Water Instead of Blood

Water Instead of Blood to bring water, and you even missed your three-wheeler.” Afzal replied, “Please don’t embarrass me. The real fault in this matter was mine, and bringing the water was my duty, which I have fulfilled.” The man who, at the beginning of the incident, had been blaming the other, in the end admitted his own fault, felt ashamed, and began asking for forgiveness. At the time this occurred, there was severe communal tension in the Jogeshwari area of Bombay, about fifteen kilometers from Kurla. Under those circumstances, if Afzal had responded to provocation with more provocation, the outcome could have been what has happened in many similar situations elsewhere: communal unrest, with loss of life and property. It could have been that instead of reaching home, Afzal, God forbid, would have been taken to the hospital, and Hindu-Muslim rioting in the area could have destroyed hundreds of families. After telling the story, Afzal said: at that moment, I remembered the teachings of Al-Risala. It was the mindset Al-Risala had given me that kept me from becoming inflamed at the moment of provocation and, as a result, saved me from a terrible outcome. The glass of water I brought prevented hundreds of people from reaching that ghastly end where blood would be spilled on the streets. Words can act like fire or like ice: some words can stoke a man’s anger into a furnace, while others can cool his blazing temper. It is up to the speaker which of the two he chooses.