Should you find entertainment by pranking other people?

Should you find entertainment by pranking other people?

It is said that a Shaykh was walking with one of his students in a park. Suddenly, the two of them saw a pair of tattered shoes lying on the corner of the street. After looking around, no one was found there.

They believed they were the shoes of the gardener, who was finishing his work in the garden. Instantly, the disciple who was already very familiar with his Shaykh said:

“How about we make fun of this gardener by hiding his shoes, then we hide behind a tree? Later when he comes back, we'll see how the gardener's expression is shocked!”

The proposal that came suddenly from the student was not necessarily approved by the sheikh, from the student's perspective. But the Master replied:

"Ananda, it is not proper for us to entertain ourselves by laughing at small people. You can just add to the happiness for him. Try putting a few bills in his shoe, and then you'll see how the gardener responds."

The student was amazed and immediately agreed with the teacher's better proposal. He immediately put a few bills into the gardener's shoe. After that, the two of them chose to hide behind the bushes while peeking at what would happen. Not long after, the gardener came, shaking the dust off his clothes. When he put his feet in his shoes, he was shocked. There's something in it. Turns out it was money. He checked the other shoe, which also contained several banknotes. He looked around the garden again and again. His mind is hard to believe in this miracle.

He turned his gaze in all directions once more, but there was no one there. Then he put the money in his pocket. Kneeling and weeping, he shouted, as if speaking to the Lord above, “I thank You, O God. O All-Knowing, my wife is sick and my children are starving. They haven't got their food rations today. You have saved them, O Allah."

He continued to cry for a long time while looking up at the sky and looking up as an expression of his gratitude for this immeasurable blessing. A few moments later, the gardener came home with tears of emotion that continued to melt while humming verses of gratitude.

While behind the bushes, the disciple was deeply moved by the sight he saw behind his hiding place. Her tears flowed into rivers, between emotion and joy beyond measure.

The Shaykh then said quietly, "Don't you feel happier now than the plan to hide his shoes?"

The disciple replied, “Now I understand the meaning of your teachings that you once taught us, Shaykh. That when we give, we will get more happiness than when we get something."

Friends, how often do we experience similar cases. And the majority of us have tendencies like the wishes of the disciple. We want to simply seek entertainment or humor for a moment. Playing and even tyrannizing weak people, whether consciously or not. It's better to give something to a small person by working on it first. Yet we are able to do otherwise, bring a bright smile on their faces. This virus has even spread to school children. Excessive pranking of friends, laughing at friends who have fallen, mocking if a friend gets punished, or bullying together are some of the real things we find in the association of school children today.

As a scale against how we should treat others is to imagine if the person who is treated this way is who we are. When we cheat or play tricks on others, let's take a moment to imagine if other people treat us that way. When we want to find entertainment or jokes by demeaning others, let's understand if we are in that position. Conscience is size. He will honestly assess and respond to the situation. However, if the conscience is left too long, never used, not sharpened to be sensitive, or left cloudy and even dirty, then it is feared that it will be covered little by little. When the conscience is polluted, this is a real disaster.

Khoiruddin Bashori once said, “Great people always want to raise other people. Little people just want to raise themselves up.” A person's personality can be measured by how we treat others. When we are determined to do the maximum for others, then at the same time, the universe will return the energy that we have expended.

There is nothing in vain by sharing happiness with others. There is nothing to be sorry for by being kind to anyone. Instead, we need to be sad when we treat others inappropriately. Especially if the reason for the action is only because of an assessment based on work or social status. Underestimating just because the person works as a gardener or a parking attendant. It could be that later on, the gardener or parking attendant who we despise, will first enter heaven thanks to his closeness to God, clarity of heart, or also a more independent mentality. Wallahu a'lam bishwab.