A young man said to Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him), ‘If I understand the languages of animals, I shall learn some lesson from them.’
Hazrat Musa (as) told him, ‘Awareness and awakening cannot be achieved without the blessings of God, therefore, forget about this idea as there is danger involved in this effort.’ However, the interest of the young man intensified even more after Musa’s prohibition, and he greatly pursued Hazrat Musa (as).
Hazrat Musa (as) concluded that Satan had deceived the young man. He will be at a loss if I teach him these languages, and if I do not, then he will develop doubts.
God told Hazrat Musa (as) to teach him the languages of the animals. Therefore, Hazrat Musa (as) taught him the languages of dogs and roosters.
The next day, for experience, the man paid due attention to the voices uttered by his dog and rooster.
The maidservant dusted a tablecloth and crumbs from last night’s leftovers fell to the floor. The rooster picked them up and devoured them instantly.
The dog said to the rooster, ‘You have been unfair to me as you can eat grains etc. whereas I cannot.’ The rooster said, ‘You should not worry. You shall be getting better than these leftover crumbs. The horse of the homeowner is going to die and who shall eat that meat other than the dogs.’
On hearing this conversation, the young man immediately sold his horse and was saved from the loss.
The next day another similar event occurred. The rooster ate the crumbs again, and the same conversation took place between the two. The rooster told the dog, ‘Undoubtedly the horse died at another place as it was traded off. However, you need not worry as his camel is going to die tomorrow and you shall have a feast.’
The man sold the camel too. The third day, the same incident took place, and the dog blamed the rooster again. The rooster repeated a similar response. ‘The camel was sold too and died at some other place. Nothing to worry as now his slave will die tomorrow, and on his death, his relatives and dogs will be served with good food.’
The man sold the slave too. The rooster was greatly ashamed for the fourth consecutive day. It said to the dog, ‘Do not think what I said was a lie. The news I shared was correct. Our nation is trustworthy and custodian of the time, even when we are caged, we still raise a call to Prayers at a specified time. Whatever has passed, is history. He will die himself now, and you will see enjoyment. He would have saved himself if he had not worried about his horse, camel and the slave. He took care of his wealth but did not take care of his soul. Dervish enhance their spiritual lives through devotion to spiritual exertion and exercise.’
The rooster discussed the subject in a befitting manner and explained how humans could save themselves from ills. Now this person is going to die, as he did not care about his soul.
The homeowner was frightened and went running to Hazrat Musa (as), who told the man to save himself by trading his own self now. ‘You saved your wealth by transferring your losses to others. Now, what are you going to do? You cannot save yourself at this point from death; you should straighten your faith. If you die as a pious man, you will not die but remain alive. A believer never dies; he remains alive.’
The young man became a true believer and saved himself from spiritual death.
(Hayat-e-Ahmad, Vol. 1, Part 2, p. 232–234, 2013 edition)