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الله يرى الحقيقة لكنه يُمهل

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Do your students enjoy a good laugh? Do they like to be scared? Or do they just like a book with a happy ending? No matter what their taste, our Creative Short Stories series has the answer.

We've taken some of the world's best stories from dark, musty anthologies and brought them into the light, giving them the individual attention they deserve. Each book in the series has been designed with today's young reader in mind. As the words come to life, students will develop a lasting appreciation for great literature.

The humor of Mark Twain...the suspense of Edgar Allan Poe...the danger of Jack London...the sensitivity of Katherine Mansfield. Creative Short Stories has it all and will prove to be a welcome addition to any library.

31 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1872

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About the author

Leo Tolstoy

7,941 books28.4k followers
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой; most appropriately used Liev Tolstoy; commonly Leo Tolstoy in Anglophone countries) was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist fiction. Many consider Tolstoy to have been one of the world's greatest novelists. Tolstoy is equally known for his complicated and paradoxical persona and for his extreme moralistic and ascetic views, which he adopted after a moral crisis and spiritual awakening in the 1870s, after which he also became noted as a moral thinker and social reformer.

His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and anarcho-pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 320 reviews
Profile Image for Nayra.Hassan.
1,260 reviews6,726 followers
July 3, 2022
قال لنفسه،"يبدو أن الله وحده يعرف الحقيقة لله فقط علينا أن نقدم الالتماس،ومنه فقط نتوقع الرحمة" ا
هذه هى القصة التي الهمت ستيفن كينج بتحفته الخالدة♡ الخلاص من شاوشنك ..و تظل القدرة على التسامح هي الحد الفارق بين القصتين

قصتنا تؤكد لنا ان ارتفاع الظالم لا يعني ابدا غفلة الله عنه
و لا هو بغافل عن مظلوم احتسب و وكل كل امره له تعالى فينصره بقدره
و هو جالس في مكانه باقصى الارض
و لو بعد حين قد يطول لاكثر من عشرين عام
و
خلال سنين الظلم فلتتذكر ما هي ذنوبك الخفية التي القت بك لمصيرك
Profile Image for Adina.
1,289 reviews5,497 followers
August 3, 2022
Read from Found in Translation Anthology

Another good short story written by Tolstoy. It seems I misjudged him with Ana Karenina. He does know how to tell a story without boring the hell out of me. I might give him another change with the longer format next year.

A wealthy merchant is wrongly accused of murder and spends the next 25 years in prison. There he finds God and some kind of peace. One day another prisoner is brought in and the merchant is convinced he is the real killer.

It is a story about injustice, hope, hopelessness and forgiveness. It was quite touching.

It seems this is the story which inspired Stephen King to write The Shawshank Redemption.
Profile Image for Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽.
1,880 reviews23.3k followers
January 18, 2019
“God Sees the Truth, but Waits” is a deceptively simple short story from Leo Tolstoy, written in 1872, about a wealthy, carefree young man falsely accused of murder. I was fascinated by the parallelism between the events at the beginning of the story and those at the end, including:

• a crucial conversation with someone
• a run-in with authority
• a follow-up conversation with the same person
• the steep downward trend of Aksionov's material, worldly fortunes with each event, but a corresponding upward trend in his spirituality.

It's a thoughtful take on the theme that God doesn't necessarily rescue us physically from terrible, unfair events, but that spiritual growth may come from personal trials.

This story is free online many places, including here.
Profile Image for Sanjay.
257 reviews516 followers
November 14, 2015
This is the story that inspired Stephen King's great novella - 'Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption'.

Wisdom comes as a gift along with this beautiful story.
Profile Image for Tamoghna Biswas.
361 reviews148 followers
January 5, 2021
"'For my sins I have been in prison these twenty-six years.'"

In my earlier school days, I used to think Tolstoy as some formidable being, someone whose works will always be out of my bounds. All was created by our teachers, of course…I don’t know what our teachers play at in the school level, they teach us that stories are not meant to be read for simple pleasure, but for analysing and dissecting. And that does create a general dread against literature.

