Getting his shoes polished by the old man sitting on the pavement near the office was a regular routine for him. However, a strange thing I had been noticing for the past several days was that every time after getting his shoes polished, he...
Abul Kalam says: One night at dinner time, my mother placed curry and a burnt roti (bread) in front of my father. I kept waiting for my father's reaction, thinking he might express his anger, but he ate his meal with absolute calmness an...
Once, a king visited the soldiers' mess hall (langar khana) and checked the cleanliness, which was up to mark. He then asked what had been cooked for the soldiers. The answer came: "Bataon", meaning eggplant. The king became furious, questi...
A king once said to his minister, "I don't understand one thing: I have every luxury and comfort of the world, yet my heart is not happy. On the other hand, my servant has nothing—neither wealth, nor palaces, nor comforts—yet he remains hap...
A woman hurriedly boarded a bus and sat down on a seat next to another woman. Her purse accidentally hit the woman sitting next to her, causing her pain. The woman remained silent. Seeing her silence, the other woman asked, "Why did you...
A blind man was sitting near a building, and a board was placed beside him which read, "I am blind, please help me." Next to it lay his hat containing a few coins. A man was passing by. He took out some coins from his pocket and dropped...
A king always kept his head covered. No one had ever seen him bareheaded. Many people tried to uncover this secret, but every time, the king would skillfully divert the conversation and avoid giving an answer. One day, his chief minister...
There was an Imam living in London. It was his daily routine to board a bus from his home to travel to the distant mosque. While traveling on the same route at fixed times, it often happened that the bus and the driver remained the same. On...
At a wedding ceremony, a gentleman approached a man he knew and asked, "Do you recognize me?" The man looked at him closely and replied, "Yes, you are my student from primary school. What are you doing these days?" The student answered, "I...
A man once asked Hatim Tai, "O Hatim! Has anyone ever surpassed you in generosity?" Hatim replied, "Yes! An orphan boy from the Tayy tribe proved to be more generous than me. The story goes that during a journey, I went to his house to spen...
Hazrat Salman Farsi (R.A.) was a great companion (Sahabi) of the Prophet. Among all the companions, he lived the longest life. He used to serve everyone and lived a very simple life. During his caliphate, Hazrat Umar (R.A.) appointed him as...
On a freezing winter evening, a king of Iran was entering his palace when he noticed an old doorman guarding the main gate, wearing a very old and thin uniform. The king stopped his carriage near him and asked the elderly doorman, "Don't yo...
