The pigeons flocked at his feet, chirping and tussling for the piece of bread. The green-crested duck made a dive and secured the prize. Al-Dai al-Ajal Syedna Aali Qadr Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS was standing on the bank of a river. The children next to him were tossing pieces of leftover bread to the birds. It was a sight to behold, a sight to remember, a lesson in itself.
“The last morsels left in a dish contain the most barakat. Firishtah bless with salawaat and pray for the increased prosperity of those who wipe a dish clean with their fingers and eat every last morsel of food; they will receive manifold hasanat.” says Rasulullah SA. Every grain of rice is valuable; every crumb of roti is to be consumed. Quoting this hadeeth mubarak, Ali Qadr Maula TUS cautions against wasting food. Food is Allah’s blessing, and to belittle it is to belittle the blessings of Allah. Every last piece on the thaal must be consumed, not thrown away. The leftovers should be offered to the needy and that which is too dry or stale should be left for the birds not for the garbage can.
Maualana Imam Ali Zain al-Abedeen AS, once, found a stray date on the ground. He picked it up and handed it to his slave as he proceeded for wudu’. When Imam AS returned he found that the slave had eaten the date, seeing which he immediately granted him his freedom. One of his as-haab asked why Imam had liberated the slave; Imam replied that since the slave had eaten the stray date, he would enter jannat, and ‘I do not wish that a person of jannat be a slave of mine’. Likewise, Maulana Imam Mehdi AS found roti strewn on the ground. He warned his family and people against wastage and disrespect of Allah’s rizq. When this happened once again, the Imam cut the wages of the offenders.
A person who with his fingers wipes clean his plate will receive a twofold reward: firishtah will pray salawaat on him and entreat Allah for his financial prosperity. Also, the last morsel is a source of shifaa’: for people suffering from backache Awliyaullah AS have prescribed that they pick up and eat the grains of rice fallen on the safraa.
Our Maula is concerned for every daana, just as he is for every mumin, young and old. A mumin is priceless, be he young, poor, weak or uneducated. Just as we value each and every grain or morsel, we need to also value each mumin whatever his status in life, bearing in mind that he is after all amongst the people of jannat. Maula is concerned with the salvation of every daana, every single mumin. On the day of Qiyaamat, Maulatona Fatema AS will pause at the door of jannat. When asked about the reason for her pause, she will replay that in this day I wish to know of my qadr before Allah. She will be asked to pick out the followers of Amirul Mumineen Maualan Ali AS from the mass of people gathered for judgment and take them with her to jannat. Maulatona Fatema AS will pick them out just as a pigeon selects good grains from bad ones. At the door of jannat, thses followers too will pause and ask Allah to reveal to them their qadr. Allah will ask them to identify and take into jannat all those who have loved them out of their mohabbat of Maulatona Fatema. After which only the insincere and deceitful will be left behind.
A Mumin consumes every last remaining morsel out of respect for Allah’s blessings and with the intention of upholding the directives of Hudaat Kiraam AS for whom he professes sincere mohabbat. It is this mohabbat and all the actions he carries out due to it that will ultimately ensure that like the remaining morsels he picked up, he too will be picked out by the true followers of Amirul Mumineen AS on the Day of Qiyaamat.
