The Food of Paradise

By Ibn Amjed
Mullah Ibrahim, a seminary teacher, was meditating and feeling sorry for himself as he found his
work thankless and ill-paid.
He asked himself, "Why is it a holy man must work hard teaching blockheads, while
others who have no earnings through pious work can eat lavishly even without working?
He then asked Allah, "O compassionate One, isn't it unjust for your servant to feel
burdened? Didn't you promise in the Koran that no one will starve?"
Ibrahim the Wise, as men called him, left his job and lived in the City of Baghdad for
many years. He selected a comfortable spot under a cypress tree by the riverbank and fell
asleep waiting for Allah's bounty.
Ibrahim woke up in holy silence and wondered how to feed himself. Would the birds and
fishes help and appease his hunger? He then added that Allah must have helped those
deserving through a miracle - like a pasha might sail down the river and supply his wants.
But days have passed, and still no miracle came. Ibrahim only received a greeting from
the pashas that sailed past him and got ignored by the travelers. As he was at his peak of
hunger, he recalled with envy how the mullahs would have enjoyed the food at the seminary.
But he did not lose hope and prayed earnestly.
The next day, he woke up too faint to stand from hunger. But then he saw something
floating and went to the water, thinking it must be food. He opened it, and a delicious halwa
was inside.
He then drank from the river after he fed himself. He rested as he was assured that his
prayers had been answered. The food was good for three meals, and each day after prayer, a
pack of halwa came down the river as though given by the angels.
Months passed, and he started to wonder where does his food came from. Curiously, he
went on a journey upstream, hoping he might see a miracle if he would begin to trace it.
He continued this for days, fixing his eyes close to the riverbank to not miss the halwa,
but it only floated regularly every day, just within his reach.
On the fourth day, Ibrahim discovers a beautiful white marble castle with green lawns
and a golden sand shore on an island surrounded by a meadow, gardens, and blue mountains.
He met a hermit and narrated to him the castle's history as they got acquainted.
 "A dead pasha built a silver castle for a princess, whom he fell in love with, whose love
was forbidden by her father. He cast dark, strong magic spells, then abducted and married her.
The king pursued them but forced to give up due to the strong magic."
He asked, "Does the princess still live there?".
The hermit replied, "No, both the Princess and her husband died, but they had a daughter who
took care of the castle. But regardless of her beauty and wealth, she was lonely because she
cannot cast the spells her pasha father did.
Ibrahim thanked the hermit, who left to pilgrimage to Baghdad.
The next day, while at the riverbank, he saw the Princess throw something into the river.
He checked it and saw it was the halwa he had been receiving daily.
As Ibrahim devoured his meal, he said, "Now I know that Allah has deemed I shall be fed
daily. Shouldn't I help the Princess to cast spells that kept her for being free?
Ibrahim, who has knowledge of the magical art, cast himself into a trance. As his spirit
walk into the Land of the Jinns, he met Adhem, who promised to help him break the spell.
First, with Adhem's helped, he tore down the invisible web hanged around the castle.
Inside the castle, Adhem and the host of Jinns dueled against the giant, who fledd, leaving the
castle free at last.
Then, an old guard guided him into a hall as he tried to see the Princess. Then he knelt
and told his tale before her.
"And what do you ask in return for your service?" asked the Princess. "Speak, and it shall
be granted to you, even the half of my inheritance.
"Nay, noble lady", he exclaimed. The halwa you fed me daily is enough reason to be grateful to
you. Surely an angel must have put it in your hands to throw it away.
The Princess blushed so deeply, crying, "Allas, good mullah! Curse from the day I threw
that halwa. Know that those halwa came from my morning ritual, involving taking milk bath,
anointing and rubbing limbs with almond, sugar, and sweet cosmetics, then wrapping in leaves
and throwing them into a river.
"Ah, now, Princess, I see who has been blind," cried Ibrahim. "Surely, Allah gives food to
everyone, but its quality and kind are dictated by what man deserves."