A Tale Of Two Journeys
I heard this trick question (or some variant) when I was a kid, but it was only recently that I was able to interpret it in a different light. Let me ask you this question, and remember – you need to answer this without going back to re-read the question.
Imagine you are a train engine driver. The train is going from Boston to Washington, DC. It starts with 20 passengers and 10 bags in Boston. In New York: 10 passengers get off and 15 get on; 5 bags are loaded and 10 unloaded. In Philadelphia: 5 passengers get off and 10 get on; 10 bags are loaded and 5 unloaded. In Washington, DC: everybody and everything gets off. And the question is – ‘what is the age of the engine driver?’
If you haven’t heard this question before, you are probably stumped. Take your time, think about it and if you have the answer great. If not, think some more. If you are ready to give up, go to the next paragraph for the answer.
The age of the engine driver is your age, because you are the engine driver. Remember how it all started with ‘imagine you are a train engine driver’? If you are like most people, you probably were too busy calculating the number of people who got on and off, the bags that were loaded and unloaded, the stops that came along the way, and so on. And you forgot the most important thing along the way!
There is another journey we are all on, and when this journey ends, nothing else will matter. We will not be asked to account for the stops that came along the way, the people who came into our lives and left it, the things that we collected and lost. The only thing we will be called to account for is our own life! Allah (subhana wa taala) hamari umr ka hisab mangte hain!
I heard this trick question (or some variant) when I was a kid, but it was only recently that I was able to interpret it in a different light. Let me ask you this question, and remember – you need to answer this without going back to re-read the question.
Imagine you are a train engine driver. The train is going from Boston to Washington, DC. It starts with 20 passengers and 10 bags in Boston. In New York: 10 passengers get off and 15 get on; 5 bags are loaded and 10 unloaded. In Philadelphia: 5 passengers get off and 10 get on; 10 bags are loaded and 5 unloaded. In Washington, DC: everybody and everything gets off. And the question is – ‘what is the age of the engine driver?’
If you haven’t heard this question before, you are probably stumped. Take your time, think about it and if you have the answer great. If not, think some more. If you are ready to give up, go to the next paragraph for the answer.
The age of the engine driver is your age, because you are the engine driver. Remember how it all started with ‘imagine you are a train engine driver’? If you are like most people, you probably were too busy calculating the number of people who got on and off, the bags that were loaded and unloaded, the stops that came along the way, and so on. And you forgot the most important thing along the way!
There is another journey we are all on, and when this journey ends, nothing else will matter. We will not be asked to account for the stops that came along the way, the people who came into our lives and left it, the things that we collected and lost. The only thing we will be called to account for is our own life! Allah (subhana wa taala) hamari umr ka hisab mangte hain!
posted by Riaz at 9:55 PM
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