August 30: end of Ramadan. EID MUBARAK to all my Muslim friends here!
An old man sold toys in the Baghdad market. Knowing that his sight was not quite perfect, his customers sometimes paid him with fake money.
The old man discovered the ruse, but did not say anything.
In his prayers he asked God to forgive those who cheated him.
“Perhaps they’re short of money and want to buy presents for their children,” he said to himself.
The time passed and the old man died. Standing before the gates of Heaven, he prayed once more:
- Lord! – he said. – I am a sinner. I did many wrong things, I am no better than the false coins I was paid. Forgive me!
At that moment the gates swung open and a Voice was heard:
- Forgive what? How can I judge someone who all through his life never once passed judgment on others?
{ 157 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
Next Comments →
So prolific and true. Judge not that ye will not be judged. Thank you for this much-needed reminder.
SIN DARNOS CUENTA ANDAMOS POR LA VIDA JUZGANDO A LOS DEMAS PERO CUANDO NOS TOCA A NOSOTROS COMO NOS DUELE ES EN DONDE TENEMOS QUE APRENDER LA LECCION POR QUE JUZGO POR QUE ME MOLESTA TANTO MIREMONOS TAL VEZ SEA NUESTRO ESPEJO Y SOLO ESTAMOS RECHAZANDO UNA FALTA NUESTRA QUE NO QUEREMOS ACEPTAR EN SI LA FALTA NO ES DEL OTRO SINO MIA .
i think it really must break the Big Guys heart when he’s presented as a monster in most religions!!
Inspiring…
Thank you Paulo for the Story and thank you- H,i really like your thoughts!!!!
If I can judge myself in best possible way,then I can truly forgive myself and others too.
with love and gratitude.
Un anciano vendia juguetes en el mercado de Bagdad. Sabiendo que su presencia no era del todo apreciada, sus clientes a veces le pagaban con dinero falso.
El anciano descubrió el engaño, pero no dijo nada al respecto.
En su oración pidió a Dios que perdonase a aquellos que lo habian engañado.
“Tal vez no disponen de mucho dinero y quieren comprar regalos para sus hijos”, se dijo a sí mismo.
El tiempo pasó y murió el viejo de los juguetes. De pie ante las puertas del cielo, oró una vez más:
- ¡Señor! – Dijo. – Yo soy un pecador. Hice muchas cosas malas, yo no soy mejor que las monedas falsas con las que me pagaron. Por favor perdóname!
En ese momento las puertas se abrieron y una voz se oyó:
- Perdonar, ¿qué? ¿Cómo se puede juzgar a alguien que a lo largo de su vida ni una sola vez pasó juicio sobre los demás?
How I wish every Christian should realized that “who are we to judge anybody”, we’re nothing before the Lord. It’s really a shame that every day, we’re being so unfair. . .by becoming proud with ourselves, feeling that we’re spotless in all our actions. May we always realize that someday we will all be judged by our Lord, who can search our hearts. May the Lord Almighty who’s all merciful forgive us.
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.“ The story is very good. And each of your stories enters the readers` hearts and remains there forever. You have graet talent of understanding humans` soul. Love and respect you dear Paulo !
Wow…..i had tears in my eyes after reading it…
No doubt, My ALLAH is…
Al-Ghaffaar
The Great Forgiver, The Forgiver, The One who forgives the sins of His slaves time and time again.
Al-Ghafoor
The All-Forgiving, The Forgiving, The One who forgives a lot.
Dear Paulo, How much i love you; can be judged by the collection of books I have of yours and many times I have read, re-read and again and again read them.
Every time I read your books I feel someone is wispering not just in my ears but deep inside my soul. I love you. God has given a special gift of sharing your thoughts… And the way you connect with people is marvelous….you dont just connect with people but bring them together too…
In the world, I see your position and presence is so vital, particularly when there are paid academicians, policy makers, politicians, think tanks, media gaints who are busy creating gulf between the communitites and nations in order to serve their own piety selfish interests; I see you at a distace bringing people together, conecting them with each other in love and understanding of one common reality of life and that we are all creations of One Supreme God….
seguramente usted es una de las creaciones de Dios
i have a secret wish in my heart for you may be one day it will come true and thank you so much for wishing us Eid Mubarik
Paulo , in our country there is (was) an amazing writer named Ashfaq Ahmed. He is no more with us. But i find his and your thoughts astonishingly similar. How can someone in Pakistan and someone in Brazil have similar thoughts? He writes in urdu ……….. U should look at his works too. Or otherwise u can read his student Yahya Khan’s book in English named PIYA RANG KALA ( My Black Colored Beloved ).
