He said to himself...

He said to himself: “I am a Banished person but this man is a pious individual; if I sit near him it is possible that due to his piety, Allah may show mercy upon me too.” With this in mind, he approached the worshipper and sat down beside him.

On seeing the exiled man sit next to him, the worshipper thought to himself: “I am the pious worshipper of this tribe whilst he is a disreputable, Banished and despised sinner; how can he sit down beside me?” Turning his head away from the man, the worshipper ordered him to go away from him.

Just as he had uttered these words, Allah revealed to the prophet of the time: “Go to those two persons and ask them to start their deeds afresh, for I have forgiven all the sins of the immoral person and erased all the good deeds of the worshipper,” (for exhibiting self-conceit and holding the other person in contempt).[^5] The Short and Ugly Son Sa’di narrates: “A king had several sons, one of them being short, thin and ugly, while the others were tall and good-looking.

The king would look at the short son with scorn and contempt, thereby causing him humiliation. The son, being intelligent, realized why his father looked down upon him and so said to him: “O’ Father! A short but wise person is better than a tall but ignorant one.

He who is taller is not necessarily better and superior; a sheep is clean but an elephant, like a carcass, always possess a foul smell.” The son’s words made the king laugh and the elders of the court approved of what he said, but his brothers were upset. Coincidentally, during those days, it so happened that the enemy forces attacked the kingdom and the first person from the king’s army to heroically attack the enemy was the king’s short and ugly son.

With a display of great courage, he felled a few of the enemy chiefs and then, returning to his father and paying his respects to him, said: “On the day of battle the lean horse comes of use.” Despite the fact that a group of his soldiers had taken flight, the son returned to the battlefield. “O’ Men! Endeavour hard or else put on the dress of womenfolk,” he shouted with bitter sarcasm.

This sarcasm breathed fresh life into the cavalry who fought with renewed vigour till they eventually overcame the enemy forces and became victorious. The king kissed his son all over the face and named him his successor. From then on, he looked at this son with great respect and esteem.