In his boyhood, Hazrat Abdul Qadir Gillani was going to
Baghdad for education. On the eve of his departure from home, his mother said
to him, “My son, never tell a lie and don’t get frightened in danger”. Baghdad
was far away from his home. He began his journey in the company of a band of
merchants. The way was infested with robbers and after five days, a gang of
robbers fell upon the travellers. They were taking away money and other
valuables from the travellers. One of the robbers caught hold, of the boy and
searched him thoroughly for his belongings. He took away everything he got from
the boy. Then he asked the boy, “Do you have anything else with you?” The boy
replied, “Yes, I’ve 40 dirhams’ with me. My mother sewed those dirhams inside
my robe.” The robber was astonished hearing this because if the boy had not
disclosed the fact, he would never have known about it. So, he took the boy to
their leader and told everything. The leader also got astonished. He asked the
boy, “Why have you disclosed the fact that you have 40 dirhams with you?” “My
mother told me never to tell a lie. Then how can I tell lies?” replied the boy.
This event brought about a great change in the life of the leader of the
robbers as well as his followers. From that day, they stopped doing all their
sinful acts.