Lovely story. I “collected” this one by copying it into a blank document. I’ve collected several of the stories you’ve posted this way. I like them and hope to use them when appropriate. I love the message of this story. The old man chose not to judge the others, for his reasoning could very well have been the truth. I always remember it is never my place to judge, only G-d can do that, but we must also remember that we must live according to common rules for society to function. In the end it seems the old man could make a living anyway, and G-d was most appreciative of his humility and ability to forgive.
good stuff. I know a Persian, who often changes the prizes of his products. I think, he will be liked at the gates of Heaven too.
Silvano story of the old man and the noisy kids is a great example of gradual negative incintive which teachers can use to cure and matigate unwanted behavioure
Generally God is worshiped by men,but in this story the man is adored by the almighty;it’s fabulous.
I believe God is omnipotent,omniscient by nature;but when a human being achieves it ,an epic develops.This man promotes himself humanity to divinity.
Y pensar que hay gente que dedica toda su vida a criticar al resto? bueno, que juzguen si no tienen otra cosa mejor que hacer con sus vidas, el juicio de un necio no tiene valor.
No quiero excluirme de los que juzgan, pero intento no hacerlo aunque cuando me atacan me defiendo, aunque a veces es tan evidente lo que están haciendo que no vale la pena rebatir a los que les siguen la corriente, la gente noble no entra en ese juego, su mundo es otro, y al final te das cuenta que el que critica lo único que quiere hacer es rebajar al criticado, como es incapaz de subir trata de rebajar para situarse a la cabeza ( y aquí me callo un chiste personal porque hace poco ha pasado algo con la cabeza de alguien que conozco, vamos, lo que le hacía falta (me río al escribir esto, pero ya no tengo rencor, he perdado, que bien¡¡¡).
Un saludo a todos, esto del chang chuan me esta cambiando, bien¡¡¡
The blind man had a heart that made him love his neighbors as Almighty God commanded us to do. Faith in God opens the gates, not sinlessness in judging others. God’s Word repeatedly and definitely condemns those who cheat the blind, the widows, and the orphans. Regardless of how the blind man reacted to the evil people, God is the one who judges. The workers of iniquity are not let off the hook because the blind man went into Paradise.
It’s hard, it’s hard going through all this but I am getting better with every scolding…
Before God I believe I will finally get Quiet. Today i read some sayings. One goes; Too shy gets nowhere…too bold is often given beating. From early age I received a lot of attention as being the first grandchild on both of the sides of the family. Well, in school I had Evaluations saying things like; She has lately been a bit too talkative..
Today, my manager, a big black lady, who might also find me a bit too intense, went by me several times and said; “Shush!”. I told her; “Don’t Shush me!” So, she told me her mom and grandmother always used to Shush her when she grew up. And if she didn’t get quiet, they would Slap her!
I once met a person, who knocked me completely off my feet, and I couldn’t find a word to say. It was AWESOME :)
Me gusto la historia, no somo quien para juzgar.
Desde pequenos, fomos iniciados ao julgamento, isto é melhor, aquilo é pior, nada disso é bom, o ideal é assim, dessa forma…
Hoje, após os anos que ficaram para trás, sinto que nada tem mais sentido que a paz interior, mesmo que custe a nossa própria vida!
Um amigo, alguém no esquecimento, todos que cruzam nosso destino, o julgamento pertence a Deus!
O perdão a mim e a ti…
thanx . and awesome story about the true muslims manner
I did a lot of research this summer. One of the books I wanted to read but was unable to (1. because the book is not available for free online and 2. I was unable to afford to order it) was André Gide’s ‘The counterfeiters’. One of the central themes was that, like in life, once we find out something is counterfeit it instantly looses its value, like people in society, once we find out they are fake and etc.
que dificil es llevar a cabo eso, no sentir coraje por haber- se sabido burlado, pensando siempre en una mejor perspectiva, envidiable situacion.
A lovely story. I can read more than once today.
Yes, I am getting this message loud and clear a lot now. It is my lesson of the moment.Passing judgement on others is anti-spiritual.Tolerence, understanding, empathy, compassion, acceptance pave the way to heaven.
Thanks Paulo!
“One who does not speak out for his rights and against the wrong is a mute devil.” as they will passively be helping corruption on Earth.
The old man has actually passed judgment on the cheaters when he acquitted them from their crimes with the excuse of needing the toys for a good reason and being short of money!
My point is, we have to make judgments on every situation to distinguish right from wrong, to derive better society and to stand by the truth how ever hard it becomes.
Misjudgment without evidence is the wrong doing.
Question to author: What does the sword and circle symbol means?
the sun (light) and the sword (warrior)
sin lugar a dudas todos tenemos algo de ese viejo,nuestro lado oscuro nos pone en desacuerdo con Dios,y aunque pedimos perdon no nos arrepentimos.Cambiar si pudiesemos cambiar nuestra abyecta naturaleza,si lo vil o lo cruel no estubiera en el hombre Dios no tendria tanto y fatigozo trabajo,asi como aquel que nunca se cansa de cometer una y otra vez la misma necedad.Es menester arrepentirse no sea que Dios nos pregunte¿no te cansas? y nos deje librados al azar.
