Short Stories of the Martyrs: The Olive Tree Branch and Ali.
“Do not let the remembrance of the Martyr’s be forgotten.”
يَوْمَئِذٍ يَصْدُرُ النَّاسُ أَشْتَاتًا لِّيُرَوْا أَعْمَالَهُمْ فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍOn that Day people will proceed in groups to be shown the consequences of their deeds,
So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it,
And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.- Quran, Surah al-Zalzalah (the Chapter of the Earthquake) #99, Verses 6 to 8
The Story of the Olive Branch and Ali
One summers day, we were picking wild thyme in Wadi Tura. While Ali was descending from one hill to another, he reached for an olive branch to help him climb down, but in the process it broke in his hand and he fell to the ground
We continued on our journey, when we returned, he asked me about the owner of the land. I told him, I don't know, why are you asking. He said, I want to ask for his forgiveness for the olive branch that I broke. I laughed at his answer and said, It’s not worth it, or worth your worry Ali
He said, By God, I don't want to be asked about it on the Day of Judgment
He continued to ask about the owner of the land for a lengthly period of time in the neighbourhood until he finally found him and asked for his forgiveness
When I later asked him about the owner's reaction, he said with his usual smile, I don't know why he was surprised and didn't believe me. He thought I had uprooted the entire tree and was asking for forgiveness for a piece of it. The last thing he said was, You have no place between us, my friend - you don’t belong amongst us in this world, your place is elsewhere for sure amongst the truthful and joyous
I laughed at the situation and said, I told you, it's not worth worrying about
He said, Brother, everything we do in this life be it an atom of good or an atom of bad we will be held to account regarding, and I'm afraid of the Day when all will be revealed whether concealed in this life or revealed, it’s best I’m held to account in this life and pay the price of my actions then in the everlasting hereafter
I later on found out that the owner of the land had indeed embraced Islam after encountering this truthful Martyr