The Difference Between Those Who Plant Grains of Rice and Gold in Struggle, and the Counsel of Prophet Khidr AS in Facing the Coming Plague

 

29 January 2026

“The Difference Between Those Who Plant Grains of Rice and Gold in Struggle, and the Counsel of Prophet Khidr AS in Facing the Coming Plague.”

He said:

“O Ahmad, there is no time that I fear more than a time when people feel strong and self-righteous as they do in this age. Indeed, your noble grandfather Muhammad SAW had informed me of this long ago. You must hasten to carry out His command (as he pointed upwards) to establish structures that will suffice your followers within their own homes. There is no weakness nor exhaustion in striving in the path of Allah without His help. Are they waiting for the sky to turn dark in broad daylight?

 

O Ahmad, truly I know the contents of the letter that your noble grandfather wrote for you. I ask nothing of you except that you understand the meaning of the letter you have read. None among your followers truly comprehend it except those who hold good expectations regarding your hair and your body. Let them keep it confidential, as you yourself wish.

 

O Ahmad, indeed they are like companions who quarrel merely over the beauty of several women whom they raised from childhood until adulthood. Then they become driven by desire and greed, each wanting those women to belong to them. That is a parable for nations waging war upon the lands of the Prophets. They are like a great, long serpent biting its own tail until it perishes. Truly, behind their plans lies a decree that Allah has already set upon them. What will occur is that Allah will grant victory to those who transgress, then the punishment of Allah will come upon the arrogant nation through that very victory. Say, O Ahmad: Allah does not leave them free to humiliate and degrade the true religion. They imagine that through the defeat of nations whose populations are largely Muslim, they may act as they please without consequence from Allah, the Exalted and Majestic. Indeed, Allah does not allow them to drown in arrogance and greed upon those lands beyond a time that has already been determined. What Allah inflicts upon those nations will cause them to believe that the age of darkness and destruction has arrived.

 

O Ahmad, you must journey towards Qaf. Take the water you will use for purification, and I shall inform you of the time when you will once again strike your staff with your hand. At that time, a day will come when daylight turns dark and the sun is covered by a black moon for a short while. This shall be a sign of the destruction of the great vessel in your land and the downfall of those who insulted the wives and companions of your noble grandfather Muhammad SAW. Is it not within the letter I recited to you the story of the destruction of the arrogant people, of lands that became dry, of others crushed by mountains, of a wronged nation becoming strong, and of a tranquil land shaking violently until some of its people perished? Such is the way Allah demonstrates His power over the world—upon those who transgress—until they are returned to manifest poverty. Let them repent and use their intellect.

 

O Ahmad, there is no obligation of zakat upon those who are in debt while striving in the path of Allah. They are considered poor under the law of Shariah when their debt is not for personal pleasure but to save themselves and their families from poverty. Truly, after they walk alongside you, Allah will clearly show His mercy to both of them. Let them practise what you have taught them. Let them be patient and submit to what has been decreed for them, which I have already conveyed to you. Indeed, Allah does not love servants who are lazy and who delay their efforts in seeking provision and livelihood.

 

O Ahmad, within every grain of rice there are twenty-three stalks, and from every stalk come a hundred grains, and from each grain will emerge a new shoot to replace what has been harvested. It is better for them to plant this in the yards of their homes, so that the land beneath their feet becomes tranquil and they safeguard themselves and their families from hunger. Has Allah not placed clear superiority within seeds, through their differences and the strength of their growth? Allah alone causes them to grow, and Allah alone grants strength and fertility to their lands. Let them be grateful.

 

O Ahmad, those who plant grains of rice upon their land are not equal to those who plant grains of gold upon their land. This is a parable of people who are patient and steadfast in struggle compared to those who are greedy and foolish. Whoever plants goodness upon your vessel and becomes sincere in it is like one who plants rice seeds that grow abundantly upon fertile fields. Let those who strive alongside you be patient.

 

O Ahmad, establish three commercial buildings in three regions of your land, as I have taught you. Indeed, this will lighten your burden in managing the trade together with your wife and several followers who are bound by a business covenant with you. Truly fortunate are those who assist you in establishing these buildings in the three locations I have shown you, and truly wretched are those who neglect this. In the past month of Safar, I had already informed you: it is not burdensome to erect a great iron pillar when done collectively, nor is it a loss if they once again assist you in your journey and trade.

 

O Ahmad, leave your home after the ‘Asr prayer, and strengthen both your day and yourself in carrying out the command and in teaching those followers who accompany you. Indeed, this is more virtuous than delaying it.

 

O Ahmad, truly I inform you: there is no confusion nor fear in ‘Illiyyin. Even your companion who has passed away is already upon the steps leading towards that beautiful and honoured abode. Pay attention to his orphans, and safeguard the future of all the children of your followers by striving to build what you are currently undertaking. Be firm with the leaders upon your vessel, so that they advise that spending in charity for the future of their descendants is more virtuous than prostrating for a thousand years upon prayer mats in their homes. Have they not read your testament? That you, your wives, and your descendants until the Day of Judgement have been forbidden by Allah from consuming zakat and the wealth of the public treasury within your vessel? Then why do some of them still question the wealth within it? By Allah, in whose power Khidr stands, I—Balya bin Malkan—bear witness to your steadfastness in enduring hunger and hardship, even though the wealth of the public treasury is under your authority. I bear witness to your patience and to the patience of your noble grandfather Muhammad, who refrained from the wealth of the ummah even while hungry, though dates as high as mountains were within reach of his noble lips and yours alike—yet he consumed none of it, instead giving it to the poor and to those entitled to it. Let them be grateful. Is not your wife a witness that not even a single dinar from trade has ever been consumed by you? Truly, I and your wife shall bear witness on the Day of Reckoning.

 

O Ahmad, there is no permission from Allah for the medicine entrusted to you to be given unless those who seek it bind themselves with a firm covenant and profess the shahadah before you. They must remain close to you for twelve days. Then allow them to choose whether to return to their homes or remain with you. Do not reject the repentance of the people of Sadum afflicted by that illness. Indeed, Allah is Most Forgiving and Most Merciful to all His sinful servants.

 

O Ahmad, let your followers safeguard their health. Let them not sleep after dawn. Let them take sweetness from dates and avoid the sweetness of refined sugar. Let them avoid foods made from ingredients they do not recognise. Let them maintain personal cleanliness. Let them consume three pieces of turmeric and garlic, or drink them, morning and evening. This will protect them from the epidemic that is to come. Allah will not allow that epidemic to reach your followers except a very few, so that they may learn patience and guard themselves against heedlessness.”

 

— Ahmad F. Bin Abdullah A. Syams