There was once a man who stubbornly refused to
believe that it is God who provides for and
nourishes his creatures. His friends did their best to
make him understand this, but with no success.
Finally, he decided to silence them by putting this
notion to the test. Leaving his home early one
morning, he went off to a jungle where he perched
himself up in a tree. “If it is God who nourishes His
servants, He will send me my food here too,” he
thought.
He sat in the tree the whole day, but there was no
sign of any food. After going without breakfast,
lunch and dinner, he was all the more convinced
that such ideas were all nonsense. He was about to
go home when he saw some wayfarers searching
for a tree they could pass the night under. They
finally chose the very tree in which he was perched.
He decided not to reveal his presence and just
watched what was going on at the base of the tree.
After setting up their camp, they took themselves
off to collect firewood, and having done this, they
opened their bags and took out rice and pulses to
cook a meal. When it was nearly ready, they threw
a handful of chillies into the hot oil to season it.
Such a spicy aroma rose up into the air that the man
in the tree sneezed. Only then did the travellers
learn of his presence, whereupon they invited him
to share what they had cooked.
The man happily went back home and said to his
friends the next morning, “What you said was quite
true. But you hadn’t told me the whole story. Of
course, God does provide you with food. It’s just
that you have to sneeze and come down a tree to
get it!”
Although humorous in tone, this little anecdote is
serious in intent. It is, in fact, a parable which
underscores the notion that God helps those who
help themselves. And although man’s role is a very
minor one, it is nevertheless a very necessary one. A
man must prove his worth to have his due share of
God’s gifts. We must never, therefore, neglect to
make ourselves deserving of God’s nourishment.
Ref - The Moral Vision
- by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
