THE STORY OF WISE YOUNG MUSLIM BOY . (who answered three questions of challenge )

THE STORY OF WISE YOUNG MUSLIM BOY . (who
answered three
questions of challenge )

Many years ago, during the time of the Tâbi'în
(the generation of
Muslims after the Sahâbah), Baghdâd was a great
city of Islam.
In fact, it was the capital of the Islamic Empire
and, because of
the great number of scholars who lived there, it
was the center of
Islamic knowledge.
One day, the ruler of Rome at the time sent an
envoy to Baghdad
with three challenges for the Muslims. When the
messenger
reached the city, he informed the khalîfah that he
had three
questions which he challenged the Muslims to
answer.
The khalîfah gathered together all the scholars of
the city and the
Roman messenger climbed upon a high platform
and said, "I have
come with three questions.
If you answer them, then I will leave with you a
great amount of
wealth which I have brought from the king of
Rome." As for the
questions, they were: "What was there before
Allah?" "In which
direction does Allah face?" "What is Allâh engaged
in at this
moment?"
The great assembly of people were silent. (Can
you think of
answers to these questions?) In the midst of
these brilliant
scholars and students of Islam was a man
looking on with his
young son. "O my dear father! I will answer him
and silence him!"
said the youth. So the boy sought the permission
of the khalîfah
to give the answers and he was given the
permission to do so.
The Roman addressed the young Muslim and
repeated his first
question, "What was there before Allâh?"
The boy asked, "Do you know how to count?"
"Yes," said the man.
"Then count down from ten!" So the Roman
counted down, "ten,
nine, eight, ..." until he reached "one" and he
stopped counting
"But what comes before 'one'?" asked the boy.
"There is nothing before one- that is it!" said the
man.
"Well then, if there obviously is nothing before the
arithmetic
'one', then how do you expect that there should
be anything
before the 'One' who is Absolute Truth, All-Eternal,
Everlasting
the First, the Last, the Manifest, the Hidden?"
Now the man was surprised by this direct answer
which he could
not dispute. So he asked, "Then tell me, in which
direction is Allâh
facing?"
"Bring a candle and light it," said the boy, "and tell
me in which
direction the flame is facing."
"But the flame is just light- it spreads in each of
the four
directions,
North, South, East and West. It does not face any
one direction
only," said the man in wonderment.
The boy cried, " Then if this physical light spreads
in all four
directions such that you cannot tell me which
way it faces, then
what do you expect of the Nûr-us-Samâwâti-
wal-'Ard: Allâh -
the Light of the Heavens and the Earth!? Light
upon Light, Allah
faces all directions at all times."
The Roman was stupified and astounded that
here was a young
child answering his challenges in such a way that
he could not
argue against the proofs. So, he desperately
wanted to try his final
question. But before doing so,
the boy said,"Wait! You are the one who is asking
the questions
and I am the one who is giving the answer to
these challenges. It
is only fair that you should come down to where I
am standing
and that I should go up where you are right now,
in order that the
answers may be heard as clearly as the
questions."
This seemed reasonable to the Roman, so he
came down from
where he was standing and the boy ascended the
platform. Then
the man repeated his final challenge, "Tell me,
what is Allâh doing
at this moment?"
The boy proudly answered, "At this moment, when
Allah found
upon this high platform a liar and mocker of
Islam, He caused him
to descend and brought him low. And as for the
one who believed
in the Oneness of Allâh, He raised him up and
established the
Truth. Every day He exercises (universal) power
(Surah 55 ar-
Rahmân, Verse 29)."
The Roman had nothing to say except to leave
and return back
to his country, defeated. Meanwhile, this young
boy grew up to
become one of the most famous scholars of
Islam. Allah, the
Exalted, blessed him with special wisdom and
knowledge of the
deen. His name was Abu Hanîfah (rahmatullâh
'alayhi- Allâh
have mercy on him) and he is known today as
Imâm-e-A'dham,
the Great Imâm and scholar of Islam.
[Adapted into English from "Manâqib Abî Hanîfah"
written by
Imâm Muwaffaq Ibn Ahmad al-Makki (d. 568
Hijri). Dar al - Kitâb
al-'Arabiy, Beirut, 1981/1401H.]

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