STORY — The Pearl Necklace

Qadi Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul Baqi ibn Muhammad al Bazzaz al-Ansari gives an account of his life: “I was a student in Makkah. One day, I was very hungry and could not find anything to starve off my hunger. On my way home, I found a small velvet pouch neatly tied with a tassel. I picked it up and returned home with it. Upon opening it, I found a beautiful pearl necklace, the like of which I had not seen before.

I later went out and saw an old man with five hundred dinars in a cloth, crying out loudly, “This is the reward for the one who returns to me a pouch with a pearl necklace.”

I thought to myself, “I am in need and extremely hungry. I can benefit from this reward by returning the purse to the old man.”

I approached him and said, “Come with me!”

I led him to my house. He described to me the pouch and tassel, the pearls, the number of beads in the necklace and the cord it was strung with. I took out the pouch and gave it to him. He handed the five hundred dinars to me.

I refused to accept the reward, saying, “It was necessary for me to return the pouch to you without any reward.” He insisted that I take it, but I refused.

After a time, I left Makkah and travelled by sea. The vessel carrying us was wrecked and many passengers drowned. I managed to hold onto a piece of the floating vessel and continued to float on the ocean, not knowing where I was destined to end up. I finally drifted to an island inhabited by Muslims. I went to one of their masajid and began reciting the Qur’an. When they heard me, a number of them requested that I teach them to recite the Qur’an correctly. I commenced teaching them, and was remunerated for my services.

One day, I noticed a few pages of a Qur’an in the masjid. I picked them up in order to peruse them. When the people saw me, they asked if I could write. I replied in the affirmative and they requested me to teach them. Soon many of them brought along their children to me, so that I could teach them as well. This occupation made me completely independent.

After some time, they requested that I marry an orphan girl from amongst them. I refused, but they insisted, and I finally agreed to their request. After the nikah (marriage) had been performed, she was brought to me. I could not remove my gaze from her, because I saw the same pearl necklace, that I had found many years ago, around her neck.

The people said to me, “O Shaikh, you will break the heart of this girl by staring at her necklace instead of looking at her.”

I narrated the story of the necklace to them and they shouted out the takbir loudly. I asked them what the matter was, and they replied, “The man who had taken the necklace from you, was the father of this girl and he used to say regarding you : “I never met a more truthful Muslim. May Allah bring him to us so that I could marry him to my daughter!” This du’a (supplication) of his has now been fulfilled.”

I lived with my wife and was blessed with two sons from her. She finally passed away and I, together with my two sons, inherited her necklace. Later, my two sons also passed away and I became the sole owner of the necklace. I eventually sold it for a hundred thousand dinars.”