He couldn’t remember the Qur’an, but what it did to his heart will move you

Thekabarnews.com—Once, a young boy saw something that made him think. Every day, he witnessed his father reading the Qur’an with enormous care. He never missed a recitation, yet he had only remembered Al-Fatihah and a few brief passages.

One day, after watching him for a long time, the child finally said, “Father, you read the Qur’an often; however, you still do not memorize much of it. What do you get out of it?”

His father smiled and said, “My recitation is like attempting to carry an ocean in a bamboo basket.”

The youngster seemed unhappy. He remarked, “That does not make any sense. The openings will let the water flow out.”

The father said, “If you really want to know, then do it yourself.”

The boy took the bamboo basket they usually used to carry charcoal and headed to the ocean. He put it in the water and tried to bring it back full. The water kept coming through the holes. He could not even carry one basket of seawater, no matter how hard he tried.

He came home worn out and said, “This is pointless work, Father. There is no good in it at all.”

The father responded in a calm voice, “Look at the basket.”

The boy looked at it closely and saw something that surprised him. Charcoal stains had darkened the basket, but now it was spotless.

His father inquired, “Do you see any sign of the charcoal?”

The boy said, “No.” “It is clean now.”

Then, in response, the father said something that his son would always remember: “That is how the Qur’an affects me. Although it is difficult for me to remember everything, it has purified my heart.”

He said that hearing the verses repeatedly cleanses the soul, softens the heart, and gradually transforms who you are, even if you don’t remember them. The Qur’an operates quietly, like seawater washing a basket without leaving a mark.