(266) “Would any of you wish to have a garden of date palms and grapevines, beneath which rivers flow, and in which he has every kind of fruit; then old age overtakes him while he has weak offspring, and a fiery whirlwind strikes the garden and burns it up? Thus Allah makes the signs clear to you so that you may reflect.”
This parable is set forth for one who performs a deed for the sake of Allah Most High—whether charity or something else—but then commits deeds that ruin it. His likeness is that of the owner of this garden, which contains every kind of fruit. Date palms and grapevines are singled out because of their excellence and many benefits, as they provide food, nourishment, fruit, and sweets. This garden has within it (1) flowing rivers that irrigate it without effort. Its owner delighted in it, and it brought him joy. Then old age overtook him, leaving him too weak to work and more dependent upon it. He also had weak offspring, none of whom could assist him; rather, they were all dependent upon him. Both his own maintenance and theirs came from that garden.
While he was in this condition, a whirlwind struck the garden—a powerful wind that spins and then rises into the air. The whirlwind contained fire, and the garden was burned up. Do not ask what anguish, distress, and grief befell that elderly man! If grief could kill a person, his grief would have killed him.
Likewise, when a person performs a deed for the sake of Allah, his deeds are like seeds sown for crops and fruit. He continues in this manner until his deeds have produced for him a garden of the utmost beauty and splendor. The things that ruin deeds are like a whirlwind containing fire. A servant is most in need of his deeds when he dies and enters a state in which he can no longer act. Yet he finds the deed whose benefit he had hoped for reduced to scattered dust, and he finds Allah there, who settles his account in full.
Allah is swift in reckoning. If a person knew and fully pictured this condition, and possessed even the slightest trace of reason, he would never undertake anything that would bring him harm and ultimate regret. Yet weakness of faith and reason, together with a lack of insight, brings a person to this condition—conduct that would be appalling and fraught with immense danger even if it proceeded from a madman devoid of reason. For this reason, the Exalted commands reflection ⦗115⦘ and urges it, saying: “Thus Allah makes the signs clear to you so that you may reflect.”