Ibn Masud had gone with some of the other companions for a stroll into the country near Medina. They saw a child shepherding a flock. They invited him to share their meal.
The boy declined, saying that he was fasting. This excessive devotion amazed the companions, as it was not the month of Ramadan or the month of fasting. Partly as a pleasantry and partly as a test, they asked the boy to sell them a sheep and offered him half of its meat as a gift.
The boy said that the sheep were not his and he did not have the right to sell them. Then, with the intention of testing him, they said, “My son, who will know? You can always say that you lost a sheep.”
At that the boy screamed “Ayna Allah?” “Where is Allah?” and ran away.
As a reward, Ibn Masud bought the whole herd from its owner and donated it to the young shepherd, who thus profited immediately in the world for his consciousness of Allah (God) or Taqwa.
Ibn Masud, when he met the young man from time to time in Medina, would ask him affectionately, “Where is Allah?”
-A beautiful spiritual story from Islam
Painting:Google Image
Universal Spirituality 