Throughout history, traitors have always been condemned for lacking honor and patriotism. Some have even betrayed their own families, including father, mother, or siblings, as they are driven solely by personal gain. Such individuals have often faced the harshest punishments. History offers many examples of betrayal, but today’s focus is on one that best illustrates the meaning of the famous Arabic proverb - “If you deceive a generous person, they will be deceived willingly.” Haroun al-Rashid had an employee named Hamid al-Tusi.
One day, al-Tusi made a serious mistake, prompting the Caliph to order his execution by beheading. When al-Tusi was brought forward for execution, he began to cry loudly. Haroun al-Rashid asked him, “Are you afraid of death?” Al-Tusi replied, “No, I swear. Death is inevitable, and we all will face it.” Al-Rashid then asked, “So what makes you cry?” Al-Tusi responded, “I fear leaving this world while you are still angry with me.” Moved by his words, Haroun al-Rashid pardoned him and brought him close once again, despite knowing that al-Tusi was likely lying. However, the Caliph understood well the truth behind the old proverb - “If you deceive a generous person, they will accept being deceived.” Similarly, when a delegation from the Banu Tamim tribe visited the Quraysh, the poet al-Farazdaq advised them, “Seek the help of anyone in Quraysh who is known to accept being deceived, because if you deceive a generous man, he will allow himself to be deceived.”
Che Guevara and the shepherd. When the Argentine revolutionary and Cuban national, Che Guevara, was captured in his hideout after being reported by a local shepherd, the officer asked the latter, “Why did you turn in someone who spent his life defending people like you and fighting for your rights?” The shepherd replied simply, “His wars with you frightened my sheep.”
Napoleon Bonaparte and Mohammad Karim. Following his resistance against the French military campaign in Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte, Muhammad Karim was captured and sentenced to death. Napoleon summoned him and said, “I regret executing a man who so bravely defended his country. I do not wish for history to remember me as someone who killed heroes who stood for their homelands. Therefore, I have pardoned you but for a price of ten thousand gold pieces as compensation for the soldiers lost in battle.” Karim replied, “I do not have that kind of money, but I am owed more than one hundred thousand gold pieces by the merchants.”
Napoleon responded, “I will grant you a grace period to collect the amount.” Karim was then taken to the market in chains, escorted by French soldiers. He hoped the people he had defended and for whom he had risked everything would support him. However, not a single merchant came forward. Instead, they blamed him for the destruction of Alexandria and the decline in economic conditions. Karim was returned to Napoleon, filled with shock and disappointment. Napoleon said to him, “I have no choice but to execute you, not because you resisted us or killed our soldiers, but because you gave your life for a cowardly people who were too absorbed in their trade to defend the freedom of their homeland.”
The Islamic scholar Mohammad Rashid Rida once said, “A revolutionary man in an ignorant society is like someone who sets himself on fire to light the way for the blind.” Never fight for cowards. Convincing a fly that flowers are more beautiful than garbage is easier than convincing traitors that their homeland is more valuable than money.
