The Scorpion and the Frog

The Scorpion and the Frog

Imam Thawban the son of Ibraheem, known as Dhu-Nnoon al- Misriyy was a great scholar who lived in Egypt in the third hijriyy century. He had lot of knowledge and many sheikhs and people learned from him.  He is one of the scholars who said the well-known saying, “Whatever you imagine in your mind, Allah is different from it.” This means God cannot be imagined because God is not like the creations. God does not have an image or a shape.

One day, Imam Thawban went to the Nile river with the company of Sheikh Yusuf Ibn al-Husayn to wash his clothes. The Nile river is a blessed river and is the longest river on earth. As they were walking, they saw a large scorpion coming towards the shore. They sought refuge with Allah that the scorpion would not hurt them. A scorpion’s sting is very harmful and can sometimes cause the person to die. They started watching the scorpion from a distance.

The scorpion stood on the bank of the river. Then a large frog came out of the water. It got close to the scorpion. Surprisingly, the scorpion got on the frog’s back!  The frog got back into the water, and started swimming. Imam Thawban watched in amazement. He told his companion,” There is a story behind this scorpion. Let’s follow it.” He removed his big shawl (Rida’), went into the river, and swam behind the frog carrying the scorpion. The frog reached the other bank of the Nile. The scorpion quickly left the frog’s back and starting walking quickly. By this time, Imam Thawban had also reached the bank. He got out of the water and starting following the scorpion.

The Bank of the Nile is beautiful. Many trees, plants, and beautiful flowers lined the bank. Imam Thawban continued to follow the scorpion until they reached a big tree with many branches providing plenty of shade. A handsome young man was drunk and sleeping under this tree.  He was still holding in his hand an empty bottle of alcohol, the ugly smell of which filled the place. The scorpion got very close to the man. Imam Thawban first thought that it was going to sting the young man. He wondered why the scorpion had come all this way across the river just to sting that man?! Just then, a large snake came out from between the branches of the big tree and headed straight for the sleeping young man. It slithered onto his belly, then his chest, and was reaching up for his ear. Imam Thawban started searching for a stick to hit the scorpion and the snake. Suddenly, the scorpion jumped onto the snake and stung it. The snake flippedon the ground and died. Then, the scorpion went back to the frog who was waiting for it. It got on the frog’s back and together they went back to the other side of the river where they came from.

At this point, Imam Thawban came forward to the man, woke him up, and told him what just happened and how a scorpion who can’t swim, rode on a frog’s back, and was sent to him to save him from the snake. God had mercy on this man despite him being a big sinner who drinks alcohol. When the man heard that, he was deeply moved and repented to Allah.