Pir-E-Kamil: The Perfect Mentor (63 page)

Without a word Salar stood up. He looked at the doors of the Khana-e-Kaaba. He had indeed been blessed with one of the most righteous and wonderful women created, for a wife—the woman for whom he had prayed, fervently, for nine years that he may find again. Was there any blessing that he had not been given by God? As she stood with him, he realized what an enormous responsibility he had been given: to provide for this woman—this woman who in her goodness and piety was far ahead of him.

Imama stood up. Salar too got up and held her hand. They were ready to leave. He had been given the responsibility to protect this woman who, unlike him, had made a conscious choice to avoid a life of transgression and sin. Who, despite her physical and emotional frailties, unlike him, did not allow the desires of the self to overcome her body and soul. Holding her hand and slowly moving through the crowds, Salar, for the first time in his life, comprehended the meaning of piety and virtue. She was a few feet behind him as they made their way through the crowds milling around this holy site. It was as if he was watching his whole life roll by as if on a screen and he felt a tremendous fear within himself. Despite a life of sin and wrongdoings, he had only seen the blessings of Allah and yet no one was more afraid of His displeasure as he was now. He whose IQ level was 150+; he who had been blessed with a photographic memory had now realized that even with these gifts one could completely be stumbling in the dark. He too had stumbled, many times...and in many ways...and his inherent skills had then been of no use to him—not his high IQ; not his photographic memory. This woman walking next to him had neither of these two advantages. Instead she had in her palm a tiny firefly of guidance, and in the burst of its light, she had made her way through every dark alley of life without ever stumbling.

THE END