ভূমিকা

It is quite unfair to benefit from Allah's Blessings for years and then become ungrateful to Him. The Story of Gratefulness for the Hospitality of a Generous Ya'qub Layth , the famous figure of Sistan and the leader of liberalizing revolution against the oppressive Abbasid dynasty, was the son of a zinc-worker. As a child, he was engaged in his father's work for a while and spent his wages generously on his friends. His bravery and generosity made other brave youngsters accompany him.

Leaving the work of zinc, he began to do some other form of work with his friends. But soon they quit that job, too, and decided to steal from the treasury of the ruler of Sistan. Since skillful guards protected the treasury, this was not an easy job. They decided to dig a canal underground from the suburbs unto the floor of the treasury and steal all it swiftly. It took them six months to dig the canal and finally, they entered the treasury at midnight.

They secretly assembled all the gold, silver, jewelry, and drachmas in various bags and prepared to go out through the canal, when a dazzling jewel attracted the attention of Ya'qub in the darkness. He could not identify it due to the darkness and hence tasted it to find that it was a piece of crystallized salt. Suddenly, he ordered his followers to leave the treasure and leave through the canal to the suburbs.

The surprised youngsters accompanying him returned to the city empty-handed but demanded to know the reason for this change in plan.