In not so ancient times, a famous alim lived in Botlikh. He had many followers and mutalim who spread the glory of his wisdom throughout Dagestan. Among the many diligent and obedient mutalim there was one daring scoffer, whose tricks did not give the alim peace. Instead of teaching the Koran, the mutalim made the villagers laugh with anecdotes about the greed of the mullah, the treachery of the dibir and the injustice of the qadi.
Finally, the Alim decided to get rid of the scoffer and told him:
“I don’t want to tolerate your tricks anymore.” Take my donkey, as well as everything you need, and leave our land, otherwise, I swear by Allah, you will not be happy.
Mutalim didn’t want to leave cheerful Botlikh, but nothing could be done - he had to.
He saddled the donkey, loaded it with supplies that the alim gave him, and set off on a long journey.
He walked long, he walked short, he walked during the day and he walked at night. He walked until his exhausted donkey fell on one of the high passes.
He buried the donkey and sat down near the grave, thinking about his bitter fate.
A traveler passed by. He saw the saddened mutalim and asked:
“Tell me, good man, what misfortune happened to you?” And whose freshly dug grave is this? Judging by your deep sadness, some holy person is buried here.
“The Botlikh sheikh himself is buried here,” answered the muta-
lim, who knew how to joke even in difficult moments. “It’s true that he is from Botlikh, and he was very learned, this my... donkey,” Mutalim wanted to say, but, having caught himself, he corrected himself, “sheikh.”
“This is a very great loss for us,” said the pious traveler. “Take these two abbasis, and pray for my soul at the grave of the holy sheikh.”
This road was busy; travelers and entire caravans often passed along it. Many of them, having heard about the death of the Botlikh sheikh, contributed to the charitable cause. And the mutalim liked the role of the murid of the new saint so much that, without waiting for questions, he himself extorted donations from the travelers in favor of the sheikh and his murids. There were many simpletons, and the mutalim quickly became rich.
Mutalim built a chapel on the grave, surrounded himself with disciples, and this grave became a place of worship for many believers.
Now let’s return to Botlikh to the alim who expelled the disobedient student. He heard that a new holy place had appeared and decided to make a pilgrimage there and atone for his sins, of which he had accumulated many.
He reached the sanctuary and saw: there was a chapel, a manor nearby, and all around there were cultivated fields and fat flocks of sheep.
- This is a well-organized holy task! - the alim exclaimed and entered the chapel.
- Salaam alaikum, true believer! - he greeted a venerable-looking man who, sitting on the carpet, leafed through the Koran.
“Vaaleikum assalam, O traveler,” came the answer, and the man raised his eyes.
Imagine the amazement of the Botlikh alim when he recognized him as his most careless mutalim-blasphemer.
- So it’s you who runs the excellent housekeeping here? Come on, tell me the whole truth! - Alim exclaimed.
The new murid was afraid that the old rogue had somehow already found out about his affairs, and told the whole truth.
“Hm,” answered his former teacher. “You say you’re an ass!” So, in the grave of the sheikh whom I worship, a donkey is also buried - the grandfather of your donkey. We will continue our profitable business.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru