It is reported that when plague spread in Syria, the king of Banu Umayyah, ‘Abdul Malik Bin Marwaan fled from the city on horse with some of his army and special servants out of fear of death. He was so afraid that he would not even place foot on the ground and would sleep on the back of the horse.
One night when he could not go to sleep, he asked his servant to tell him some story. The wise servant thought it was a good time to preach the king, so he narrated the following story:
A fox used to live in the company of a lion, for the security and protection of her life. Due to the fear of the lion, no animal could even look at the fox. The fox was living a very peaceful and fearless life with the lion. One day, all of a sudden, an eagle attacked the fox and the fox ran to the lion. The lion got the fox to sit on his back. The eagle attacked again and flew away grabbing it in its claws. The fox called out to the lion. The lion replied, ‘O fox! I can protect you against the beasts of the earth, but I cannot save you from the aerial enemy.’
Listening to this story, the king learnt a lesson. He understood that his army can protect him from the enemies on the earth, but the afflictions that descend from the sky cannot be prevented neither by his kingship, nor by his wealth or army. And only Allah can save him from the afflictions descending from the sky. So his heart became fearless of plague. He then resumed peaceful life in his royal palace.
(Iafseer Ruh-ul-Bayan, vol. 1, pp. 378; part 2, Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 244)
One night when he could not go to sleep, he asked his servant to tell him some story. The wise servant thought it was a good time to preach the king, so he narrated the following story:
A fox used to live in the company of a lion, for the security and protection of her life. Due to the fear of the lion, no animal could even look at the fox. The fox was living a very peaceful and fearless life with the lion. One day, all of a sudden, an eagle attacked the fox and the fox ran to the lion. The lion got the fox to sit on his back. The eagle attacked again and flew away grabbing it in its claws. The fox called out to the lion. The lion replied, ‘O fox! I can protect you against the beasts of the earth, but I cannot save you from the aerial enemy.’
Listening to this story, the king learnt a lesson. He understood that his army can protect him from the enemies on the earth, but the afflictions that descend from the sky cannot be prevented neither by his kingship, nor by his wealth or army. And only Allah can save him from the afflictions descending from the sky. So his heart became fearless of plague. He then resumed peaceful life in his royal palace.
(Iafseer Ruh-ul-Bayan, vol. 1, pp. 378; part 2, Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 244)
