Chinna Katha

THE LORD CORES FOR THE FEELING BEHIND THE ACT

Abdullah was sleeping in a corner of a mosque in Mecca, when he was awakened by the conversation of two angels above his head. They were preparing a list of the Blessed and one angel was telling the other that a certain Mahhub of Sikandar City deserved to be ranked first, even though he had not come on pilgrimage t9 the Holy City. Hearing this Abdullah went to Sikandar City and found that he was a cobbler, repairing the shoes of people. He was famished and poor; for, his earnings barely sufficed to keep flesh and home together. He had by severe sacrifice piled up a few coppers during the course of years, one day; he spent the entire treasure to prepare a special dish, which he proposed to place before his enceinte wife as a surprise gift. When he was proceeding home with the gift he heard the cry of a starving beggar who seemed to be in the throes of extreme hunger. Mahhub could not proceed any further; he gave the pot containing the costly delicacy to the man and sat by his side, enjoying the blossoming of satisfaction on his haggard face. That act gave him a place o f honor in the register of the Blessed, a place which pilgrims to

Mecca who had spent millions of dinars in charity could not secure. The Lord cares for the feeling behind the act, not the fanfare and the fuss.