Those who place their trust in Allah and those who do not, resemble the two men in this story:

One time, two men loaded heavy burdens onto both their backs and heads, and buying tickets, boarded a large ship. As soon as they boarded it, one of them left his load on the deck. The other, however, since he was both stupid and arrogant, did not put down his load on the deck. When he was told: “Leave that heavy load on the deck and be comfortable,” he replied:

“No, I won’t put it down, it might get lost. I am strong, I’ll guard my property by carrying it on my head and back.” He was told again:

“This reliable royal ship which is carrying you and us is stronger, it can protect it better than you. You may get dizzy and fall into the sea together with your load. Anyway you will gradually lose your strength, and by degrees those loads will get heavier and your bent back and brainless head will not have the power to bear them. And if the captain sees you in this state, he will either say that you are crazy and expel you from the ship, or he will think you are ungrateful, accusing our ship, and he will order you to be thrown into prison. Also you are making a fool of yourself in front of everyone. You made yourself a laughingstock in the eyes of the people. Everyone’s laughing at you.”

Unfortunate man came to his senses. He put down his load on the deck and sat on it. He said to the other: “Ah! May Allah be pleased with you. I’ve been saved from that difficulty, from prison, and from making a fool of myself.”

What to learn from this story:

1.Belief is both light and strength. Yes, one who acquires true belief may challenge the whole universe and be saved from the pressure of events in accordance with the strength of his belief.

2. By saying, “I place my trust in Allah,” he travels through the mountainous waves of events in the ship of life in complete safety. He entrusts all his burdens to the hand of power of the Absolutely Powerful One (Qadir Mutlaq).

3. He voyages through the world in ease. Later, he may fly up to paradise in order to enter eternal happiness. Otherwise, if he does not rely on Allah, rather than flying, the burdens of the world will drag him down to the lowest of the low.

4. Belief necessitates affirmation of Divine Unity, affirmation of Divine Unity necessitates submission to Allah, submission to Allah necessitates reliance on Allah, and reliance on Allah necessarily leads to happiness in this world and the next.

5. Reliance on Allah is not to reject causes altogether; it is rather to know that causes are a veil to the hand of power and have recourse to them. Knowing that attempting causes is a sort of active prayer, it is to seek the effects only from Almighty Allah.

6. He recognizes that the results are from Him alone, and to be thankful to Him.Source: 23rd Word, Words Risale-i Nur Collection ?>