There was a man in the mosque of Sinjar who would call the adhan (the call to prayer) voluntarily, but in such a way that the listeners were repelled by him. The caretaker of the mosque was a just and kind-hearted ruler who didn’t want to hurt the man’s feelings. So he said, “Oh kind man! This mosque already has long-established muezzins, each of whom receives five dinars. I’ll give you ten dinars if you agree to go somewhere else.”
They agreed to this, and the man left. After some time, the man passed by the ruler again and said, “Oh lord! You wronged me by driving me away from that place for ten dinars, because where I have gone now, they offer me twenty dinars to leave, and yet I do not accept!”
The ruler burst out laughing and said, “Beware not to accept it, for they’ll soon offer you fifty!”
No one carves flowers out of hard stone
As harshly as your loud voice carves into hearts.