Luckily, I didn’t pay any heed to them; that granted me considerably lower marks, but at least I am now able to read classics just for pleasure, not for analysing. And this story is the first one that shaped my interest for Russian Literature, and that Tolstoy is a thoroughly readable person.

Melancholic, sober, heart-breaking, words will simply fail me if I want to describe this story in words. The plot involves a jolly person, Ivan being wrongly accused of murder and put beyond the bars, where, years later comes a person, seeing whom Ivan is convinced that he might be the actual culprit. Basically, if you have watched The Shawshank Redemption, you will wonder if Stephen King was thoroughly inspired by this story, for the blockbuster he wrote down. I’m doubtful as it isn’t acknowledged anywhere.

The ending of the story, you will see much beforehand. But still, your heart will ache. The gradual transition from hopefulness to hopelessness, I don’t think it can be written in more readable words by anyone.

Tolstoy had definitely produced some other gems of shorter fiction like The Death Of Ivan Ilych, Kreutzer Sonata and all; but this one holds a special place in my heart. For it was the first one. I simply had memorized every single words of it, I loved it so much.

“'it seems that only God can know the truth; it is to Him alone we must appeal, and from him alone expect mercy.'”
320 reviews427 followers
September 23, 2018
قصة قصيرة وحزينة ستترك أثراً من المرارة فى حلقك أعدك بذلك
هل من الممكن أن يسامح الإنسان من ضيع أجمل سنوات عمره فى السجن .. أعتقد أن الله وحده هو من يملك القدرة على العفو والغفران بشكل مطلق وأن البشر وإن تسامحوا تبقى فى قلويهم غُصة وفى حلوقهم مرارة الألم التى من المستحيل أن تمحى
رواية بليغة بكلمات مقتضبة لكن بإحساس رائع وعذوبة فائقة
كنت قد قرأت منذ فترة قصيرة كتاباً بعنوان مشكلة الشر ويبين الكتاب كيف أن الملحدين الجدد يتخذون وجود الشر والأشرار كأحد أسباب إلحادهم ويعتبرون عدم تدخل الله بالقضاء على الأشرار وشروهم ذريعة من ضمن ذرائعهم لإنكار وجوده و قدرته سبحانه وتعالى
لكن فى القصة التى بين أيدينا يضرب أسكيونوف المثل بأنه وعلى الرغم من أنه كان مرحاً منطلقاً محباً للحياة لكن الابتلاء الذى تعرض له و المكيدة التى دبرت له وألقت به فى السجن 26 عاماً حولته إلى ملتزم يحافظ على الصلوات والعبادة وقراءة تعاليم دينه وإنسان متسامح لا يأخذ بالثأر بعد أن دمر ماكار حياته وألقى به فى السجن.
لا أتفق مع فكرة العفو والتسامح المطلق التى مثلها أسكيونوف لكن أستمتعت بالقصة وبطريقة تولستوى العذبة وأتمنى أن تتاح لى الفرصة لقراءة أعماله الروائية الطويلة.
Profile Image for Ammara Abid.
205 reviews170 followers
September 10, 2017
What a beautiful, heart-touching story!
I Love Love Love his work whether its a short story or a novel.
Undoubtedly, Leo Tolstoy is one of the greatest literary craftsman ever lived.
Profile Image for Bên Phía Nhà Z.
247 reviews569 followers
January 12, 2018
một đơn cử cho viết giản dị mà ám ảnh, đặc biệt cái truyện cuối cùng, kinh khủng
Profile Image for Quân Khuê.
370 reviews890 followers
January 20, 2018
Hay một cách cổ điển. Mà sao ông ấy có thể viết truyện dễ dàng như thở vậy?
Profile Image for Bahar meow.
219 reviews54 followers
April 5, 2025
The story is just insanely awesome!!
It's totally blowing me away and leaving me speechless.
You know well that nobody really forgives anyone these days, do they?
Well, I won't either!
Profile Image for Nessrina Hazem.
176 reviews158 followers
January 6, 2024

