The Eggplant Thief
It is said that in Damascus there was a large mosque named “Jami’ al-Tawba” (Mosque of Repentance). It was so called because it had previously been a shop where all kinds of weapons were assembled. One of the kings in the seventh century of the Hijra bought it, demolished it, and rebuilt it as a mosque.
In the early part of the last century (about a hundred years ago), a scholar named Sheikh Suleiman al-Suyuti served there. The residents of the neighborhood trusted him and referred to him for matters concerning both their religious and worldly affairs.
He had a student, proverbially known for his poverty, who lived in a room within the mosque. One day, two days had passed without him eating anything; he had no food, nor any money to buy it. When the third day arrived, he felt as though he were on the verge of death and wondered what to do.
From a jurisprudential perspective, he realized he had reached the point of necessity (idtirar), which permits consuming carrion or stealing only to the extent of necessity. He decided to steal something to sustain himself.
The mosque was located in one of the old neighborhoods, where houses were closely built together and rooftops were connected, allowing a person to walk from one end of the neighborhood to the other across the roofs.
The student climbed onto the mosque’s roof and moved from there to the adjacent house. When he noticed women inside, he averted his gaze and moved away. Then he saw an empty house next to it, from which the pleasant aroma of cooking was emanating. Driven by hunger, he felt the scent was like a magnet pulling him toward it. He leaped twice from the roof to a balcony, thus entering the house.
He immediately rushed to the kitchen. When he lifted the lid of the pot, he saw stuffed eggplants inside. He took one and,不顾 the intensity of his hunger and the heat, took a bite without swallowing it. At that moment, his reason and faith returned to him, and he felt great remorse for what he had done.
He said to himself: “I seek refuge in Allah. How could I forget that I am a student of knowledge and reside in a mosque, yet I am scaling houses and stealing from them? Woe is me…” He repented, sought forgiveness, returned the eggplant to its place, and left the way he came. He descended to the mosque and sat in the Sheikh’s circle, barely able to comprehend what he was hearing due to his extreme hunger.
When the lesson ended and the people dispersed, a veiled woman arrived, as was customary for women at that time. She spoke to the Sheikh in words that the hungry student did not hear. The Sheikh turned around and saw only that starving student. He called him and asked:
“Are you married, my son?”
The student replied, “No.”
The Sheikh asked, “Do you wish to get married?”
The student remained silent.
The Sheikh urged him, “Say, ‘Do you wish to get married?’”
The student said, “Master, I do not even have the price of a loaf of bread, by Allah. How could I marry?”
The Sheikh said, “This woman informed me that she is a stranger in this city, that her husband has passed away, and that she has no one in this world except an old, poor uncle, whom she has brought with her.” The Sheikh gestured toward the uncle, who was sitting in a corner of the circle. “She has inherited her husband’s house and business. She wishes to find a man who will marry her in accordance with the way of Allah and His Messenger, so that she will not remain alone and vulnerable to the advances of wicked and corrupt men. Do you wish to marry her?”
The student said, “Yes.”
The Sheikh asked her, “Do you accept him as a husband?”
She replied, “Yes.”
The Sheikh then called the uncle, summoned two witnesses, and solemnized the marriage on behalf of his student. He paid the dowry for the student and then said to him, “Take her hand.”
The woman took his hand and led him to her home. To his surprise, it was the very house he had entered earlier.
When they entered, she unveiled her face. He saw a young and beautiful woman who delighted the eyes. She asked him coquettishly, “Do you want to eat?”
He said, “Yes.”
She lifted the lid of the pot and revealed the stuffed eggplants.
She exclaimed, “Amazing! Who entered the house and bit into it?”
The young man wept and recounted the story to her.
She said to him, “This is the fruit of trustworthiness. You abstained from the forbidden eggplant, so Allah gave you the entire house and its owner in a lawful manner.”
“Whoever leaves something for the sake of Allah, Allah will replace it with something better.”
“O Allah, suffice us with what You have made lawful instead of what You have made unlawful, and enrich us with Your bounty rather than turning to others.”
Imam and Preacher
