Tolerance builds nations. Nelson Mandela did this when he became president of the republic. This principle helped South Africa emerge from the cloak of mutual vengeance and make it a significant country. Previously, it was an outcast. This great rule established by this leader is summarized in his memoirs with the following story: Mandela wrote in his memoirs: “After becoming president, I asked my bodyguards to go to lunch at a restaurant. At the table in front, a man was waiting to be served. When he was served, I told one of my bodyguards,” Go ask that gentleman to join us.” The bodyguard went and conveyed my invitation. The man stood up, took his plate, and sat right next to me. While he ate, his hands were constantly trembling. When we finished, he greeted me without looking at me. I shook his hand, and he left. The bodyguard said to me, “Madiba, that man must have been very ill, since his hands would not stop shaking while he ate.”
No, absolutely not! The reason behind his trembling is different. Then, I told him that the man was the guard of the prison where I was held. After he tortured me, I would scream and cry, begging for a bit of water, and he would come, humiliate me, and laugh at me, and instead of giving me water, he would urinate on my head. He is not ill; he is afraid that I, now president of South Africa, would send him to prison and do to him what he did to me.
But I am not like that; such conduct is not part of my character or my ethics. “Minds that seek revenge destroy states, while those that seek reconciliation build nations. Walking out the door toward my freedom, I knew that if I did not leave behind all the anger, hatred, and resentment, I would still be a prisoner.” Instead of taking one fold, we take two folds; people would show mercy to the miller. It is said that an elderly miller lived in a remote village. When a villager brought him wheat to grind, he would take a fold of flour in addition to his wages. The villagers would see the miller’s thefts and remain silent, but they prayed that he would be punished.
Years later, the miller died, and his sons took over the mill. One night, the miller visited one of his sons in a dream and told him about the torture he was enduring because of stealing from the villagers. The sons discussed their father’s suffering, and the youngest suggested that they be fair to the people and accept the wages until Allah lifted their father’s punishment.
The eldest brother objected, saying, “If people saw our fairness, they would curse our father even more for his lack of fairness.” He suggested “we take twofold instead of one. Then the people of the village would have mercy on our father and seek forgiveness for him, as he was always kind to them.” The sons approved the idea and accepted twofold instead of one, in addition to the wages. The people were outraged by the sons’ cruelty and began to pray for their father’s forgiveness and ask for his forgiveness.
The miller visited his son again in a dream, informing him that his punishment had been lifted because of the prayers of the villagers. Thus, the father was saved from the punishment, and the grandchildren inherited the elder brother’s idea. The amount of flour they stole increased until people would return home with only a small amount of flour, and the wealth of the sons and grandchildren increased.