يُتَهم أسكيونوف ظلمًا بالقتل و يحاول تقديم التماسات بالعفو هو و زوجته. بمرور سنوات سجنه، يستسلم لقدره و يتقرب إلي الله و يتفقه في دينه. و مع ابتعاده عن ترف حياته و عائلته، يزداد إيمانه بالله و يتمسك بصلواته و عباداته و منها يكتسب الصبر علي المصاب. و تجري تدابير الله ليري المظلوم ظالمه و يرد الله له حقه فهو يمهل و لا يهمل. تولستوي جعل من أسكيونوف شخص زاهد عفا عمن كان سبب سجنه رغم غضبه عند معرفة انه الفاعل.

قصة قصيرة عن الصبر و الإيمان بالله و إن كنت أفضل لو أسكيونوف كان شخص إيجابي و أعترف علي ظالمه ليعاقب علي افعاله.

القصة ضمن المجموعة القصصية "قصص من تولستوي" من اصدار دار أقلام عربية.
Profile Image for Kurt Walters.
10 reviews1 follower
October 28, 2008
This is simply one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read. Forgiveness is something undervalued nowadays.
Profile Image for Candleflame23.
1,318 reviews992 followers
March 16, 2018
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قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَسَلَّمَ : " ثَلَاثٌ لَا تُرَدُّ دَعْوَتُهُمْ : الْإِمَامُ الْعَادِلُ ،
وَالصَّائِمُ حَتَّى يُفْطِرَ ، وَدَعْوَةُ الْمَظْلُومِ ، فَإِنَّهَا تُرْفَعُ
فَوْقَ الْغَمَامِ ، فَيَنْظُرُ الرَّبُّ جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ فَيَقُولُ
: وَعِزَّتِي وَجَلَالِي لَأَنْصُرَنَّكِ وَلَوْ بَعْدَ حِينٍ " .


لا أدري كيف يتحمل الظالم أن يكون
خصمه الله ! ولا أعرف شعور من يرى
الظلم يقع أمامه ويمضي في شؤونه مفضلاً
مصلحته فوق نصرة المظلوم !
و لا أعلم كيف يطيب العيش لمن يناصر الظالم
ويسعى إلى تبيض صحيفته أمام الناس !

هل أصبح للظلم لذة لا يرغب الظالم إلا بها ؟
أما عن القصة فهي مؤلمة حقاً ولا أعتقد بأنها شيء
من الماضي قد انتهى لأني أراها تحدث وستحدث
مابقى في هذا الكون إنسان .


#أبجدية_فرح
#تقيمي 5/5
#قصة_قصيرة
#ليو_تولستوي
#الله_يرى_الحقيقة _لكنه_يُمهل


رابط القصة للاستماع لها :
https://youtu.be/MjPXFJG22Sc

Profile Image for imane.
496 reviews418 followers
March 17, 2018
لا تظلمن إذا ما كنت مقتدراً فالظلم آخره يفضي إلى الندم

