Yusuf bin Husain (rahimahullah) relates the following incident:
I was once near a pond, with Zun Noon Misri (rahimahullah), when my sight fell on a huge scorpion that was waiting at the edge of the pond. Suddenly a frog emerged from the water. The scorpion then climbed onto the back of the frog, after which the frog swam across the pond, carrying the scorpion to the other side. (As we beheld this strange spectacle,) Zun Noon (rahimahullah) said to me, “Something extraordinary seems to be unfolding with this scorpion! Come!”
We thus followed the scorpion and saw it make its way to a man who was fast asleep in a drunken stupor. On the man’s chest was a snake, seeking his ear. The scorpion overpowered the snake and attacked it, causing it to die. The scorpion then returned to the pond. It once again climbed onto the back of the frog after which the frog swam across the pond, transporting it back to where it had come from.
After witnessing this scene, Zun Noon (rahimahullah) shook the man awake and said to him, “Look at what Allah Ta‘ala has saved you from! A scorpion came and killed this snake which intended to harm you!” Zun Noon (rahimahullah) then recited the following couplets:
O the one who is unmindful while the Most Powerful is protecting him
From every evil that creeps in the darkness
How can the eyes of people remain asleep from the King
From whom countless favours and benefits are received?
(Realizing what had transpired,) the man jumped up and exclaimed, “O my Lord! If this is how you treat those who disobey You, then how kind You must be to those who obey You!” The man then turned to depart. So, I asked him, “Where are you going to?” He replied, “To the wilderness. By Allah! I will never return to the cities!”
(Kitaabut Tawwaabeen pg. 162)
Lessons:
1. If each and every one of us ponders over our own lives, we will realize that despite our disloyalty and unfaithfulness to Allah Ta‘ala, He has still continued to shower countless favours and blessings upon us. Pondering in this manner should prompt us to feel ashamed of our ingratitude and should motivate us to repent and reform our ways.
2. When Allah Ta‘ala continues to show us such immense kindness, despite our wrongdoings, then imagine the bounties that we will enjoy, in this world and the next, if we become His loyal servants! Conversely, if we fail to take heed, and continue to take His favours for granted, then Allah Ta‘ala can snatch it all away from us in the blink of an eye – may Allah Ta‘ala save us all!
3. At times, Allah Ta‘ala, out of His compassion for us, sends us ‘eye-openers’ that serve as inspiration for us. We need to avail of these and hasten in making the change while we feel the enthusiasm to do so. If we delay, the opportunity may be lost and the inclination to repent may not return.
