Unsolicited help has always been so interesting to me because it can tell you a lot about people. Actually it can tell you all about a person, most of the time, right from my tender age i was so used to hearing that you should be careful with strangers that i forget there are still genuinely kind people out there who will see someone struggling and simply decide to help. They don't ask what they will get in return, they don't know you personally and sometimes they don't even know your name. They just help because they can, help out of the goodness of their heart.
I was reminded of this when I travelled for an Umrah(lesser pilgrimage) trip in Madinah. A group of Nigerian brothers who were travelling together with me had made plans to visit an African restaurant a little distance away from Masjid an-Nabawi. We made out the time and unfortunately for me, i ended up falling asleep and missed the time when the others left. When i eventually woke up, i tried contacting them and i received a message telling me where they were and asking me to join them. Mind you that was my first time in Madinah, that was even my first time traveling outside my country.
The problem was that i had absolutely no idea where the restaurant was. So, like most people would probably do in that situation, i got into a taxi and showed the driver the destination. I assumed the driver knew exactly where he was going but unfortunately, things did not go according to plan. Instead of taking me directly to the restaurant, the driver drove around for quite a while before eventually stopping somewhere unfamiliar. The journey had taken far longer than expected, and the fare came to around 30 riyals. 30 riyals for me was quite alot and i felt that was clearly an unreasonable amount for such a short trip. But at that point, the bigger problem wasn't even the money., i was now standing somewhere i did not recognise, trying to figure out where on earth i was, because it definitely wasn’t the restaurant.
I started looking around for some sort of direction when two Arab men sitting nearby noticed me. They could probably tell immediately that i was a visitor who had no idea where he was going. One of them approached me and tried to find out what i needed. The communication wasn't exactly perfect because my Arabic was very limited, but between gestures, a few words and showing them the location on my phone, they eventually understood the problem.
They checked the map and quickly realised what had happened. The restaurant wasn't anywhere near where the taxi driver had dropped me. The reaction on their faces said everything, they were surprised when they heard how much i had paid the taxi driver for the journey and they both exclaimed that i shouldnt have paid more tham 10 riyals, especially considering how relatively close the actual destination was. At this point, I think most people would have simply given directions and gone back to whatever they were doing. After all, i was a complete stranger. They had no reason to take responsibility for my situation. But one of them decided to do something more, he offered to drive me to the restaurant himself.
Naturally, there was some hesitation in getting into a stranger's car in a foreign country is not something you should do carelessly, but he took me to the restaurant and i asked him how much for was the price but he said “No charge.” He was doing it as an act of kindness for the sake of Allah. After i dropped off, he also got out, spoke to the Nigerian group and advised us to move around together so that i wouldn't get separated and lost again. Then he left, no payment, no request for a favour in return. no attempt to turn the situation into a business transaction. Just a stranger seeing another person who needed help and deciding that helping him was enough.
My heart was filled with glee and happiness and so much joy. When someone helps you after you ask them, there is an understanding that you needed something and they chose to assist but when someone notices your difficulty before you even ask, that is just beautiful and it helps me restore my faith in the beauty of humanity. The man here probably went back to his normal life after dropping me at the restaurant. He may not even remember the encounter anymore but for me, i would never forget it in my life and hopefully one day i will pass on or return the favor.