A king gave his daughter a beautiful diamond necklace. The necklace was lost and people searched everywhere but could not find it. The king offered a reward of R50,000 for anyone who found it.
One day a clerk was walking home along a river. This river was polluted, filthy and smelly. As he was walking, the clerk saw a shimmering in the river and saw the diamond necklace. He tried to get it for the reward. He put his hand in the filthy river and grabbed at the necklace, but somehow missed it. He looked and the necklace was still there. He tried again, this time he walked in the river, dirtied his pants and put his whole arm in to catch the necklace. But strangely, he still missed it! He came out depressed. Again he saw the necklace. This time he plunged into the river, although his whole body became filthy. He searched everywhere yet failed. This time he was really bewildered. Just then a saint came walking by and asked him what the matter was. The clerk didn't want to share the secret with the saint, but mustered some courage and told him about the necklace and how he tried and tried to catch it, but kept failing. The saint told him to try looking upward, toward the branches of the tree, instead of in the filthy river. The clerk looked up and sure enough, the necklace was dangling on the branch of a tree. He had been trying to capture a reflection of the necklace!
Material happiness is just like the filthy, polluted river; because it is a mere reflection of the TRUE happiness in the spiritual world. We can never achieve the happiness we are looking for no matter how hard we try with material things. Instead we should look towards God, who is the source of real happiness, and stop chasing after the reflection of this happiness in the material world. This spiritual happiness is the only thing that can satisfy us completely. With the Zikr of Allah do hearts attain contentment. (Qur’aan)
THE NECKLACE & THE RIVER
