to him the shawl the Prophet (peace be upon him) was wearing in his last days.

I have also heard from my grandfather that Umar r.a. at one point even offered Owais Al Qarni a regular stipend from the nation's treasury, which Owais Al Qarni r.a. declined and instead pulled out a piece of bread and said that it was enough for his needs.

I am thankful to God for inspiring this specific lesson of sacrifice from Owais Al Qarni's life r.a. And I am forever indebted to my grandfather, my spiritual mentor,  for introducing me to Owais Al Qarni's life, for teaching me what came first in life, for setting my priorities straight. 
- Khaadim