The Sharp Wit of Hadrat Ali Radiyallāhu anhu

The Sharp Wit of Hadrat Ali

Three men came to Hadrat Ali radiyallāhu ‛anhu and said: “We are co-owners of seventeen camels and would like to distribute them among ourselves. Our partnership is as follows: One person’s share is half, the second person’s share is one third, and the third person’s share is one ninth. How will the seventeen camels be distributed among us because there is a fraction in each one’s share? We request you to pass a verdict.” Hadrat ‛Ali radiyallāhu ‛anhu instructed his attendant to bring one camel from his camel shed.

They now had eighteen camels. He said to the person whose share was half: “Take nine camels.

Bear in mind that you are receiving more than what you ought to receive because you ought to have received half of seventeen but I am giving you half of eighteen.” He said to the person whose share was one third: “Take six camels. This is also slightly more than what you ought to receive.” He said to the one

whose share was one ninth: “One ninth of eighteen is two. And this is also slightly more than one ninth of seventeen. So take two camels.”

Hadrat ‛Ali radiyallāhu ‛anhu then addressed all three: “The nine, six and two camels total seventeen camels as per your shares.” He then said to his attendant: “Take my remaining one camel and return it to the camel-shed.”

Glory to Allāh! Marvel at his intelligence and knowledge! We are left astounded. Look at how quickly he solved such a difficult problem. This was solely the help of Allāh ta‛ālā which always accompanies His righteous servants. This world is quite strange. People witness incidents of this nature but very few believe them. They think that the Ahlullāh are just like them. This is why they doubt incidents of this nature and treat them with suspicion. In fact, sometimes they will even make verbal statements against them as was the case with the claimant when he heard the verdict of Hadrat Dāwūd ‛alayhis salām.

Criticising Hadrat Dāwūd _

Maulānā Rūm rahimahullāh writes further on:

The man continued criticising Hadrat Dāwūd ‛alayhis salām for some time. The latter then called him forward and said: “O you wretched fellow! You have always been wretched, this is why your wrongdoing is gradually coming out into the open. Get away from here and listen carefully: ‘Your wife and your children have all come under the ownership of this youngster and are now his slaves. Do not say anything further.’ The man lost his mind when he heard this verdict. He picked up two rocks and began striking his chest. In his ignorance, he ran around in circles. The people too began castigating him when they learnt the facts. They did not know his internal condition before this.

Hadrat Dāwūd ‛alayhis salām finally said: “O people!The time has come for me to bring the secret into the open. Listen! There is a huge mango tree in such and such forest. It has intertwining branches and a dense growth of leaves which makes the tree appear like a tent. The tree trunk is like a centre-peg of a tent. I am getting the smell of blood from the roots of that tree. Blood has been concealed in the roots of that beautiful and dense tree. This wretched fellow murdered his master and buried him there. He then seized his master’s wealth whereas he was his slave.

This youngster is the son of the murdered man. He was a small child at the time when the murder was committed, so he does not know what happened.

Allāh ta‛ālā, out of His forbearance, had concealed his crime up to now. However, the ingratitude of this shameless fellow caused him to be exposed and humiliated. This disloyal slave did not bother in the least about the wife and family of his master. He neither met him on days of joy nor received him warmly on the days of ‛Eīd.”

Allāh’s forbearance conceals many of man’s sins. But when a person transgresses the limits, Allāh ta‛ālā disgraces him. Now that the man’s secret was exposed, his crime brought into the open and the miracle of Hadrat Dāwūd ‛alayhis salām displayed before the entire creation, the very same people who did not know the facts and were therefore having doubts about the justice of Hadrat Dāwūd ‛alayhis salām ran towards Hadrat Dāwūd ‛alayhis salām and fell at his feet. They acknowledged: “We are blind as regards our own selves. Previously, we did not listen with confidence to whatever you said. Although we witnessed countless miracles at your hands, we did not have proper insight. We ask you to excuse us.”

The wrongdoer was killed while an entire world was given life. In other words, those who were eligible for their rights had their rights fulfilled. Each person set right his īmān, repented over his sins and became a true servant of Allāh ta‛ālā.

The Statements and Lectures of Hadrat

Maulānā Shāh Wasīyyullāh Sāhib

rahimahullāh

Compiled and Annotated by

Hadrat Maulānā Muhammad Qamar az-Zamān Sāhib