There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best.
He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He’s very proud of her and always wanted to show off her to his friends. However, the merchant is always in great fear that she might run away with some other men.
He loved his 2nd wife too. She is a very considerate person, always patient and in fact is the merchant’s confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult times.
Now, the merchant’s 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However, the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.
One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, “Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I die, I’ll be alone. How lonely I’ll be!”
Thus, he asked the 4th wife, “I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?” “No way!” replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.
The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant’s heart. The sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife, “I have loved you so much for all my life. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?” “No!” replied the 3rd wife. “Life is so good over here! I’m going to remarry when you die!” The merchant’s heart sank and turned cold.
He then asked the 2nd wife, “I always turned to you for help and you’ve always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?” “I’m sorry, I can’t help you out this time!” replied the 2nd wife. “At the very most, I can only send you to your grave.” The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devastated.
Then a voice called out : “I’ll live with you. I’ll follow you no matter where you go.” The merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the merchant said, “I should have taken much better care of you while I could have !”
Moral
Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives
The 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it’ll leave us when we die.
Our 3rd wife ? Our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others.
The 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for us when we’re alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.
The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material, wealth and sensual pleasure.
Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it’s a good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until we’re on our deathbed to lament.
Great story full of morals.
Thanks FFJ team. 😉
Vvery old story.. but good moral. I think its repetation of story. May be
Very nice story, thanks f d lesson
fantastic learnings,good lesson for all of us..
Sara,
Thanks for sharing this very insighful moral story.
True the 4th, 3rd and 2nd wives will not accompany the dead to the grave. However, the commission of the benefits or wrong doings of these wives which the dead facilitated while alive will accrue to him / her in the grave. This is the teaching of Islam.
Also, it is not about equal treatment of these wives rather it should be maximum equitable treatment of the wives for accrued benefits in the hereafter.
Finallly, can we escape this challenge by just going for one wife? Well, it seems the answer is not yes because even in dealing with one wife we should strive to be equitable.
Very good analogy between wives and physical, material environmental and spiritual possessions.
nice story
Amazing Moral story. good job Sara .Thanks alot
YOU ARE THE SOUL. AND THE SOUL IS YOU .
THE FIRST WIFE IS THE GOOD WORK YOU HAVE DONE FOR OTHERS FOR THE SAKE OF ALLAH.
THIS WILL COME ALONG WITH YOUR SOUL.
what a moral you thought us sarah for us of our self thanks sarah may allah bless you ameen.
Very Nice Moral Story … Sarah
Body – Wealth – Relations and Soul – All are the Blessings of ALLAH.
Main theme is to utilize and treat them according to Quran and Sunnah, thus all the FOUR WIVES can then be converted into Blessings rather causing undesirable and horrible repercussion.
true it is always our good deeds that follow us. all other materials and worldly things must be left behind
Good One.
Guys, lets us stick with one wife!!!!!
amazing stufff , am impressed by this . this is really an eye opener for all of us.
Hi,Sara : In brief no way can treat all 4 wifes equally ,he just need enjoy with them .
Thanks for sharing…. Great job… Hats off…
That is Y enjoy life equally
wow…no comment?!
idk what to say, but hope we are in the right path insha Allah 🙂
oh my god this is an eye opener!!!
thank you for sharing it sara! 😀
simple story with great meaning,take care about ur soul
Nice story to learn a lesson from.
Thanks.
Meraj khan
Canada
this is so true of our lives. Islam also teaches us that our deeds are the only thing that will come with us to the grave. All other stuff you leave in the world.
nice one.
Very nice story, lesson noted tanx.
Welcome Airat.