تنام عيناك والمظلوم منتبه يدعو عليك وعين الله لم تنم

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ( ثلاثة لا ترد دعوتهم الصائم حتى يفطر ، والإمام العادل ، ودعوة المظلوم يرفعها الله فوق الغمام ويفتح لها أبواب السماء ، ويقول الرب : وعزتي لأنصرنك ولو بعد حين ) وعن أبي هريرة رضي الله تعالى عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ( دعوة المظلوم مستجابة وإن كان فاجرا ، ففجوره على نفسه)
قال الله تعالى ( وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ اللَّهَ غَافِلًا عَمَّا يَعْمَلُ الظَّالِمُونَ إِنَّمَا يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ لِيَوْمٍ تَشْخَصُ فِيهِ الْأَبْصَارُ)
وقال تعالى (وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَخْذُ رَبِّكَ إِذَا أَخَذَ الْقُرَىٰ وَهِيَ ظَالِمَةٌ ۚ إِنَّ أَخْذَهُ أَلِيمٌ شَدِيدٌ)
Profile Image for Ha Nguyet Linh.
97 reviews181 followers
November 6, 2021
Sau khi đọc tập truyện này, tôi tự xem mình vừa đọc xong Kinh Thánh và Chiến tranh và hoà bình. Thông điệp như Kinh Thánh, hình thức như dụ ngôn, kỹ thuật viết của đại văn hào, và văn phong thì nhẹ bẫng. Cảm giác như thể Tolstoy đọc một đoạn Kinh Thánh xong thấy hay quá, ngồi xuống viết một truyện ngắn minh hoạ cho thông điệp của Chúa, xong quay qua đọc Kinh Thánh tiếp, và không một tế bào thần kinh nào phải hi sinh cho mấy truyện ngắn này. Bất công -_-
Profile Image for Raed.
328 reviews122 followers
August 16, 2022
God Sees the Truth, but why He Waits ?
Profile Image for Shaimaa أحمد.
Author 3 books247 followers
August 7, 2020
ماذا لو ظُلمت بتهمة لم تقم بها و فقدت كل شيء من مال و منصب و حُكم عليكّ أن تقضي حياتك في السجن بعيداً عن كل أحبتك.. و ماذا لو ظن المجرم أنه ناجيٍ من جريمته و أن بإمكانه إرتكاب أخرى دون أن ينوله العقا...
و يتقابل الظالم و المظلوم...هل سينتقم المظلوم من الظالم ؟ لا شك أن المؤمن يؤمن بكل الأقدار وينتظر دوماً العدل من الله لا من البشر
بين هاتين الشخصيتين تدور هذه القصة القصيرة
الله يعلم كل شيء لكنه يمهل............فكن على يقين في العدالة الإلهية
Profile Image for Gabrielė Bužinskaitė.
324 reviews150 followers
March 15, 2023
“And passing her fingers through his hair, she said: “Vanya dearest, tell your wife the truth; was it not you who did it?”
“So you, too, suspect me!” said Aksionov, and, hiding his face in his hands, he began to weep. ”

It’s a short story about a young married man who is sent to prison for a murder he did not do. The story reflects the biblical message “when the world turns against you, only God knows the truth”. The story’s ending is unexpected and powerful.
Profile Image for Hung Nguy.
35 reviews21 followers
January 24, 2018
Lần đầu đọc cụ Lev viết truyện ngắn... Thế quái nào mà cụ viết cái gì cũng hay nhỉ!!!
Profile Image for Janelle.
1,619 reviews344 followers
February 21, 2021
Ultimately a depressing story. A man is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and spends 26 in a prison in Siberia away from his young family.
Profile Image for Minh Nhân Nguyễn.
173 reviews316 followers
March 22, 2021
4 sao

120 trang cho 6 truyện ngắn cũng đủ cho thấy độ ngắn của các truyện trong cuốn sách này thế nào rồi. Trong đó mình thấy 3 truyện đầu được chăm chút hơn, có cốt truyện tốt, tình tiết đủ hấp dẫn, ẩn chứa nhiều triết lý trong đó. 3 truyện sau thì có ý tưởng lạ, hay nhưng vì ngắn quá nên cảm giác hơi cụt và khó hiểu.

Đây là cuốn đầu tiên của Lev Tolstoy mà mình đọc, và mình nghĩ ông hợp với kiểu truyện dài hơn, càng dài hẳn sẽ càng hay, chỉ có như thế mới đủ "đất" để ông thể hiện hết những suy tưởng của mình.

Với cuốn này, dù là truyện ngắn nhưng truyện nào cũng cho cảm giác khá nặng nề, nhiều tầng lớp nghĩa. Trong đó truyện đầu tiên có lẽ là dễ đọc nhất, dù không khí luôn bí bách, ngột ngạt quanh cuộc sống tù đày của nhân vật chính cùng những cuộc đào thoát nghẹt thở.

