Better to be the giver

I have always felt more at ease as a giver than being the receiver.  It makes me so much happier to make others happy than receiving from others.  Whenever I receive kindness or gift from others, I feel the urge to return in kind.  But there are times I know that receiving does not necessarily meant we have to return in kind.  If we have the means why not, do so, but if we don’t the best to pay in kind is to pray for the well-being of the giver. 

Still given the choice, I prefer to be the giver.  Thinking of this topic reminds me of a story which I had read sometime ago.

The story was about a young university student who received a life lesson from his Professor while out walking with the Professor on the university ground.

As they were walking, they came upon a pair of old shoes belonging to a poor man who was working nearby.  Obviously, the poor man left his shoes there while he did his job.

The student said to the Professor, saying “Let’s play a trick and hide these shoes. We shall see the poor man reaction when he cannot find these shoes.”

The professor said, “We should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor.  Instead if you are rich and want to give pleasure to the poor man by all means why not instead put a coin inside each shoe.  We shall hide ourselves and watch how this affects the poor man.”

The student agreed to do so and soon they find themselves hiding behind a bush while they waited patiently for the poor man to finish his work.

As the poor man retrieved his shoes and slipped his foot into them, he felt something hard.  He bent down and looked inside his shoes.  Astonishment and surprised can be seen on his face when he discovered the coins.  He kept looking and pressing on the coins as if to see whether they were real.

He looked around to see whether there was anyone around but there was none.  He put the coins into his pocket and fell to his knees.  Looked up to the heavens and uttered a loud fervent thank you and said how this timely bounty would help in feeding his hungry family.

The student was deeply affected by what he saw and his eyes were filled with tears.  He told the professor how thankful he was that he had listened to the professor.  The event had taught him a lesson he would never forget. The lesson of its more blessed to give than to receive.

Beautiful story don’t you think?  A story with a moral lesson.  I like this kind of story best.

This story and lesson is also what Islam has been teaching us.  As reported by Abdullah bin Abbas r..a., reported that Rasulullah s.a.w. said “Encouraging good, prohibiting evil, lifting the burden of the weak person and removing an offensive thing from a path are all acceptable prayers to Allah”. – ibn Majah