No one knew how long the event had been going on or when it started. Because the change of days could no longer be perceived. Neither day nor night. Not even dusk. And if dusk never arrived, it would seem futile to wait for the dawn to appear on the eastern horizon as a sign of the change of day. That’s how time seemed to stop moving. The sky was indeed clear, but not bright. Because there, no sun or moon or stars could be seen emitting or reflecting light. Not a single ray of light or shine was seen above the earth. What existed was only dimness. As far as the eye could see, only dimness was captured. And only that dimness overshadowed the earth, which, as far as the eye could see, only resembled a dusty purple carpet.
And who knows how many of them there were, no one could tell. Maybe thousands. Maybe millions. What’s certain is that the line of people was so long. Very, very long. It continued to snake from one end to the other. And how long it had been going on, no one knew. Because the rotation of the earth seemed to have stopped, and it seemed like there was never a change of days.
At first, they lined up neatly, walking orderly. They always walked side by side, almost holding hands, with their gazes fixed straight ahead. Many of them seemed to be murmuring, but no sound came out. So, the atmosphere was so quiet and solemn. The only sounds heard were the sighs of breaths and the sound of their footsteps. They continued to move forward.
The only one who didn’t move was one: a dog. It just sat across. Across the boundary of the line of moving and silent people. The dog sat crouched, with its hind legs bent, and its front legs remained straight to support its body and head. Although its body was motionless, its eyes never stopped moving. Its eyes kept moving, swirling around, following the movement of the line of people, watching each and every person who was part of that line. No one knew how long it had been sitting there, but that wasn’t important. Because, wouldn’t the meaning of time be lost if the earth stopped rotating?
At first, like the snaking line of people, it was calm in its sitting. Only its eyes were always alert, trying to recognize each person in the line. It seemed to act only as a good spectator or a witness without reaction. It seemed indifferent to who was at the front of the line or in the following rows. But as the steps of the thousands or millions of people became faster and faster, and more frantic, the dog began to look restless. Its gaze became sharper. Its head began to move left and right, with its eyes staring sharply at row after row. The dog’s agitation became more apparent as the movement of the line of people accelerated. And it began to stand up from its sitting position. Its head tilted and its eyes continued to sweep over the faces of everyone in the line.
Now it was no longer just standing. It started moving, pacing back and forth when the movement of the line became disorderly, and everyone tried to walk faster to get ahead of each other. When people in the line started pushing or elbowing and jostling to be in the front row, the dog began to look impatient. It started running sideways to the right or left. The longer the dog ran and leaped, it was difficult to estimate. Only when the back of the line of people had passed did it appear to slump wearily. The dog then just stood there, motionless, gazing blankly at the tail end of the line of people moving away. What was left behind the line was only dimness and silence over the expanse of the purple carpet, which billowed with dust.
***
No one knew how long the dog had sat there motionless. What could be seen later was that the dog turned around, then ran and kept running for what purpose no one knew. It kept running, under the clear yet dim sky, sweeping up dust clouds from the expanse of the purple carpet, in the opposite direction of the movement of the thousands or millions of people. Now, as far as the eye could see, the earth was truly empty. It was truly like a vast expanse of purple carpet under the clear yet dim sky. Only dust clouds remained as a sign of life. Not because of the wind blowing, but because of the footsteps of the line of people continuing far ahead.
When there was no more dust cloud, the dog slowed its pace. It shortened its leaps. Then it just trotted. But it continued to follow the footsteps left by the line of people that had disappeared from its sight. No one could tell how long it had been tracing those steps, as time seemed to have truly lost its meaning.
At some point, the dog stopped in its tracks. It stood motionless for a few moments, its eyes sharp as it gazed at a distant point ahead of it. Then its nose moved up and down as if sniffing something. After shaking its body, it leaped and ran towards the object it had been staring at. Finally, it stopped in front of a woman who was sitting dejectedly with her back against a rock.
The woman didn’t react. She just stared at the dog with teary eyes. It seemed she had no energy to react more than that. They exchanged glances for quite some time, both with teary eyes. The dog then bowed, tears dropping from its eyes. It then approached and sniffed the woman’s feet as she sat leaning against the rock. With slow and trembling movements, the woman’s hands stroked the dog’s head.
Before its tears dried, the dog seemed to ask in sign language; why was the woman still here? After all, thousands or millions of people had walked together towards heaven. The dog asked, shaking its head.
The woman said she had no group, so she couldn’t be in one line and be part of the procession. Those without a group would be left alone. Those not in a line were considered not part of the procession. Who would want to group with a prostitute? Who would be willing to be in line with a prostitute?
The dog kept shaking its head. No, it said. The dog said the woman deserved her promised place in heaven too.
The woman replied, perhaps. But who would be willing to be in heaven with a prostitute? What’s the point of being in heaven if there’s still a prostitute there?