Truyện thứ 2, với tên cũng là tựa đề cuốn sách (chắc được xem là truyện hay nhất), mình từng đọc ở đâu đó rằng nó còn là cảm hứng để Stephen King viết nên truyện ngắn Nhà tù Shawshank, và sau này được dựng thành bộ phim được đánh giá cao không kém. Mình đã từng xem phim và sau khi đọc truyện thì mình nghĩ phim hẳn là phiên bản trọn vẹn nếu Lev Tolstoy phát triển thêm truyện ngắn này. Tuy vậy, dù biết là khập khiễng khi so sánh, nhưng đánh giá về những gì sẵn có thì mình không thấy ấn tượng lắm với câu chuyện này như đã từng cảm nhận khi xem phim.

Truyện nào cũng mang chút màu sắc tôn giáo trong đó nhưng truyện thứ 3 là thể hiện rõ nhất yếu tố đó. Cuộc hồi hương về cội nguồn tôn giáo của 2 ông lão làm mình liên tưởng đến câu chuyện của một nhân vật trong cuốn Nhà giả kim. Và ý nghĩa rút ra cũng khá tương đồng khi đặt vấn đề về đích đến cuộc hành trình có phải là được đặt chân lên mảnh đất đó, chạm tay vào những vật linh thiêng được ghi trong kinh sách hay chính tâm hồn nhân từ, bác ái sẽ dẫn dắt họ đến với cội nguồn thiêng liêng đích thực. Tuy nhiên truyện có vài chi tiết chưa sáng tỏ nên mình nghĩ mình cũng chưa thẩm thấu hết những gì tác giả muốn gửi gắm trong câu chuyện nhỏ này.

Tóm lại đây là một cuốn sách có thể đọc để biết thêm về cách viết truyện ngắn của một nhà văn vốn nổi tiếng với những câu chuyện phức tạp, rối rắm, nhiều tầng lớp nghĩa, mà ở đó có lẽ mới là nơi ông thể hiện đầy đủ nhất tài năng của mình.
Profile Image for Dihia .
140 reviews49 followers
January 14, 2020
Aksyonov spent 26 years of his life imprisoned for a crime that he did not commit. He was deprived of his liberty and his family. After all these years of suffering and pain in the Siberian prison, he meets Makar, the real murderer. This short story talks about injustice, hope, and forgiveness.
Even after his innocence was proven by the courts, Aksyonov could not take advantage of his freedom. Happiness for him was to see his family.
“To pay for my sins I’ve done twenty-six years penal servitude.”
Profile Image for Naveed Nawaz.
49 reviews14 followers
December 15, 2014
"It seems that only God can know the truth; it is to Him alone we must appeal, and from Him alone expect mercy."

Iyyaka Nabudu wa iyyaka nasta-een. Whatever these great russians wrote, it didn't fail to touch your heart. Forgiveness, kindness, patience and empathy are the most important things in life. No matter what Allah puts you through, face it thankfully and humbly. HE knows best. Be forgiving because HE likes those the most who are forgiving. Beautiful beautiful little story.
Profile Image for Nguyên Trang.
605 reviews702 followers
December 18, 2018
Trong đời không phải hối hận điều gì trừ về tội lỗi. Không gì quý hơn cái phần hồn của mình.
Cậu ngạc nhiên vì chuyện gì đó, rồi duỗi người ra và chết.

Tôi đã đọc nhiều tác phẩm lớn của Tolstoy mà không cảm giác gì. Có thể vì đọc khi quá nhỏ. Nhưng cuốn sách này thì xúc động. Ban đầu đọc như mọi truyện Nga, tức như ăn cơm nguội, nhưng càng đọc, dù mô típ không có gì lạ, cậu chuyện cũng chẳng ngạc nhiên, to tát gì... nhưng thế mới là bậc thầy chứ. Chắc sẽ dành thời gian đọc lại Tolstoy.
Profile Image for dely.
492 reviews278 followers
April 30, 2018
Aksionov, ingiustamente accusato dell'omicidio di un mercante, viene mandato in Siberia dove trascorrerà ventisei anni della sua vita. La giustizia lo condanna e anche la moglie dubita della sua innocenza; Aksionov, sentendosi abbandonato da tutti, si affida a Dio tramite la preghiera. Solo Dio conosce la verità ma non interviene. Un giorno nel campo di lavoro arriva il vero assassino che aveva fatto ricadere le colpe su Aksionov.
Tema principale del racconto è il perdono e la fede in Dio.

