The Broken Shoe and the Unbroken Will

An inspirational true story of an Islamic scholar

In the narrow, dust-swept streets of Najaf, long before Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Bahjat became a renowned master of Islamic spirituality and ethics, he was simply a young seminary student—poor in possessions but rich in determination. His slippers were torn and barely clung to his feet, worn thin from countless walks to classes and study sessions. But what he lacked in material comfort, he more than made up for with an unshakeable thirst for knowledge.

One bitterly cold winter morning, the ground was caked with mud and frost. As he made his usual hour-long journey to the Hawza (Islamic seminary), another student, noticing the condition of his soaked, broken footwear, asked with concern, “Don’t your feet hurt walking like that in this weather?”

Ayatollah Bahjat looked down, smiled softly, and replied, “The pain of ignorance is greater.”

That morning, despite the cold biting through his clothes and the mud soaking into his skin, he sat through a rigorous lesson on Usūl al-Fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence). With a worn, ink-stained notebook resting on his lap and his fingers stiff from the cold, he wrote down every word the teacher spoke as if it were gold. His focus was unwavering, his heart alive with purpose.

This wasn’t a one-time show of grit. His life was filled with such moments—quiet, unseen sacrifices made not for recognition but for the love of learning and closeness to Allah. When asked later in life how he endured such hardship with contentment, he said, “The soul must hunger before it is fed. If we seek ease before effort, we will never taste the sweetness of knowledge.”

Years passed. The same student who had once questioned his endurance found himself spiritually lost—distracted by comfort and weakened by doubt. Meanwhile, Ayatollah Bahjat, through patience, worship, and relentless study, had become a beacon of piety and wisdom, sought after by students and scholars across the world. His humility remained unchanged, but his legacy had grown immeasurably.

Moral: True success is not measured by comfort, but by the sacrifices we are willing to make for what is right and lasting. The path of knowledge—especially sacred knowledge—demands sincerity, effort, and resilience. Ayatollah Bahjat’s life is a powerful reminder that our dignity lies not in what we wear on our feet, but in what we carry in our hearts.

In an age obsessed with ease and convenience, this story calls us to revive our spirit of struggle. For the path to Allah is not paved with luxury but with patience and perseverance. As the Qur’an says:

“And those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our paths.” (29:69)