“Leave It . . “
Many years ago, before I became Muslim, I worked at a busy flea market in North Texas. My friend Mohamed and I shared a table. We sold small bottles, little items, and cheap goods. On busy days, customers lined up, and we worked fast, taking money and handing out items.
One afternoon, in the middle of a rush, Mohamed suddenly said something under his breath and ran away from the table. He did not go to the restroom. He ran toward the parking lot.
About twenty minutes later he came back wearing a cap. I thought he had gone to buy it.
Later, when business slowed down, as it always does when the sun starts going down at a flea market, I asked him about the cap. He told me the Texas sun was beating down hard and he almost felt like he was going to pass out. So he bought the cap on the way back.
But this did not explain why he ran off so suddenly.
So I asked him,
“Why did you run to the parking lot?”
He said, as if it was obvious,
“You remember the lady who bought all the Christmas items? She left a quarter and some pennies on the table. I ran after her to give it back.”
I asked,
“Did you find her?”
He said yes.
But when he gave her the money, she stared at him and said,
“You ran all this way, in this hot Texas sun, just to give me a few cents? Why didn’t you just keep it?”
Later I asked Mohamed,
“How much did that cap cost you?”
He said,
“One dollar.”
So I said,
“You risked your health running after someone to return a few pennies, then you spent a dollar on a cap. I’ll ask you the same thing she asked you — why didn’t you just keep it?”
Mohamed looked at me and said words I will never forget.
He said,
“Islam says if something is not yours, and you know who owns it, you must return it. If you do not know who owns it, and it is just lying there, leave it there.”
That was thirty-five years ago.
And I still remember it today.
