Work of God

Work of God

December 2015

An old man lived on a farm with his young grandson. Each morning he was up early, reading his Quran. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could. One day the grandson asked, “Baba, I try to read the Quran just like you but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Quran do?”

“Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water,” said the old man. The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather sent him back to the river to try again.

This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead.

The old man said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You’re just not trying hard enough,” and he went out of the door to watch the boy try again.

The boy once again dipped the basket into the river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty.

Out of breath, he said, “See Baba, it’s useless!”

“So you think it is useless?” The old man said, “Look at the basket.”

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realised that the basket had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket to a clean one, inside and out.

“Son, this is what happens when you read the Quran. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of God in our lives.”