I remember last summer sitting down in a café, enjoying a relaxing cup of coffee, reflecting on life…when I noticed, at the far end of the café, an old man sitting with a handicapped man. I can only imagine he must have been his son. What caught my eye wasn’t the handicapped man per se; it was how the old man took care of his son. The old man didn’t know the rest of the world existed; all his attention was on the well being of his son.
He talked to his son, even though his son didn’t answer back.
He helped his son with a napkin to wipe his mouth, even though his son didn’t reply with a thank you.
He helped his son up from his chair, and took the trouble to put the chair back in its proper spot, even though he had to help his son make his way round the table.
He guided his son, through the double doors that led out of the café, even though his briefcase was left unattended at their table.
And, from a distance in the parking lot, I noticed how he helped his son into their car, securely closing the car door behind him.
At first, I thought to myself, what an onerous life this must be for the old man. To do this, day in and day out; it must have been tiring and prevented him from doing so many other things in life. But then, the Qur’an inspired me to look at things differently. It wasn’t any particular verse or verses per se; it was just the overall spirit of what the Qur’an conveys.
I thought, how can this disabled man, who was very likely born with this disability, possibly be destined for anywhere but heaven in the life to come? And, I thought about all the good deeds the old man accumulated on every act of service to his son. Who knows what sins the old man might have done in his lifetime, and how these deeds may shift the balance to heaven in God’s eyes, the most Graceful, the most Merciful.
When you really look at it, his handicapped son wasn’t a misfortune for the old man, but in fact a blessing. The boy was guaranteed heaven because of the disability, and the old man was blessed with endless opportunities to take care of his son, for the sake of Allah, and gather good deeds. How, in this world, we look for opportunities to do good deeds, and how, the old man, was given an endless bounty of opportunities to do good deeds because of his blessed son.
When I see a parent now, with a disabled child, I no longer view the parent as being dealt with misfortune; I now see both being blessed because of the child, as part of God’s sublime mercy.
He talked to his son, even though his son didn’t answer back.
He helped his son with a napkin to wipe his mouth, even though his son didn’t reply with a thank you.
He helped his son up from his chair, and took the trouble to put the chair back in its proper spot, even though he had to help his son make his way round the table.
He guided his son, through the double doors that led out of the café, even though his briefcase was left unattended at their table.
And, from a distance in the parking lot, I noticed how he helped his son into their car, securely closing the car door behind him.
At first, I thought to myself, what an onerous life this must be for the old man. To do this, day in and day out; it must have been tiring and prevented him from doing so many other things in life. But then, the Qur’an inspired me to look at things differently. It wasn’t any particular verse or verses per se; it was just the overall spirit of what the Qur’an conveys.
I thought, how can this disabled man, who was very likely born with this disability, possibly be destined for anywhere but heaven in the life to come? And, I thought about all the good deeds the old man accumulated on every act of service to his son. Who knows what sins the old man might have done in his lifetime, and how these deeds may shift the balance to heaven in God’s eyes, the most Graceful, the most Merciful.
When you really look at it, his handicapped son wasn’t a misfortune for the old man, but in fact a blessing. The boy was guaranteed heaven because of the disability, and the old man was blessed with endless opportunities to take care of his son, for the sake of Allah, and gather good deeds. How, in this world, we look for opportunities to do good deeds, and how, the old man, was given an endless bounty of opportunities to do good deeds because of his blessed son.
When I see a parent now, with a disabled child, I no longer view the parent as being dealt with misfortune; I now see both being blessed because of the child, as part of God’s sublime mercy.
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