Qazi Abu Bakr Muhammad Bin Abdul Baqi Ansari is an illustrious personality of Islamic history. He was one of the most pious persons of his time. His biographers tell a number of stories about his honesty and reliability but the one that affected his whole life is full of strange and unique events. He has narrated this story in his own words and it adorns the pages of history books: IN the middle of the 5th century Hijrah, I was a student of the Qur'an and Hadith in Makkah. I once became jobless and my means of income came to an end. I managed to subsist for a few days but soon it became hard to obtain even two square meals. My studies were discontinued and I had to sell a few of my books to support myself. I was at the edge of starvation but self-respect did not allow me to borrow or beg. One day, hungry as usual, I went to the Ka'ba to pray to Allah to save me from my sad plight. On my way back I saw a velvet cloth pouch lying near the road edge. I picked it up and looked around to find its owner but the road was deserted and nobody was in sight. I carried the pouch to my house. I was curious to know its contents. As I untied the silk cord, a very precious necklace of pearls slipped into my hand. The luster of the spotless pearls almost lit my room. It was a radiant beauty and I was thrilled to hold the valuable ornament. My thoughts went to the unfortunate owner who had lost the precious jewelry. He must be sad and very worried. The course of action which I instantly decided on was to look for the owner and give him back his necklace to relieve him of this mental suffering. Leaving the bag behind, I went straight to the place were it was found. A group of excited men were standing there, busy in anxious conversation. Their topic of discussion was the missing pouch of pearls. An old man whose nobility and magnanimity were evident from his imposing personality, was standing amidst them. He was talking about the loss of his pearls and was announcing a reward of 500 gold coins to the person who would recover the lost necklace. I listened to him very carefully. When I was sure of his ownership, I held his hand gently and requested him to come along with me. He looked at me hopefully and followed me. On the way back to my house, I was delightfully thinking that a handsome amount of 500 dinars would be mine after a short while. I was wondering whether my miseries would be over. I would no longer be a hungry or poor person. With such happy ideas in my mind, I entered my house and also invited the old man to come in. When we sat down, I asked my perplexed guest about some marks of identification of his lost bag. He readily explained and also told me about its contents and gave an exact count of the pearls. I silently rose and brought out the necklace pouch. As he saw it, his gloomy expression at once changed. His shining eyes beamed with joy and he looked at me with sincere gratefulness. His pleasant glance of thanks impressed me, and my own mode of thinking suddenly changed. A little earlier, I was enjoying the idea of getting a good reward but now my mind was reasoning as to what I had actually done to deserve it. I had exerted no efforts to obtain it. Then why do I expect a reward for returning it to its rightful owner? But I was actually in dire need of money. My poverty and the grim realities of life were looking me in the face. Why shouldn't I accept the reward? It was absolutely legitimate and surely there was no harm in taking it. A painful conflict of indecision was going on within me when the noble old man said, “O dear me, you are a virtuous person and I thank you from the core of my heart. I am unable to express fully my feelings of gratitude for your praiseworthy conduct. Nevertheless, I offer you a purse of 500 dinars as a humble present and request you to kindly accept it.” He then placed in front of me a purse full of gold coins. The sight of money which was within my easy reach was very tempting but I checked myself and said, “Sir, I thank you for offering me a substantial amount as a reward but it is impossible for me to accept it.” “Why not?” asked my noble guest, “I am giving it entirely of my own free will. Please do not dishearten me by refusing it.” I replied, “Sir, I cannot even think of being rude to decline your kind offer, but it is certainly improper for me to take it without doing anything to earn it. The necklace is yours and its return to you does not entitle me to take anything in return. Please do not insist on me to accept what does not morally belong to me.” He was rather surprised by my firm refusal. He said, “My son! The money which is being offered to you is not disallowed by our Shariah. It is not prohibited to offer or accept such presents. Therefore, I request you to reconsider your unrealistic stand and keep that purse for the sake of my pleasure if not for anything else.” I said, “Sir, I do not at all intend to displease you, but the pleasure of Allah is more important to be reckoned with than your or my pleasure. If there is any good in my action, I will prefer to leave the matter to His Grace for compensation, which I do not want to risk for all the riches of this world. Kindly do not insist because I have decided not to accept any undue reward.” My guest collected his pouch and purse and stood much dejected to leave. He patted me on the back and left without a word. After a week or so, I got back my previous job. My days of deprivation and hunger were over. I rejoined my classes and forgot all about the incident in my busy schedule of daily routine. I exerted all my energy to acquire knowledge of the Qur'an and Hadith. My main subject of interest was Islamic Jurisprudence. I completed my studies with a distinction. On the recommendation of my tutor, I was offered an appointment as Qazi of Qurtaba (Cordova), the capital city of Andalusia (Spain). I readily accepted the post and started to prepare myself happily for the long journey. I took leave of my colleagues and went to the port of Jeddah to embark on the ship for my destination. I boarded a merchant ship to carry me to the land of my future hopes. (To be continued on Monday, June 22, Insha Allah.)
