In exchange for...

The man was hysterical. No amount of questions or helping arms reaching out to him helped him. He was wailing like someone who lost his possessions. He had lost his 3000 gold coins on board the ship he was sailing. The coins were inside a red bag. He cried out so loud that even the captain of the ship rushed to his aid and promised to find the thief. The captain consoled the man by telling him that the thief would definitely not have disembarked the ship. He then ordered for a thorough search of the whole premises. Every single passenger were checked and re-checked. People started to question the now moaning man if he had any recollection of the last place he had seen his bag. He seemed to be changing his statements with every question. Suspicion seemed to be looming in every ones mind. Everyone then came to a conclusion that the man was lying. They screamed and abused him. He turned red with embarrassment and shame. Another man was sitting far away from the chaos. The liar approached him and asked him where he had hid his bag of coins. The silent man simply replied that he had thrown it into the sea. The thief turned red again but this time with anger. He was shocked that he could have flung 3,000 gold coins into the sea. He asked him how he could have done such a stupid thing. The man again replied, “My dignity was more important than money.”

The thief had two days earlier acquainted with the man. They both developed a good rapport with each other. The other man remained ignorant to the plot that the crook had set up. The man told the liar that he was traveling for business reasons. The man then decided to put his plan into action the next day. Then what happened was what was seen earlier.
The man who threw away 3000 gold coins to uphold his esteem and respect was none other than Imam Bukhari.
We all know who Imam Bukhari was, don’t we? He is responsible for having collected almost 30,000 Hadith. May Allah be please with him.