To honor my friend Quddus Khan, today I would like share with you the story of the Golden Buddha. Some 70 years ago, a monastery in Thailand was being relocated. In that monastery there was a huge clay statue of the Buddha. As the crane tried to lift the Buddha, it appeared to be much heavier than it was initially anticipated. The Buddhist monks worried about damaging the shrine. They lowered back the statue and covered it with tarp as rain also started to pour down.
In the night the worried chief monk went with a flashlight to check if the Buddha was properly covered. As the monk flashed the light, he saw a crack on the statue and a glimmer beneath. Being curious where this shine was coming from, the chief monk started to remove the clay, with a chisel and a hammer in hands. To his surprise the 10 feet Buddha was made of 2 ½ ton of pure gold. The present value of the statue may worth more than $200 million dollars.
It so happened that 300 years ago, the Burmese army was planning to invade Thailand then known as Siam. The Siamese monks were very worried about protecting their precious Buddha from the invaders so they covered the Buddha with 12 inches of clay. Unfortunately, all the monks were slaughtered and no one knew about the Golden Buddha until it was discovered by the chief monk.
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Dear friends, God has also created among us some human beings with pure gold and then He has covered them with clay so they look very ordinary with the hope that we’ll able to make that distinction. These people may be among our family members, friends, co-workers, or we may come across them anytime and anywhere in our lives. God wants us to see beyond the exterior and to appreciate and honor the beauty that lies beneath the outer surface. He has given us two eyes to be used as a chisel and a hammer to break the clay.
Dear friends, if you are not able to make that distinction then someday, somewhere, you too will regret like me.
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About 13 years ago, I met Quddus when he wanted some help in preparing his income tax return. We became instant friends. During the past 5 years, we would talk on the phone for at least 5 times a week. I have been to his home countless times. I would go there in the Pace Handicap Bus and he would drop me back. We would buy the groceries and he would cook the food. We would talk and laugh for hours while listening to Indian and Pakistani music.
We also had a common goal. We both wanted a woman. He wanted a rich middle aged woman and I wanted a physically fit woman. We tried very hard but the results were always zero. Now, I have realized that there was a major flaw in our strategy. Quddus Khan was searching for a rich woman near the Northwestern University Campus and I was looking for a physically fit woman in a nursing home.
About few weeks before leaving for Pakistan, he called me and said that last night while praying he cried and asked God to have mercy on him for he was all alone here. That was the time that he decided to go to Pakistan to visit his sisters and his brother. On January 18th, he left Chicago with a return ticket for April 2nd. He passed away on March 14, 2014. And, he was buried in proximity to his parent’s graves.
God in His infinite mercy to show us a reflection of His love gave all of us a mother. Perhaps, one of the easiest ways to please God is by pleasing our Mom. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has said, “Heaven is under the feet of your mother.” Today, the thought that gives me great comfort is that my friend Quddus Khan is buried near the feet of his mother… and that there can’t be a better place than that.
