Khan and Healer

Khan and the Healer. Parable

A powerful khan, who was already over sixty years old, had his beloved mother fall gravely ill. The khan summoned a famous healer and declared to him:

— Heal my mother, and I will reward you handsomely. If you fail, I will execute you on the spot.

After examining the khan's mother, the experienced healer immediately understood that the time allotted to her by the Creator had come to an end. And that no medicine could save her. However, the healer did not want to become a victim of the whim of the powerful ruler and resorted to cunning. He then addressed the khan:

- People are born, live, and die when their time comes. This order is established not by us, but by the Almighty.

- Right now, you are asking me for something that no one has ever succeeded in doing before - to change the will of God. But first, find me three assistants. Let each of them be over sixty years old, that is, no younger than you, and let each of them have both parents alive. Without such assistants, I cannot heal your mother. Find them for me, and I will surely heal her.

That very day, the khan sent servants to search for assistants for the healer. But it was all in vain. "None of your subjects who are over sixty years old have both parents alive," the servants reported. "There are no such people in our khanate." When the khan told the healer this, he replied:

- Now you see that I can do nothing about your mother's illness. The will of Allah cannot be overturned even by the most powerful and strong of men. We must submit to fate, if otherwise is beyond our power.