Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Principles of Life
Power is generally associated either with wealth, or muscularity, or both. But the greatest aspect of power has nothing to do with either material things or physical prowess. Its real secret lies in strength of character – something which can be possessed by the poorest and the weakest amongst us.
Maulana Mohammad Qasim Qasmi, a 30-year-old teacher at the Hussain Bakhsh School in Delhi and also the Imam of a mosque, recently decided to open a watch repair shop for which he needed a full-time skilled worker. No one seemed to be immediately available, but there came one day to his mosque a middle-aged man called Mohammad Deen Kashmiri, who turned out to be a watch repairer. It appeared that he had actually come to Delhi to look for work and expressed great confidence in his own skill. Maulana Qasim, however, asked him if there was anyone in Delhi who would stand guarantee for him. Mohammad Deen then said, “My guarantor is none other than God. If you can put your trust in His guarantee, then I shall present Him as my guarantor.”
Maulana Qasim was so impressed by Mohammad Din Kashmiri’s way of expressing himself that he hired him to work at his shop. Several months have passed since then, and now both the employer and the employee are satisfied with the successful running of the shop by the grace of God. But if Mohammad Din Kashmiri had not been able to press Maulana Qasim with his strength of character, the enterprise would have come to nothing. It was the aura of trustworthiness and determination produced by this innate quality in this humble man which carried the day.