Many years before this day, there lived a man named Ina Hagadare. He was so wealthy and he had many sheep as a show of his wealth. So glad was he that he rarely had nothing to worry about; everything he needed or wanted to acquire was possible, all thanks to his large flock.
But then suddenly his sheep started dying, one each day. Then before long as many as three a day, and this was a cause for concern. Ina Hagadare tried but could find no reason why his sheep were dying. After all, those that had died and those that were still alive lived together, ate the same pasture and drank the same water. So why then were they dying? This question rang through his mind.
After a few days of distress, Ina Hagadare decided on a way forward. He divided his sheep and separated them through a fence. Half the number, which was on one side of the fence, he gave to Allah, and said: “These animals I give to you. You may do as you please with them; you may even kill them if you wish. But please leave my animals alone.” And so he stayed with the other half that he kept for himself.
No sooner had the division happened than one sheep on Ina Hagadare’s side of the fence died.
The next day another.
The day after that another.
Then another.
Frustration kicked in. He decided to kill one of Allah’s sheep for every one that he lost in the days that followed. But this didn’t seem to stop his own sheep from dying.
Ina wondered to himself: “Whenever I don’t speak to Allah, my sheep die. And whenever I speak to him, my sheep still die. I get punished through the death of my livestock no matter what!”
Eventually he gave up, and his sheep continued to die. In this way Ina Hagadare lost his worldly wealth.
*
This Somali folktale reminds us that Allah does not need animals and reiterates the proverb: God helps those who help themselves, showing that we must try our best to solve our existing problems instead of imagining them away or demanding from Allah.