Skip to main content

How many sides does a coin have?

Image
By
This is a chapter from my fourth book called When hunger yearns

A young and smart writer by the name of Idrees met a beggar one day. Idrees is an alternate transliteration of Idris. Some sources say that prophet Idris was the first man to write with a pen. The beggar's name was Ragheb. Ragheb is an Arabic name that refers to desire or want and often refers to someone who is willing or eager for something. The writer had just collected an award for his latest book and was returning to his car in the carpark. The beggar asks, "Hi sir. I beg of you. Can you give me money to buy something to eat? In return you get to ask me one question about life." The writer gave some money and asked his question and the beggar answered with the following story.

Two brothers were fighting over a bag of gold coins. A beggar passes by with a coin and proposes that he could resolve this dispute. Each person chooses a side of the coin. If the coin lands on their side of the coin then the bag of gold is theirs. The beggar then asks the brothers to grab opposite ends of a stick and together break the stick. Who has the longer half of the stick gets to flip the coin. The older brother gets to flip the coin, flips it and it lands perfectly balanced on the edge. Both brothers are shocked. Neither of them can lay claim to the bag of gold coins. The younger brother then asks the beggar, "Who gets to claim the coins now since neither of us can claim the coins?" The beggar then replies, "I will divide the coins into three equal parts. One part for you. One part for your brother. And one part for the orphanage." The older brother then asks, "What about yourself?" He replied, "My wealth resides in my heart and in the good that I can do for others. I have seen the many sides of life. The good, the bad and the ugly. I was once a rich man and it only brought me misery. Now I choose the side of peace and contentment. My wants and desires are with the simple things in life."

The writer felt enlightened by the story that the beggar gave. The writer then ponders that the word sides is contained in the word desires and that beggar spelt backwards closely resembles the name Ragheb and his name Idrees contains the letters of desire. That story became a chapter in his next book - The Beggar Picture of Life. Which side of his story will we choose to be on?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Below the surface

By
This is a chapter from my eleventh book called Quotation Marks Sparks . __________ "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." - Jon Kabat-Zinn __________ I was looking at quotes that hit hard and this quote stood out to me. It seems mundane and obvious and often repeated. Life is about how we respond to the inevitable. It is not what happens to us but how we respond. I had to ask myself to dig deeper and look below the surface. Then I saw that when we surf we really become the waves. We become friends with the waves. The waves and us are the same. Further, the waves are created by us and in our heads. We can control the waves because who can surf all the time? Sometimes we just have to come to shore and build sand castles on shore. I asked my friend Gemini for feedback and he said that I was right, the Jon Kabat-Zinn quote initially seems like a simple call for resilience, but my deeper dive reveals profound layers. The idea that we can move beyond merely rea...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rain

By
This is a chapter from my latest book called (G)rains (o)f san(d)s. Learn more about the book here . Thank you God for the rain. It has just started raining here. I can hear the pitter patter on the roof. I can see the dimmed light through the window. The greenery in the yard is enjoying every chance of rain. The days have been extra hot this year. They say we are experiencing a super el nino in Trinidad. Given this every bit of rainfall feels special. Water is life. Without water there can be no life as we know it. Rain is part of the water cycle. Rain falling is like therapy. A calm state comes over my body. My mind relaxes. I appreciate my home and my shelter to keep me dry and safe. The rain is mentioned as a sign from God in the Quran and how it gives life to a lifeless land. The rain complements the sunshine as part of nature's balance. Sometimes we have to endure storms and floods and even droughts but there are lessons in these events. Community spirit is heightened and our...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nur al-Quran

By
It is 1037am and I have decided to write. I have been listening to the Quran more and more. I have also been trying to learn Arabic casually through social media. I am nearing the end of my second reading of the English Quran. The Quran is the word of God and God also tells us to follow the sunnah and life of the prophet (pbuh). The Quran is a miracle. The more I interact with the Quran, the more complete I feel. It gives my clarity. I have a purpose. I have goals. I have things I should be doing. Islam is a way of life and it builds character. Sometimes I listen to the Quran to forget about this world. This world is not my home. My home is in the hereafter and God willing in heaven. The more I draw closer to the Quran, the more beauty I see and hear and feel. Same goes to God. Same goes for the life of the prophet (pbuh). Same for Islam. If these are all the things I have in this world, I am happy. Reminds me of one of the duas I say daily. I am content with Allah as my Lord, Islam as...
Post a Comment
Read more