A story is told about a man who was strolling among the trees in a remote African jungle.
He was enjoying nature’s beauty and listening to exotic birds sing while enjoying the smell of the wild jungle flowers.
Suddenly, he heard the unmistakable sound of an animal running with great speed. The sound grew louder and closer. As the man’s heart jumped to his throat, he turned around to see a great and obviously very hungry lion running towards him.
He ran with all his powers and the lion ran after him. Suddenly the man noticed an old well and quickly jumped into it. He clung to a rope that was hanging inside the well, which was used to fetch water.
When the lion’s roaring subsided and the man was finally able to catch his breath, he heard a sound underneath him. He looked down to see a giant snake (or python) … its mouth wide open, waiting for the man to drop right into it…
His mind raced to find a solution to this inescapable situation. As if this wasn’t enough,the man suddenly notices two mice: one black and one white and they were chewing on the rope above him! He started to shake the rope hoping to dislodge the mice and save him. In doing so, the rope started swinging and the man started bumping into the walls of the well. Then he felt something sticky on his arm (as he hit the wall) and upon tasting it (would you have done that if you were in such a predicament?) he found out that it was honey and sweet as could be.
He tasted it again and again until he forgot the predicament he was in.
The man suddenly woke up. It was a very bad dream!
He decided to seek an interpretation to his dream and rushed to a Scholar and Sheikh. The Scholar laughed and interpreted the dream for him. He said: "The lion was the Angel of Death; the Well with the python was your grave; the rope was your "life" (clinging to it) and the mice were the Day and the Night "eating away" from your life…"
The man was shocked but then asked: "And what about the Honey?"
The Scholar answered: "It’s the sweetness of this life that made you forget your ultimate end and what awaits."
"It is He Who giveth life and who taketh it, and to Him shall ye all be brought back"
[Surah Yunus; 10: 56]