🍀بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم🍀
ﷺ ♥̸̨͡🍃ﷺ♥̸̨͡🍃ﷺ

STORY:
PRICE OF A CASTLE IN JANNAH

Harun ar Rashid (d 809 CE) was a great Caliph. His domains extended from China to Spain.

From east to west, north to south, no monarch could boast a kingdom as opulent, as extant or as powerful as that of Harun. He was a patron of learning & the arts. He invited scholars from far-away lands, from China, India & Greece to come to Baghdad & work at the House of Wisdom which his father had established.

The fabled Arabian Nights celebrate the dazzling brilliance of his times. The emperors of China & France considered it an honor to send emissaries to the court of Harun & seek peace & trade relations with his vast empire.

Harun had a brother Behlul. Just as Harun was rich & opulent & Caliph of vast domains, Behlul was a saint, scornful of the riches of the world & focused on the eternal, timeless riches that accrue to men & women of goodness.

Harun spent his time in the palace, surrounded by courtiers & sycophants. Behlul spent his time in the desert in seclusion. Oftentimes, he was observed building castles in the desert sand, only to demolish them after he had built them.

One day, Harun was riding in the desert with his comrades when he saw his brother building castles in the sand. The Emperor descended from his royal stallion & greeted his brother:
“How are you, my good brother?”, asked the Emperor.
“Shukr Allah, Alhamdulillah (thanks be to God, praise be to God), I am well”, replied Behlul.

The Caliph observed that Behlul had built a sand castle. Reaching out to engage his brother, Harun asked:
“I would like to buy that sand castle. How much does it cost?”

Behlul usually charged only one dinar (a gold coin) from merchants who were passing by. He would take the money & distribute it to the poor the following morning. But Harun was a mighty Caliph. He had untold riches. Behlul asked for a price worthy of a King.
“One hundred dinars (gold coins)”, came the immediate reply. “Aиϑ I will distribute the dinars to the poor tomorrow morning at the bazaar.”

“One hundred dinars for a sand castle?” rejoined the Caliph. “That is too much for a mere sand castle”.
“It is one hundred dinars. It is up to you either to buy it or not to buy it.”

The Caliph was not interested. He said salaam to his brother, mounted his horse with its saddle of gold & rubies & departed.

That night, as Harun slept in his royal chambers, he had a dream. He dreamed that he was taken up to Heaven & was shown places of unspeakable grandeur & beauty.

When Harun asked the accompanying Angel to whom these Palaces belonged, he was told these were the Palaces built by his brother Behlul & purchased from him by passing merchants.

Harun woke up immediately from the dream. He could sleep no longer & spent the night sauntering back & forth in his luscious gardens waiting for dawn. Even before the sun rose from the east, Harun mounted his horse & went out into the desert searching for his brother. At last he located him in a desolate spot, playing with sand as usual.

Offering greeting of peace, the Caliph descended from his horse & in a very solicitous voice he said:
“Brother, I will buy that Castle you offered me yesterday for one hundred dinars:
“The price has gone up. It is one million dinars today. Aиϑ it must be paid in cash.”
Harun was aghast. “One million dinars! Only yesterday, you said it was one hundred dinars.”

“Yes, the Angels took that castle to Heaven. The demand is up & this is a new Castle. I was told by the Angels to distribute all of your gold among the poor of the land.”

Harun felt remorse in his heart. He had missed a golden opportunity to buy for himself a Castle in Heaven. Aиϑ now the asking price of one million dinars was so high. He left empty handed, walking slowly in the desert, holding the reins of his horse.

The great Shaikh who was narrating the story turned to his students & said:
“O people! O my children! When Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala gives you an opportunity to do good, do not postpone it. The opportunity may never come back to you. A good deed is like Divine mercy. When you perform good deeds, you buy yourself a place close to Divine presence. You buy yourself a castle in Jannah.

Hal Jaza ul Ehsan il
al Ehsan
(What is the recompense of a good deed except the good deed itself?)”
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