Fraternity-Testvériség, 1958 (36. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
1958-02-01 / 2. szám
4 FRATERNITY Nonetheless, his back did not bend under the burdens of age and wisdom. Gaunt and lean was Abu Majub, a composite of skin and bone and beard — a tremendous white beard. In this beard, in this snowy forest, there lived by the grace of Allah a carefree and contented little black dot: a flea. Nothing ever happens against the will of the Almighty. Allah designates our places in the world: Abu Majub’s in the nameless little village and the flea’s in the beard of Abu Majub. This, too, manifests the wondrous wisdom of the Creator. Everyone else would have crushed the flea to death. Abu Majub, however, not only tolerated it, but even thanked Allah several times each day for having mercifully placed in the jungle of his beard only a single flea instead of, say, a tigress and her cub. But the flea misinterpreted the infinite patience of the sage. It became arrogant and reckless, unnecessarily jumping about and disturbing the peace. Its narrow mind failed to comprehend that Abu Majub was endeavoring to find favor in the eyes of Allah by bearing his harsh fate with saintly meekness, unprotestingly, in placid resignation. It deluded itself into believing that the wise man was overcome by the irresistible charm of its personality. Hence it bit and stung him with hundreds and thousands of bites and stings, until Abu Majub finally grew tired of the vile harassment, caught the flea and addressed it with these quiet words: “Thou ingrate, I have had my full measure of thy carousing. And so has the Father of all creatures. He gave me my patience, and now he has taken it away. I will not kill thee, even though I could do so, because not even a hundred deaths would be fair retribution for the tortures with which thou hast afflicted my days and nights. Go thou in peace and look for another fool. No longer shalt thou have room in my beard.” And he threw the flea out the window. In that very instant there was passing under the window a multitudinous caravan of merchants and their attendants with an immense flock of camels. The caravan was transporting to Damascus silk and pearls, also rugs and precious stones, gold- embroidered caftans, kerchiefs and scarfs, earrings and bracelets along with the slave girls to enhance them, for delivery to prominent and wealthy customers, viziers and other court dignitaries. And as the caravan was passing through the village, the drivers made an ear-splitting noise, gesticulating wildly and spurring the
