HIGH-MINDEDNESS

Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (1863–1943), an Indian Muslim scholar, jurist, and thinker, narrated an incident about Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817–1898), the renowned Muslim reformer and educationist of nineteenth-century India. The incident is recorded in Al-Ifadat al-Yawmiyyah (Vol. 1):

An English-educated man, struggling to find employment, once approached a senior British officer and falsely claimed to be the son-in-law of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. The officer received him with great courtesy and said, “Please wait here.” He then secretly sent a telegram to Sir Syed to verify the claim.

Sir Syed replied, “Yes, it is absolutely true. Please do assist him in getting a job. I will be grateful.” As a result, the man was offered employment.

Sometime later, the officer casually mentioned to the man that he had verified his claim with Sir Syed. The man was overcome with embarrassment. Eventually, he travelled to Aligarh, met Sir Syed in person, and admitted, “I am the one who falsely claimed to be your son-in-law to get a job. I was desperate. Please forgive me.”

Sir Syed replied, “Yes, what you did was wrong. But we can still make it right. A son-in-law is someone who marries one’s daughter. One way would have been if my daughter had married you—but that is no longer possible. The other way is for me to accept your wife as my daughter. So I do. From now on, she is my daughter, and I am her father.”

This was not merely a symbolic gesture. Sir Syed treated them as family for the rest of his life—visiting them, inviting them, and interacting with them as one would with a daughter and son-in-law. (Tahzib al-Akhlaq, Aligarh)

It is very easy to be a well-wisher of the whole world. But to take the matter of a troubled individual—especially someone who has caused you hurt—as your own is extremely difficult. Only a true well-wisher of humanity, and someone with a truly generous heart, can do that.