La storia è disponibile online: http://www.online-literature.com/tols...
Profile Image for King Iris.
138 reviews41 followers
March 1, 2018
A beautiful heart breaking short story. I don’t agree with the end though. Forgiveness is beautiful, but in such extreme cases like this ? I dont know
Profile Image for Yules.
278 reviews27 followers
October 18, 2025
A typical "godly" Tolstoy story, in which a godly person doesn't mind death or a wasted life.
Profile Image for Sneha Narayan.
81 reviews34 followers
December 7, 2023
Makar seized his hand and told him that he had dug a hole under the wall, getting rid of the earth by putting it into his high boots, and emptying it out every day on the road when the prisoners were driven to their work


I started reading this story for two reasons. One, I found the title interesting. Two, I read somewhere that Stephen King based his novella Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption on this short story; the novella, as we know, was turned into the 1994 masterpiece The Shawshank Redemption directed by Frank Darabont.

In my minimal research, I found that people neither had proof of King admitting to basing it on this short story nor any proof of him disavowing the claim. Either way, many, many parts in this story reminded me of King’s novella and Darabont’s movie. The technique used to escape prison is of course the most obvious of the similarities. In both stories, a man is imprisoned for a crime that he didn’t do and goes on to become a kind of champion for justice and wisdom.

Of course, this is an interesting discussion, and really, I’d argue that a writer takes from many avenues to write their work. In that sense, every story is based on every other story.


What is more intriguing to me, though, is Leo Tolstoy’s titles. His other short story that I remember reading is How Much Land Does a Man Require . In both this one and in God Sees the Truth but Waits, the story seems to give you a religious/Christian sermon on living a good life, being a non-materialistic and non-violent person, being a forgiving person. Yet, somehow, I always come away from his short stories wondering whether he is critiquing religion and god or whether he hasn’t consciously realised that that is what his stories seem to do.

In this present story, a man, Aksyonof, who is falsely accused of a crime is imprisoned for 26 years. In the end, he finds out who committed the crime. He forgives the criminal, deciding that god would be a better judge of his actions since god knows the truth more than Aksyonof himself does. Aksyonof feels relief wash over him as he forgives the real criminal. On the surface, this seems to hint that forgiveness is the epitome of all human qualities.

But then there is the title. Perhaps it’s my agnosticism that’s coming in the way, but I read sarcasm in that title. It does not miss my eye that god knew of Aksyonof’s innocence and still chose to wait and did nothing about it. For Twenty-Six Years. And this fact is not addressed by Tolstoy in the story. Why does god choose to wait?

In How Much Land Does a Man Require too, the title seems to contradict the story. The title seems to preach on religious non-materialism, but the language of the story is sinister, completely in contrast with the peace we usually associate with spiritual teachings.

Turns out, Tolstoy is an interesting character. He was Christian, but strongly opposed religious institutions. He believed in god and was also an anarchist who spoke up against the government and its institutions (including, I guess, prison). Tolstoy was a complicated man, a pacifist and a dogmatist all at the same time.

This of course does not clarify my question about why the god in his story chose to wait. But his confusion in life and his many (often contradictory) beliefs are, at least to me, visible in this short story.

Overall, while I enjoyed the story for its historical and social context, the story itself didn’t exactly work for me. The pace was a little too fast for my liking and maybe, stories on religion have to delve really deep for me to like them.
Profile Image for Andrew.
58 reviews3 followers
March 31, 2020
Dreams, confusion, wisdom, forgiveness, resolve. So much is packed within these few pages. Incredible how you can get so lost in something this small.
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