Sultan Mahmoud ordered his ministers to crush a prized pearl from his treasury to test their loyalty, but all 65 ministers declined, saying the pearl was too valuable. The Sultan then ordered his most trusted courtier, Ayaaz, who immediately crushed the pearl without hesitation. When asked his reason, Ayaaz responded that obeying the Sultan's decree was more important than the pearl. Similarly, obeying Allah's commands is more important than fulfilling our desires, which should not come at the cost of breaking God's decrees. Through his obedience, Ayaaz gained closeness to the Sultan, and we can gain closeness to God through loyalty and submission to His decrees.

1. Source : Mathnawi of Jalaludin Rumi (ra) , The Story of Sultan Mahmoud

2. One day the Sultan decided to test his ministers
and ordered them to crush the most prized pearl
of his treasury.

3. One by one, each of 65 ministers declined,
stating that the pearl was far too valuable to be
destroyed.

4. The King then summoned his closest and trusted
courtier, Ayaaz, and ordered him to crush the
pearl. Without any delay or hesitation, Ayaaz
crushed the pearl into fragments.

5. The ministers expressed disbelief and shock at
such audacity, the King asked Ayaaz to inform
them as to the reason for him having broken
the pearl.

6. In response, Ayaaz asked these ministers:
‘Which is more important, the Royal Decree or the
pearl?’

7. The question we pose to ourselves is:
‘Which is more important, the command of
my Allah or the desire of my heart?’

8. The desires of the heart are akin to pearls, which
appear to be quite beautiful but we should not
fulfil these desires at the cost of breaking the
decrees of Allah.

9. Ayaaz attained closeness to the king through his
loyalty and faithfulness and his obedience and
submission.
Similarly, we will gain the extreme nearness and
intimate closeness to the King of Kings through
loyalty and faithfulness.
This in turn is dependent upon sincere obedience and
complete submission to His decrees.

10. Jazak Allah Khair for Viewing