Babar's sacrifice⁷

The first Mogul Emperor Babar was a good poet, a great hunter and a man of wisdom. Very often he had to fight against his enemies in order to maintain his own kingdom, but he had a good army and he always won.

Babar had a son named Humayun, which means “fortunate.” Sad to say, a series of unfortunate events took place in Babar’s and Humayun’s lives.

When Humayun was sixteen years old, his father wanted to conquer a particular place ruled by Ibrahim Lodi. The son said, “Father, you know our army is nothing in comparison to Ibrahim Lodi’s army. How can you dare to fight with them?”

But Babar replied, “No, my son, we shall conquer them. Let them have the number; we have the quality and the capacity.”

The son said, “Father, I will always abide by your will. Let us go.”

Both the father and son were great heroes and with their small army they went to conquer Ibrahim Lodi’s army. Surprisingly, they defeated the enemy. The people were very pleased with their new conquerors, for the old ruler had not been at all nice. One of the local governors owned India’s most precious diamond, which was called Kohinoor (the British government later took this diamond away from the Indians.) The governor gave Kohinoor to Babar’s son, Humayun, because of his bravery. Humayun showed it to his father and said, “Father, this is for you.”

But Babar replied, “No, my son, you deserve it. You have got it and you should keep it. I am very proud of you. You have fought so bravely. That’s why you have been given this diamond. Now you keep it. I will be so happy if you do.”

Father and son were extremely kind to each other and they returned to their own kingdom. Alas, in a few hours’ time Humayun fell sick. Day by day his condition grew worse. Many doctors came to try to cure him, but none succeeded. They all said that his days were numbered. Many people prayed to Allah for Humayun’s recovery, but to no avail.

Then a saint came to Babar and said, “If you make a great sacrifice, if you sacrifice something most precious, only then your son will be cured.”

Babar asked, “What kind of thing should I sacrifice?”

The saint said, “Give away Kohinoor. It is most precious.”

But Babar said, “Kohinoor is my son’s possession. What kind of sacrifice would that be? I have to sacrifice something of my own. I have so much wealth and prosperity, and such a vast kingdom. But the most precious diamond Kohinoor is not mine; therefore, I cannot sacrifice it. “And even if I did own Kohinoor, it would not be a real sacrifice to give it away. Even if I give away my wealth, power and kingdom, I don’t think this is the most precious sacrifice I could make. My life alone is most precious. I am ready to give my life.”

Then he walked around his son three times, praying to Allah, “For me, my most precious thing is my own life. The saint said to sacrifice something most precious, so take my life instead of my son’s. This is my only prayer, and I sincerely mean it.”

To his wide surprise, after he completed three rounds his son stood up completely well. But immediately Babar fell deathly ill.

Humayun cried and said to Allah, “My father is going to die, but I shall eternally treasure my father’s fondness for me and my father’s implicit faith in Your Compassion.”

Allah listened to the father’s prayer, and in three months’ time Babar died. This is the love that a human father can have for his son.