"This Too Shall Pass"

Oh I didn't know that one of my favourite sentences has so much significance and importance in history? For me it was just an encouraging sentence from my brother when i was sad on going back to hostel after long summer holidays. I still remember that was the road of Garden Town, Lahore on which we get fields of Punjab University on our right side. It was night and we were standing on a signal. wow time passes so quickly.

Today sitting idle at office made me psycho enough to search that sentence on google, and to my surprise i got its link in Wikipedia too. Wiki says..

" This too shall pass" (Hebrew: גם זה יעבור‎, gam zeh yaavor) is a phrase occurring in a Jewish wisdom folktale involving King Solomon. The phrase is commonly engraved on silver rings.
Many versions of the folktale have been recorded by the Israel Folklore Archive at the University of Haifa. Heda Jason recorded this version told by David Franko from Turkey:
One day Solomon decided to humble Benaiah Ben Yehoyada, his most trusted minister. He said to him, "Benaiah, there is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I wish to wear it for Sukkot which gives you six months to find it." "If it exists anywhere on earth, your majesty," replied Benaiah, "I will find it and bring it to you, but what makes the ring so special?" "It has magic powers," answered the king. "If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy." Solomon knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to give his minister a little taste of humility. Spring passed and then summer, and still Benaiah had no idea where he could find the ring. On the night before Sukkot, he decided to take a walk in one of the poorest quarters of Jerusalem. He passed by a merchant who had begun to set out the day's wares on a shabby carpet. "Have you by any chance heard of a magic ring that makes the happy wearer forget his joy and the broken-hearted wearer forget his sorrows?" asked Benaiah. He watched the grandfather take a plain gold ring from his carpet and engrave something on it. When Benaiah read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile. That night the entire city welcomed in the holiday of Sukkot with great festivity. "Well, my friend," said Solomon, "have you found what I sent you after?" All the ministers laughed and Solomon himself smiled. To everyone's surprise, Benaiah held up a small gold ring and declared, "Here it is, your majesty!" As soon as Solomon read the inscription, the smile vanished from his face. The jeweler had written three Hebrew letters on the gold band: gimel, zayin, yud, which began the words "Gam zeh ya'avor" -- "This too shall pass." At that moment Solomon realized that all his wisdom and fabulous wealth and tremendous power were but fleeting things, for one day he would be nothing but dust.
The phrase "This too shall pass" and the associated ring story were made popular by Abraham Lincoln in his 'Address Before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, Milwaukee, Wisconsin' on September 30, 1859:

Yes we don't go for that many stupid Israeli folktales though they are very catchy. But i do have read a similar "story" for a Muslim king that he asked all Ulama of his country to get him such a Taweez or Dua or Ayat or Wird or anything like that, that on reading or seeing it in a bad or difficult situation all its worries should vanish away, else he will kill every Alim. Ulama got worried, but before the deadline they managed it. They gave the King a folded paper and told him not open unless u really feel yourself in a difficult situation. Kind said OK. After an year a neighbour army attacked and Kings forces were defeated, king ran away and enemies were on its back, he kept running and reached a jungle and after that found himself on the edge of a deep steep valley. Heard forces coming for him. He thought its his end, suddenly he remembered he has that paper given by the Alim in his inner pocket. He searched it out and to his surprise there was only written "This too shall pass". King was surprised, and was more surprised when he heard the sound of horses coming closer and then suddenly moving away at some other path. Somehow the king gathered his forces again in a year and fought back his kingdom, and when he was returning to his castle from the middle of the city, shouting and praising crowd all around, flowers falling on head and he was sitting proud on horse's back, at that moment he suddenly remembered that note "This Too Shall Pass". King immediately jump off the horse, gave up his his kingdom to his minister and spent rest of his life praying Allah.
I know its a "story" too, but who cares :)