
A poor man had only one cow, and it was his only source of income. He lived in a village, and most people who lived with him were thieves, bandits, or oppressors. Every morning he would wake up, milk his cow, take the milk, and stand in the market next to the other milkmen to sell their milk.
Every day he would see that all the milkmen sold all the quantity they had and returned home. As for him, only two customers came to buy milk from the poor man. As for the rest of the milk, he would throw it on the ground and return home with a little money, which was enough for his daily sustenance and to feed his cow only. The same situation was repeated every day when he went to sell his milk. The milkman was surprised by this matter. Why do all the milkmen in the market sell all their milk except to me? I can only sell a small amount of milk to two or three buyers, and I throw the rest on the ground.
The poor milkman decided to go to one of the famous religious men in his village to solve this problem for him.
He told the religious man what was happening to him in the market, and then the religious man told him, Go and milk your cow, then adulterate the milk with water. Go to the market and sell it. Then come back to me after selling the milk.
The poor milkman was surprised by the religious man’s words and told him, You are a religious man; how can you tell me to adulterate the milk with water?
The religious man told him, Go and do what I told you to do, then come back to me.
The poor milkman left the religious man’s house in astonishment, saying, This religious man has gone crazy.
The milkman was confused about whether to listen to the sheik or not. But in the end, he decided to carry out his words and try once.
The next morning the milkman went to the cow, milked it, adulterated the milk with water, and went to the market to sell it. On that day, the poor man sold all his milk, and the milkman was surprised by what happened to him; then he went to the cleric to tell him what happened to him.
When the cleric saw the milkman smiling, he told him, “It seems that you sold all the milk this time, didn’t you?” The milkman replied, “Yes, I sold it all this time. I want to know how this happened.”
The sheik ordered the milkman to sit down and then told him, Every morning, you would milk your cow and take the milk to the market to sell it without cheating. The people who came to buy milk from you were hardworking and honest, and their money was lawful. Although the money you earned from selling the milk was little, it was enough for you and for feeding your cow.
The sheik ordered the milkman to sit down and then told him, Every morning, you would milk your cow and take the milk to the market to sell it without cheating. The people who came to buy milk from you were hardworking and honest, and their money was lawful. Although the money you earned from selling the milk was little, it was enough for you and for feeding your cow. But when you adulterated the milk, the people who came to buy milk from you were thieves, fraudsters, or people who robbed others’ money or oppressors. As a result of their actions, they drink water instead of milk, and God will not bless their wealth despite its abundance and plenty. As for the money you received. It will vanish into thin air, and you will not know how you spent it because it is neither lawful nor blessed.
Then the Muslim sheik told the man, “You must choose your path. Do you want lawful money or unlawful money?”
Written By Maha Farhat
Blue Modern Background Document A4 by Moonha Farhouota