19/09/2025
A wise man’s car broke down near a village. He thought to go into the village and seek help.
As he entered the village, he saw an old man sitting on a cot, with chickens pecking at grains around him. Among those chickens, he noticed something unusual — a baby falcon (hawk) was also pecking at grains like the chickens.
He was surprised and completely forgot about his car. Approaching the old man, he asked,
“How is it even possible that a falcon's chick is behaving like a chicken and eating grains off the ground?”
The old man replied,
“This baby falcon was only a day old when I found it injured near the mountains. I brought it home, took care of its wounds, and placed it among my chickens. When it opened its eyes for the first time, it found itself surrounded by chicks, so it started thinking it was a chick too. It learned to peck grains just like them.”
The wise man requested the old villager,
“Please give me this falcon — either as a gift or in exchange for money. I want to study it.”
The villager gifted the baby falcon to him.
After getting his car fixed, the wise man returned home and began his experiment.
Every day, he would throw the falcon off his rooftop, but each time the falcon would pull in its wings, duck its head like a chicken, and fall to the ground.
Daily, without fail, the wise man would place the falcon on a table in front of him and say,
“You are a falcon, not a chicken. Recognize who you truly are.”
He said this in Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Saraiki, Pashto — in every language he could —
“You are a falcon, not a chicken. Try to realize your true identity.”
He continued this for several days.
Finally, one day, the wise man took the falcon to the highest mountain peak.
He said to it once again,
“Recognize yourself. You are a falcon.”
And with those words, he threw the falcon off the cliff.
The falcon, terrified, tucked in its wings, lowered its head like a chicken, and shut its eyes.
But after a few seconds, it opened its eyes and realized — the ground was still far below.
It flapped its wings out of instinct — just like someone who can't swim flails in water when thrown into a river.
Soon, it began to balance itself in the air.
Because the ability to fly was already placed within it by God.
Moments later, it began to soar high.
It started screaming with joy as it climbed higher and higher.
In no time, it had flown far above the wise man, and looking down, it felt deeply grateful.
The wise man then said,
“O falcon, I did not give you anything of my own — I only helped you realize who you are.
The great abilities were already within you; you were just unaware of them.”
And this — is exactly the case with us humans.
Recognize the hidden abilities within you.
Having talent is not such a big thing.
What really matters is:
How did you use your talent?
And how did it shape and refine your personality?
