Aurangzeb forgives the mosque attendant
Towards the end of his life, Aurangzeb repented for the many undivine things that he had done during his life and he often went to the mosque to pray.One day, while Aurangzeb was praying at the mosque along with many other people, one of the mosque attendants noticed a hole in the carpet near the place where the Emperor was kneeling. The man cried out, "What will the Emperor think if he sees such a hole?"
The Emperor overheard the attendant and became upset. The man apologised profusely and said, "Please forgive me, O Emperor. Next time when you come here, there will be no hole in the carpet. It will be a brand new carpet."
Aurangzeb said, "You fool! That is not why I am angry. Why should you beg my forgiveness for a hole in the carpet? In my palace, if I had seen such a hole, I would have been really furious. There I would not tolerate such a thing. But I have come here not as the Emperor; I have come as an ordinary person, as one of you. I have come as a beggar to pray to Allah. This is Allah's special place, and Allah does not care for luxury and pomp. Here, simplicity and poverty are the real perfection. So do not worry about the hole; let it remain. Only if I pray in a simple place will I have true aspiration and true love for Allah!"
