Alhamdellah!

A story from "The White Bedouin" by George S. Potter:

Once upon a time there was a king and his faithful chief servant. The servant was a good Muslim. He was known to be cheerful and always thanked God for every event, whether good or bad. "Alhamdellah: thank God; It's a good thing," he would say.

One day the king decided to take trip and have his chief servant accompany him. Just before they were to leave on the journey, the king accidentally cut off part of his little finger. "Alhamdellah," the servant said. "It is a good thing." The chief servant's apparent insensitivity outraged the king, so he had his loyal servant put in prison.

While on his journey, the king had to pass through a dark jungle. Deep in the jungle, primitive savages attacked the royal party. The king's guards were killed, and the king was taken hostage. They savages gathered firewood to burn the king alive. Just as they were about to sacrifice the king to their pagan god, the savages noticed that a part of his finger was missing. Sacrificing such an imperfect offering would only offend their god, so they let the king go free.

When the king returned from his journey, he immediately freed his chief servant from prison. "Forgive me. Forgive me," the king said to his chief servant. "You were right. If I had not cut off part of my finger, I would have been burned at the stake. Will you ever forgive me?"

"Alhamdellah," the chief servant said once again. "Thank God you threw me into prison. It was a good thing."

The king shook his head, "How could it have been a good thing that I put you in prison?"

The servant replied, "If you had not put me in jail, I would have been with you in the jungle, and the savages would have sacrificed me in your place."


This story really strikes a chord in me. We never know in advance when "tragedy" strikes, how it may turn out to be a blessing. We need to have enough faith in our father in Heaven to accept His will for us - whatever it entails. We need to be more like the servant and thank God for everything that happens in our lives, because we cannot tell, from our mortal vantage point, what the bigger picture is.