The Greedy Merchant and the Wondrous Well

Once upon a time, in an old city on the caravan route, there was a merchant named Jabir. He had a small spice shop where he sold pepper, cinnamon and saffron. His earnings were enough for him and his family, but he was never satisfied. He would look at the palaces of the rich and say, "When will I become the richest of all?"

His wife was a wise woman who used to tell him, "Jabir, praise Allah for what you have. Contentment is a treasure that never runs out." And he would say, "The real treasure is gold!"

One day Jabir set out with a caravan to buy spices. A fierce sandstorm blew up; he lost his way and became separated from the caravan. He walked through the desert until he was terribly thirsty.

At sunset he saw a lone palm tree with an old stone well beneath it. He ran to it, lowered the bucket and drank until he was no longer thirsty. Then he lowered the bucket again, and when he pulled it up he found a shining gold dinar at the bottom!

Jabir was amazed. He lowered the bucket a third time and found only water. And on the stone of the well he saw words carved: "Whoever drinks from me, I will give him a dinar every day. Whoever is content, good will last for him; whoever is greedy will lose everything."

So Jabir pitched a small tent near the well. Every morning he lowered the bucket, and one dinar came up with it. In a week he had gathered seven dinars, and in a month thirty. He went back to his family with the news, and his wife said, "This is a great provision from Allah. Let's take our dinar each day, thank Allah, and give some of it to the poor."

But Jabir said to himself, "One dinar a day? That's too little! There must be a great treasure of gold at the bottom of the well. Why wait for years when I can take it all today?"

So Jabir forgot the carved words. He hired workmen, took pickaxes and ropes, and went to the well. He told the workmen, "Dig! Dig until you reach the treasure!"

The workmen dug for one day, two days, three. The deeper they dug, the less water there was, and no gold appeared. Jabir paid the workmen all the dinars he had collected, and then sold some of his goods to pay them more.

On the seventh day, one of the workmen struck the big rock at the bottom of the well, and there was a tremendous noise: crash! The walls of the well collapsed and it filled with sand, and the water dried up. The workmen barely got out safely, and the lone palm tree withered.

Jabir sat down on the sand, put his head in his hands and wept. He had lost the well, lost the dinars, and lost part of his shop. And he remembered the words: "Whoever is greedy will lose everything."

Jabir went home sad and ashamed and told his wife what had happened. She didn't blame him. Instead she said, "Alhamdulillah that you and the workmen are safe. Money comes back, but the lesson stays."

In the morning Jabir opened his little shop as he used to before. But this time he smiled at his customers, praised Allah for every coin he earned, and gave to the poor from what he had. People came to love him, his customers grew in number, and Allah blessed his trade little by little.

One day a man came to his shop and said, "Jabir, I have a map to a great treasure in the mountains. I'll sell it to you for a hundred dinars!" Jabir smiled and said, "Thank you, brother. My treasure is here in my shop, in my home, and in my Lord's pleasure." And the man went off to look for some other greedy person.

Years later, Jabir's shop became one of the best known in the city. He didn't become the richest of all, but he became one of the happiest. And whenever he saw his little son wanting to take more than his share, he told him the story of the wondrous well.

He always ended the story by saying, "My son, a dinar that comes to you every day with blessing is better than a treasure you chase with greed and lose. True wealth is the wealth of the soul."