THE VOICE WITHIN

It was a bitter, cold evening. The old man’s beard was glazed by the winter’s frost while he waited for a ride across a shallow part of the river. The wait seemed endless. His body became numb and stiff from the frigid north wind. And then he heard the faint, steady rhythm of approaching hooves galloping along the frozen path.

Anxiously, he watched as several horsemen rounded the bend. He let the first one pass without any effort to draw his attention. Then another passed by, and another. Finally, the last rider neared the spot where the old man sat like a snow statue.

As this rider drew near, the old man caught his eye and asked, “Would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side? There doesn’t appear to be a passage through the water by foot.”

Reining in his horse, the rider replied, “Sure. Climb aboard.”

Seeing the old man unable to lift his half-frozen body from the ground, the horseman dismounted and helped him onto the horse. Then the horseman took the old man not just across the river, but to his destination, which was just a few miles away.

As they neared the tiny but cozy cottage, the horseman’s curiosity caused him to ask, “Sir, I noticed you let the riders ahead of me pass by without asking for a ride. Then I came up and you immediately hailed me. I’m curious why, on such a bitter wintry night, you would wait and ask the last rider. What if I had refused and left you there?”

The old man dismounted slowly from the horse, looked the rider straight in the eye, and replied, “I’ve been around for some time, so I get a good enough idea of a person at first sight.”

The old-timer continued, “I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately saw there was no concern for my situation. It would have been useless even to ask them. But you were different, your kindness and compassion shone right through. I knew, then and there, that your gentle spirit would welcome the opportunity to give me help in my time of need.”

The horseman was deeply touched. “I’m most grateful for what you have said,” he told the old man, “May I never grow too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others.”

Verily the faithful pray to Allah — “Make me among those about whom the Holy Quran has said: ‘And they give them preference over their own selves even though they are in need’” (Hashr 59:9). Ameen.

— the harbinger