Hadrat Sharfuddin was revered as a man of great piety (May Allah’s Mercy be upon him). He respected his father and mother very much. He always obeyed them and showed his ever-readiness to be on attendance on them. It so happened that one day when he was yet a small child, his mother was resting on a bedstead and suddenly felt thirsty. She told her son: “My beloved son! I am feeling thirsty. Please get me a glass (katora) of water. “He ran to fetch some water. By the time he returned with a cup of water, he found his mother asleep. He was in a fix as to what to do then! If he awakened her she would be disturbed. He therefore thought it proper not to wake her up. With the cup of water in hand, he stood by her, thinking that any moment she might wake up and ask for water. At last his mother, woke up from sleep, and, to her amazement, saw her beloved son waiting with the glass of water in hand, all the night through.
The mother asked; “My son! Have you been waiting all this while?”
Yes dear Mother! I have been waiting, so that the moment you wake up I may offer you water you asked for, “the son replied.
His mother was immensely pleased when she heard the reply. She prayed unto Allah for the welfare of her noble son. Accordingly he grew in moral stature to be a great saint, in his later life.
EXERCISES
1. Narrate this story in your own words.
2. What services do you render to your father and mother?
