Many poets and writers in the Urdu and Persian languages, such as Shaykh Sa'di رحمه الله and Maulana Rumi رحمه الله, have narrated incidents regarding Mahmud and Ayaz.
Mahmud was a king who conquered Somnat. He had a favourite amongst his servants by the name of Ahmad Ayaz.
Ayaz, as he was affectionately known, was a simple poor servant, but he possessed one outstanding quality: absolute obedience to his master. This earned him great honour and respect in the sight of Mahmud. [Pearls from the Path]
As often happens, a man who is close to the king is looked upon with contempt and malice by his enemies. Ayaz was no exception. Another servant, desirous of the king's favour, one day remarked, "Why does the king favour Ayaz? He is not as great as he is made out to be."
When the remark reached the king's ears, he was rightfully upset, but decided to be patient until a favourable opportunity presented itself. Soon thereafter, the king was on a journey when the conveyance he was travelling on fell to the ground together with all his valuables. He seized the opportunity and announced to his servants, "From these valuables, whatever you lay your hands upon will be yours." The servants began scrambling and grabbing whatever they could, except Ayaz, who remained at the king's side.
The king asked him, "Ayaz, why did you not leave my side and gather some of the valuables?"
Ayaz wisely replied, "O King, I was in your company. Why should I be so foolish as to leave your company for the riches of the world?"
The reply served as the perfect answer which the king used to silence Ayaz's malicious critics, saying, "This is why Ayaz is a favourite in my sight."[Pearls from the Path]
Just as Ayaz wisely preferred the king over his riches, a wise man prefers the love of Allah سبحانه و تعالى over worldly riches.
When Ayaz first arrived at the court of Mahmud, he possessed only a tattered shawl and an old piece of fur. After donning the clothing of the court, he kept his old clothing locked in a room. Everyday, he would enter the room by himself for a few moments and look at his old clothing, while addressing himself, "Ayaz, not long ago you arrived here with these tattered clothes, but today you are closely attached to the King. Never forget your origin. You enjoy the favours of the King in abundance, but don't ever become proud and boastful. Rather, be grateful that a person, who once dressed in tattered clothing, has won the favour of a great King and is the envy of all the courtiers and servants."
Slowly but surely the news of Ayaz and his daily seclusion in the room spread. His enemies could not bear to see a simple and poor man like Ayaz enjoying the King's favours. They began discussing the matter, "Why does he seclude himself and what has he got locked up in that room? Perhaps, he is stealing from the treasury and gathering it in there! The King should be alerted about this so that Ayaz's true colours are exposed."
After collectively agreeing to the idea they approached the King and explained, "Beloved King, Ayaz is a thief and a hypocrite. He does not have true love for you. We have proof that he is stealing from your treasury and gathering all the riches in a locked room."
The King did not entertain the slightest doubt in Ayaz's loyalty, but to silence them and prove Ayaz's honesty and sincerity he announced that Ayaz's room would be searched that night. Ayaz's enemies were overjoyed, "Finally, Ayaz shall be disgraced!" they thought.
That night, the lock to his room was broken and the investigating team began their search. But, they could find nothing, but a tattered shawl and an old piece of fur. They went to the extent of digging open the floor to check whether he had hidden anything in a secret vault. Finally, exhausted and disappointed, they presented themselves before the King, greatly embarrassed. They had no choice but to apologise for thinking evil of Ayaz.
The incident increased the King's affection for him and he asked, "Ayaz, why did you keep these old clothes locked in a room?"
Ayaz replied, "Beloved King, these clothes serve as a lesson for me. I look at them to remind myself that I am constantly enjoying the King's favours and gifts, but once I possessed nothing but a pair of tatter clothes."[Pearls from the Path]
One day, the King wanted to test his courtiers. He asked for a pearl to be brought from his treasury and placed it in the hands of his finance minister with the question, "How much is this worth?"
The minister replied, "It is extremely valuable. Its value is in excess of two hundred donkey-loads of gold."
Then the King instructed, "I command you to crush it."
The minister refused, saying, "I am your well-wisher and will never allow any harm to come to your treasury."
The King presented a small reward to the minister and then placed the pearl in the hands of another close courtier with the same instructions.
The courtier replied, "This pearl is worth half your kingdom. May Allah protect it! My hands could never crush such a valuable object. An act of this nature is defiance of your honour."
The King similarly rewarded him with a small gift and praised him.
Thereafter, the King made the same request to a total of sixty-five courtiers. Each of them responded in the same manner and received an award and a word of praise.
He then called for Ayaz and said, "All the courtiers have estimated the value of this pearl. How much do you think it is worth?"
Ayaz replied, "Dear King, the pearl is far more valuable than any price I attach to it."
"Crush it to pieces!" the King commanded.
Ayaz was a wise man and realised that the King was merely testing him. He immediately crushed it. As he did so, the court erupted with the courtiers' disapproval. They proclaimed, "Only a fool would so such a thing!"
Ayaz replied calmly, "My fellow courtiers! Is the pearl more valuable than the command of the King? You all had your sights focussed upon the pearl instead of the King. I would never divert my gaze from the King to the pearl. This would be a form of defiance because I would be disobeying the command of the King."
Just like Ayaz wisely gave preference to the King's command, so too shoulld one preferentially obey the commands of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى.
[Jawahir Pare, vol 2, pp 120-126; Pearls from the Path]
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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