Once upon a time, there was a small village in Al Ain, where a rich man called Ahmad lived. Ahmad owned many companies and houses in different countries, but he was very stingy and he didn’t help poor people or give others money. One day, he bought a new farm. It had many animals like horses, donkeys and the ships of the desert (camels). It also had many palm trees.
In the midst of all the palm trees was the biggest and oldest of them all, Abu Karbah. Abu Karbah was not only a tree, but he was also a very old jinni, who loved people, especially the poor and vulnerable.
Every summer Ahmad went to the farm with his family. One noon when they were eating lunch, somebody knocked on the door of the farm. It was a poor orphan child called Abdullah, asking for help. He wanted some food to eat.
Ahmad instructed the maid not to give the kid any food and ordered her to close the door.
The next day when Ahmad went to get milk from the camel he didn’t find any animals on his farm. He was afraid and said, “Oh my God where are my animals? Is this real? he muttered to himself and then he heard a voice, it was Abu Karbah.
Abu Karbah said to Ahmed, “I have taken all of your animals away because you are stingy and you didn’t give that poor, hungry child any fruit from your trees or meat from the many animals you have on your farm.”
Ahmad lost millions of dirhams in animals that day, but he also lost the blinders concealing the man he had become from himself.
The one conversation with Abu Karbah changed Ahmad forever. He began sharing his farm with poor people and he adopted Abdullah as his son. Every morning, Ahmad would go to talk to Abu Karbah about how to help other people and what he could do with his fortune to make the world a better place.
20 years later, Abdullah graduated from the university and Abu Karbah had grandsons. Abdullah now ran a charity company for orphans and the poor called “Abu Karbah Charity” that has many branches around the world.
