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Every story carries within it many lessons and benefits, and we cannot just stop at reading, but we must benefit from the benefits within it and keep it in the depths of our souls as long as we live, because every story carries the essence of other people’s experiences.
It is rare to find a story from the good old days that is devoid of a moral behind it. All you have to do is choose what you read very carefully and act on it.
The story behind the famous saying (Who can fix the salt when the salt has gone bad):
Behind this saying is a very beautiful and wonderful story, a story that you will remember for as long as you live and create the opportunity to mention it in all your gatherings, a story with a very beautiful and wonderful meaning, a beautiful story from a series of long stories…
It is said that one day a man married a girl from the same tribe, who was of good character, manners, religion, and precious beauty. They lived in the same village and lived a quiet, happy life, free from blemish. They were still happy with their closeness, and nothing spoiled their good life and bliss except when a dispute arose between the husband’s family and another family in the same village. The result of the terrible dispute was the death of a man from the other family, and a sentence of exile was issued against the husband. He had no other choice but to leave his village, so he took his wife and they left for another distant village. He chose it carefully, making sure that it would be as far from eyes and tongues as it was from their village, and perhaps even more so.
In the new village, the man quickly integrated with its people, and it became normal for everyone to see him constantly in the village sheikh’s council, where the men, especially the elite, would gather to chat and consult with each other. The man himself was known for his high status, morals, and sound mind; he was greatly respected and revered by everyone around him, and happiness touched his heart once again, but he did not know at the time that something else awaited him!
The sheikh of the new village had influence and authority, and was loved and respected by the people around him. One day, while he was passing by the man’s house, he saw his wife from afar and was captivated by her extraordinary beauty. At that moment, evil thoughts crept into his mind, which he followed with a heinous act. He began planning and preparing to be alone with her and achieve his goal. He sent her husband with some men on a very important mission. He sent them to verify the existence of a beautiful, distant piece of land that was said to be green and suitable for farming and grazing sheep. It was a distance of three days to go and three days to return.
The man did not refuse the village sheikh’s request, so he set out on the journey, unaware of what was being planned and hatched behind his back, and that there were those who stayed up at night plotting to ensnare him and his wife. On the same night that the man set out, the village sheikh snuck into his house, taking advantage of his absence. Before he reached his wife, he bumped into something and made a painful sound, so the wife woke up from her sleep and shouted at the top of her voice: “Who’s home?!”
The village elder answered her in a low voice: “I am the elder of the Arabs. Your beauty amazed me the one time I saw you. You stole my mind and heart, and all I want in this life is to be close to you and to be in touch with you.”
The wife did not seem afraid, she immediately replied to him with firmness and intelligence, saying: “I do not mind, but on one condition, which is that you solve this riddle for me. O Sheikh of the Arabs, we put salt on meat to keep it from spoiling, so what do we do if the salt itself spoils? You can ask for help from whomever you want, and if you come to me with the solution, I will be as you wish.”
He was confused and thought hard, but he replied to her, saying: “Okay, give me until tomorrow and I will bring you the solution.”
The village elder spent the whole night thinking of a solution to the riddle, but to no avail. The next morning, he gathered the wisest and most intelligent men of the village in a council and presented them with the riddle. Despite the time they spent thinking, they still could not find a solution, and even when they tried, they could not offer convincing solutions that would be acceptable to the mind!
There was a wise man in the council who remained silent throughout the council and kept watching the village elder’s speech. After the council held by the village elder ended and the men dispersed from around him, the wise man approached him and asked him calmly: “Who told you this riddle?!”
The Sheikh became confused and his insistence on holding on was clear on his features. He said: “But you did not find a solution for it!”
The wise man said: “I preferred to talk to you in private. The origin of the riddle is a line of poetry, and Abu Sufyan al-Thawri said it. The line of poetry is (O men of knowledge, O salt of the land.. Who can fix the salt if the salt has spoiled?)”
The wise man smiled slightly and said to the village elder: “The one who asked the riddle is a person who seeks your protection but you let him down. He is a person of religion, knowledge and excellent morals. He cannot answer your request because his morals and religion prevent him. The riddle is nothing but a reminder to you that you are the protector and reference of the tribe. But who protects the tribe if the protector himself becomes corrupt?!”
All this while the village elder listened intently and did not blink an eye, so the wise man added, saying: “And if my suspicion is not mistaken, you have approached a woman of high status, intelligence, religion, knowledge, and noble morals, and she wanted to repel you from her and not disgrace you. She wanted to gain you as a brother to her and not lose you and thus increase her enemies and the enemies of her people with your status and standing. She wanted to protect her husband whether he was absent or present, so she said to you what she said, as if she wanted to say to you and to everyone who heard you.. O men of the Arabs, O salt of the land.. Who can fix the salt if the salt has spoiled?!”
She means that if a man from the tribe spoils himself, the tribal sheikh will fix him, just as salt fixes meat. But who fixes the tribal sheikh if the sheikh himself spoils himself?!”
The wise man's words were enough to wake up the village elder and awaken his sleeping heart. He was ashamed of his heinous act and said to the wise man: “You were right in every word you said, O venerable one. Cover up my act and God will cover you in this world and the hereafter.”
The Sheikh changed his mind and came to his senses, and decided to return as a just Sheikh among his people.
Read more long stories in their distinctive series through:
Long stories titled Journey from marriage to separation!
Also/ long stories entitled: Is the reward for goodness anything but goodness?
Long stories titled love in its highest forms