Thank you:)
es una hIstoria muy bonita y llena de perdòn aquel hombre solo tenia ojos para mirar lo bueno de la vida ,lo estaban estafando y el que hacìa, buscaba una respuesta favorable para el que lo estaba perjudicando osea nunca los juzgaba en el caso de la historia el dìa que muere DIOS tampoco lo juzga a èl toma en cuenta su gesto noble y no le dice mas que entre al paraìso Que hermosa lectura, debemos perdomar con mayor facilidad para que esto nos aumente el banco de credito con DIOS solo asì tendremos la oportunidad de que se nos juzgue a nosotros con benevolencia.
thanks for sharing..
eid mobarak to you too :)
Wow. You say so much with such few words!
To all my friends, The sense of festival is always enjoying the happiness with loved ones and feel greatful for what is offered by god to us… let this sense of happiness may prevail in all… wish to all… a “Happy Bairam” and “EID Mubaraq”… May Allah fulfill the happiness in each house where love, brotherhood live and respect for elders, love for children stay…))
Doing what you love to do most is the ‘blank cheque’ given by god, many of us do not understand that whatever we are doing or assigned to do is most enjoyful gift given by god.
There are always choices to curse your disability or accepted and take it as prized possession of god. When God gives something extra-ordibnary he generally charges it with ordinary. it is the rule of universe. To forgive the people is extra ordinary quality and having poor eyesight is normal weakness. Avoiding to cheat a weak person is humanity and causing wrongful gain from them is weakness and sign of ill-learnings.Understanding the people is like driving a boat in calm sea. Seeing god in them is like touring the heaven alive.We all have to walk over the destiny path where we all have to merge with god. getting a chance to accomplish the assigned task is the greatest achievement.Understanding your sins and and asking for forgiveness is magical words whispering through the god ‘s ears in melodious form. It is the dream of all souls to get loved by god. we all want him to accept us in our true form and if he does that means the task assigned was accomplished..
nice one…
thank u…
kocham Pana , Panie Coelho’s
i see this site through my friend id i really impressed with this site. actually we should establish such type of web sites for the betterment of humanity.
This story reminded me on a lovely tale I heard once:
On the outskirts of a large city there was a lonely old man who lived in a very beautiful house. His idyll had only one drop of bitterness. There was a group of young person yelling around, throwing stones at his house and playing a lot of other pranks on him. One day, he decided to speak to them. But instead of delivering them a sermon he praised their great entertainment and rewarded each of them with two coins.
Even the next day they came again to his house to show another performance. This time they went to their greatest lengths, because they expected a better payment. Although the old man was filled with enthusiasm, he gave each of them only one coin. As he saw their disappointed expression, he excused himself for the measly pay, but that was all he had.
The boys waited three days to visit the old man again. But just after their arrival the old man opened his door. He seemed a little sad and in a plaintive voice, he told them: “I would be very delighted to enjoy your performance again, but unfortunately I cannot compensate your efforts today, because I have no money at home.”
The young people run away very disappointed. The next day they went off in search for a new audience who value their extraordinary skills more.
viena – pardavinėti, kita – dovanoti.
energija nėra suklastoti pinigai.
Tai daug daugiau už pinigus.
sentencijos nėra žaislai, na nebent parduodi už dvasinę energiją, už kurią mokami “suklastoti” pibnigai?
Šiame pasaulyje visa, kas gražiausia, yra daroma ne už pinigus.
Muitas vezes o julgamento é um espelho de nossos próprios defeitos.
Muitas vezes é julgamento é um espelho de nossos próprios defeitos.
My debts are large, my failures great, my shame secret and heavy; yet I come to ask for my good, I quake in fear lest my prayer be granted. – Tagore
who will cast the first stone??
the moment we judge we separate ourselves from love and we move further away and away and away….
Love and Gratitude
Annie
Paolo is so good story and tell us all that through your books, I commented a full verse of my humble authorship:
What a beautiful life
How beautiful love
Chimeras of life
Chimeras of the heart
In truth I tell you brother
Will not understand the reason
If we are born or die
It is but an illusion
When we see the ephemeral
How the hard time
It takes away the emotion
That alone gives understanding
Demonstrate how grapes
The warm flavor on their network
In his long and tenacious maturation
So I tell you brother
Never look with concern
As time takes away
Like life gives us no reason
When time grant you the understanding
You will see with sad nostalgia
Life is a chimera, and we step
it is this judgement only that makes us see evil in people and without this every person is as good as god and dis judgment demarcates people from god……………
los seres humanos somos rapidos para reconocer el punto negro de los demas en un lienzo blanco pero que lentos somos para ver el punto blanco en un lienzo negro
Tricky one, I have judged and been judged so know how it feels, espically when been misjudged,…… so I ask myself how many times have I misjudged… Ho God please forgive me.
← Previous Comments
Next Comments →