The Shaykh Who didn't Forget

One of the pitfalls of knowledge that is acquired is that it can be forgotten. The Ahlul Bayt (a) were aware of this and guided us with a number of strategies on how we can avoid this pitfall. One of these strategies is to act upon what you know, which leads to the knowledge we learn becoming entrenched within our being.

The late Ayatullah Behjat (qs) was heard narrating the following story about the legendary Shaykh Ansari (may Allah sanctify his soul) a number of times. When the Shaykh was nearing his departure from this world, his near relatives who were gathered around his bedside began to rotate the bed so that his feet were facing the Qiblah, which is a mustahab act according to Islamic law. They saw however that whenever they tried to do so, he would roll himself away from the Qiblah. When he saw their surprise, he assured them that indeed they were performing their responsibility according to the Law and they should continue to do so. But he knew his responsibility as well and was acting upon it. It turned out that in this late stage of his life, he was affected with a bladder condition, and it is prohibited to relieve oneself when facing the Qiblah.

There are many who in less dire circumstances who would be unwilling to act on what they know or temporarily forget about the responsibility they have to act upon. Yet after a lifetime of learning and acting upon the responsibilities of a slave of Allah (swt), the Shaykh wasn't about to forget what he knew at his death.

Narrated by a teacher of the Hawzah in a weekly dars-e-akhlaq, September 22, 2010