The 18th Camel:
Adding What Is Not Necessary To The Sum Total Adds A Great Deal.
There was once an old Arab
who died and left 17 camels to his three sons. In his Last Will, he was very
explicit about the sharing of the 17 camels as inheritance of his three sons. He
declared One-Half of the camels should be
given to the eldest son; One-Third to the middle son, and One-Ninth to the
youngest son.
After their father was buried
the three sons proceeded to consider how they would divide the camels following
the instruction of their father. They computed their respective share. As share
of the eldest son the formula was 17 camels divided by two, amounting to 8.5
camels. For the second son, 17 camels divided by 3, amounting to 5.666 camels.
For the third son, 17 camels divided by 9, amounting to 1.888 camels.
The sons were extremely
perplexed, since seventeen cannot be divided by two, three, and nine. As they
were pondering how, in Allah's name, they might divide up their inheritance
without spilling the blood of the camels. They all agreed that a dead camel was
of no use to them, or eating camel meat was not to their liking.
They went to consult a
lawyer who advised them to follow literally the sharing laid down by their
father. The brothers did not want to slaughter the camels, and rather thought of killing the lawyer, who was
of no help at all.
While they were discussing
their problem, there came a Merchant with his caravan of camels loaded with
merchandise. The merchant asked the brothers what was the problem and so they
presented to him their problem.
The merchant pondered for
several minutes. Then he said, "I will lend you one of my camels. With my camel
you now have eighteen camels.” The brothers thanked the merchant profusely.
They now have 18 camels.
The oldest son took
one-half or nine camels; the middle son took one-third or six camels; and the
youngest son took one-ninth or two camels.
Nine plus six plus two
camels totaled 17, and the neighbor took back his 18th camel and all the sons
were happy.
This
story of the 18th camel is a story of unessential necessities. Sometimes that
which may not seem to add anything to the sum total in reality adds a great
deal.
There are things in life which seemed odd, and out. They may stand out to be unnecessary but in some situations when added to the sum they make a great deal of difference