The dog continued to shake its head. No, it said. The dog said that no matter what, the woman deserved a place in heaven. This rock was the witness, it said.
***
The story tells of the beginning of their friendship. By the side of the stone now leaned against by the woman, there used to be a well. It was the only well in this barren desert. At that time, the dog was in dire straits. For days, it hadn’t found any food. There were no rotting meat or bones scattered on the streets. People passing by the area didn’t discard their leftovers. There were no dry leaves or shreds of paper carried by the wind to be eaten. For days, it wandered around, but still couldn’t find anything to eat. Around the area, there was only one source of water: the well. The well was deep enough for a dog to just lap its water. It was impossible for it to immerse itself to drink. Doing so would be equivalent to suicide.
That day was the dog’s last day to endure its hunger and thirst. It had run out of energy. Its body’s resilience had reached its lowest point. All it could do was lean its body against a rock by the side of the well. The dog’s body was so emaciated. It trembled as it leaned against the stone. It was truly on the verge of death. It couldn’t even open its eyelids. No one cared about the dog’s fate. If that day passed without any food intake, it would collapse dead by the side of the stone.
But that’s when the goddess of mercy arrived. Under the scorching sun of the desert, a woman walked unsteadily towards the well. The woman was also barely able to withstand her thirst. As soon as she reached the well, she hastily fetched its water.
“But you didn’t drink it immediately,” said the dog.
Seeing a dying dog next to her, the woman abandoned her intention to drink and instead offered the bucket full of water to the dog. Because the dog had run out of energy and couldn’t lift or insert its mouth into the bucket, the woman helped. She lifted the dog’s head and then pushed the bucket so that the dog’s mouth was inside it. Slowly, the dog opened its mouth and drank sip by sip. Finally, the water in the bucket ran out. The woman reached her bucket back into the well, this time to drink for herself. Once again, she fetched water, this time to pour over the dog’s body. Slowly, the dog’s body began to look fresh, its strength began to recover, and its eyelids opened. The woman smiled. She reached into her pocket, took out a piece of bread wrapped in plastic, and gave it to the dog to eat. People passing by looked disdainful, and those who intended to fetch water from the well abandoned their plans. But the woman remained seated there until the dog was completely refreshed, able to stand and walk.
***
Somehow, the dog said, what you did eventually reached your Prophet. Your Prophet immediately prayed for you to enter paradise. And it’s impossible for God not to grant the prayer of His most beloved Prophet.
Yes, the woman admitted that she heard people gossiping about the Prophet’s prayer for her. She immediately burst into tears and kissed the ground. That’s the only way I know how to worship God, she said.
The woman shook her head. She repeated that she didn’t have a group. She couldn’t be in a row. And now she was left far behind. She was at a distance too far from the promised paradise. The woman said, with her body in such a weak condition, she couldn’t possibly catch up to the row to reach paradise.
The dog shook its head again. It shifted and turned its body until it faced away from the woman. The dog’s body looked very large. It asked the woman to climb onto its back. It promised to run as fast as it could to escort her to paradise. After being convinced repeatedly, the woman finally climbed onto the dog’s back. She sat huddled over her body. Her hands hugged the dog tightly.
At first, the dog walked slowly. Its steps were regular. When it felt the woman’s body had merged with its own, it immediately leaped and ran as fast as it could. Soon, the dust clouds left behind grew thicker and continued to extend and rise high. The longer the dog ran, the faster it became, until its white body looked like a flashing light. It was difficult to estimate how far it had traveled, as difficult as estimating how long it had been. What’s clear is that they eventually arrived at their destination, albeit a little late. The rearmost row of the human line had passed through the gate, which had begun to close.
To the gatekeeper, the dog explained that it was escorting a woman who had a place inside but was far behind the row. The woman then got off the dog’s back, and the gatekeeper invited her to enter. But then the gatekeeper blocked her path when he saw the woman leading her dog to enter as well. He said there was no place for a dog. But the woman insisted. She said it was better if she didn’t enter if her dog wasn’t allowed to come along. A verbal dispute ensued.
Hearing the commotion, several people who were already inside finally approached the gate. They asked the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper explained that there was a woman left behind by the row who intended to follow in. He forbade it if the woman insisted on bringing her dog along. There was a moment of silence. Then, several people who recognized the woman shouted from behind the gate and continued to push forward.
“Just close the gate,” they yelled. “She’s not part of our row. There’s no place here for a prostitute and a dog!”
Seeing the gatekeeper still dumbfounded, the people continued to push forward. They dragged the gatekeeper in. And they themselves ended up closing the gate. The woman and her dog stood there, dumbfounded, in front of the gate.
Note:
* This story is inspired by a hadith narrated by Imam Muslim. In the hadith, Abu Hurairah said that Prophet Muhammad prayed for a prostitute who had given water to a dying thirsty dog to be forgiven her sins and admitted to paradise.
Translated from here.