3 Pieces of Advice Vs 20 Years of Salary

A very poor newly wedded, young couple lived in a small farm. One day the husband made the following proposal to his wife:
Honey, I will leave the house: I will travel faraway, get a job and work hard in order to come back and give you the comfortable life that you deserve. I do not know how long I will stay away, I only ask one thing, please wait for me, and while I am away, you should be faithful to me, because I will be faithful to you.

So the young man left. He walked many days until he found a farmer who was in need of someone to help him. The young man offered his services. He was accepted. Therefore he discussed the terms with his boss: Let me work for as long as I want and when I think I should go home, please relieve me of my duties. I do not want to receive my salary. I ask you to save it for me, until the day I leave. The day I decide to go, please give me the money and I will go my way.

They agreed on that. So, the young man worked for twenty years without holiday and without rest. After twenty years, he came to his boss and said: – Boss, I want my money, because I am returning to my home.
The boss replied:
– All right, after all, I made a deal with you and I will stick to it. However, before you go I want to offer you something new: I will give you all your money and send you away; or I will give you 3 pieces of advice and send you away. If I give you the money, I do not give you the 3 pieces of advice. And if I give you the 3 pieces of advice, I will not give you the money.
Now, go to your room and think about your answer.

He thought for two days. Then he went to the boss and told him:
– I want the 3 pieces of advice. The boss stressed again:
– If I give you the 3 pieces of advice, I will not give you the money.

And the man replied:  I want the 3 pieces of advice.
The boss then told him: No. 1: Never take shortcuts in your life, shorter and unknown paths can cost your life.
No. 2: Never be too curious, for curiosity towards evil can be deadly.
No. 3: Never make decisions in moments of anger or pain, because when you repent, it could be too late.

After giving these 3 pieces of advice, the boss said to him:  Here, you have 3 loaves of bread, 2 are for you to eat during the journey and the last is for you to eat with your wife when you get home.

So, the man went his way, after twenty years away from home and from his wife, whom he loved so much.

After the first day of travel, he found a man who greeted him and asked: Where are you going?
He replied: To a distant place which is about 20 days away if I continue walking.
The man said to him: Ol’ boy, this path is too long! I know a shortcut that is very safe and you will arrive in 5 days only.

The man began to follow the path suggested until he remembered the first piece of advice. Then, he
returned and followed the long path. Days later he learned that the shortcut led to an ambush.

After a few more days of travel, he found an inn by the roadside, where he could rest. He paid for a room and after taking a bath he lay down to sleep.  During the night he woke up as he heard a terrifying scream. He rose to his feet and went to the door to check what happened. As he was opening the door, he remembered the second piece of advice. Therefore he returned, lay down
again and slept.

At dawn, after breakfast, the owner of the lodging asked him if he had not heard the scream at night. He affirmed that he heard. Then, the host said: Were you not curious to see what happened? 
And he replied: No, I was not.
Then the host said: You are the first guest to leave this inn alive. My neighbour is completely crazy. He usually shouts at night to call someone’s attention. When some of the guests come out, he kills them and buries their bodies in the backyard.

The man continued his long journey, eager to arrive soon. After many days and nights walking, he was very tired, but he finally saw his house far away. It was night. He saw some light coming out of the window of his house and was able to see the silhouette of his wife. But he also saw that she was not alone. He came closer and saw there was a man with her. She softly caressed his hair. 

When he saw that scene, his heart was filled with hatred and bitterness. He decided to rush at and kill them both mercilessly. However, he took a deep breath and he remembered the third piece of advice. Then he stopped, reflected and decided to sleep
outside that night. He slept in the midst of the bushes, determined to make a decision the next day.

At dawn, he was calmer and thought: I will not kill my wife and her lover. I am going back to my boss to ask him to take me back. But before I go, I want to tell my wife that I have always been faithful to her.

He went to the front door and knocked. When his wife opened the door and recognized him, she cried and embraced him warmly. He tried to push her away, but he was not able. Then, with tears in his eyes he told her: I was faithful to you but you betrayed me.
She was shocked, so she replied: How did I betray you? I have never betrayed you. I waited patiently for you for twenty good
years.

Then he asked: How about the man that you were caressing yesterday?
And she said: That man is your son. When you left, I discovered I was pregnant. Today he is twenty years old.

Hearing that, the man asked her forgiveness. He met and hugged his son. Then he told them all the things he had experienced while away. Meanwhile, his wife prepared some coffee for them to eat together, the last bread given by his boss.

After a prayer of Gratitude, he broke the bread. When he looked at it, he found all his money inside. In fact, there was even more than the right payment for his twenty years of dedication and hard work.

Our Creator is like this boss. When he asks us to make a sacrifice, he wants to give us more than what we give Him. He wants us to have His unique wisdom as well as the material blessings.

The Sheikhs Parrot

There was a Sheikh who was teaching his students Aqeedah (faith), He taught them ‘la ilaha illa Allah’ and explained it to them.
The Sheikh loved keeping pets, so he was given a parrot by one of the students as a gift.

And with days the Sheikh started to like the parrot.  He used to take him in his lessons, until the parrot knew how to say la ilaha illa Allah, He would to utter it night and day.

One day the students found their Sheikh crying and sobbing.  When they asked him the reason, he told them that a cat attacked the parrot and killed it.  They said: Is this the reason you are crying! If you wish we will bring you another parrot better than that one.

The Sheikh said: I am not crying because of this… But it made me cry when the cat
attacked the parrot.  It was shouting and screaming until it died.  He use to say la ilaha illa Allah a lot.  However, when he was attacked by a cat he forgot to say it.
He did nothing but scream!  Because he used to say it with his tongue only, and his heart did not learn it, so it didn’t feel it!

Then the Sheikh said: I am afraid to be like this parrot, we live our lives repeating la ilaha illa Allah with our tongues, but when death comes we forget it because our hearts did not know it.

When he told his students, they started crying in fear of lack of honesty in saying la ilaha illa Allah.
___________
I ask Allah give us death with ” ﻻ ﺍﻟﻪ ﺍﻻًﺍﻟﻠﻪ
” in our hearts and upon our tongues,

aameen!

Secret Bags of food

“My boss drove a luxury car everyday and it was my duty to greet him and to open the gates for him, as I worked as a watchman in his villa. But he never responded back to my greetings.


One day he saw me opening the garbage bags outside the villa in search for any leftover food. But, as usual he never even looked at me, it was like as if he never saw anything!
The very next day I saw a paper bag at the same place, but it was clean and the food inside was covered well. It was fresh and good food like someone had just brought it from the supermarket. I didn’t bother as to where it came from, I just took the paper bag and I was so happy about it.
 
Every day I found this paper bag at the same place with fresh vegetables and all that we needed for home. This became my daily routine. I was eating and sharing this food with my wife and kids. I was wondering who this fool could be?! To forget his paper bag full of fresh food everyday.
One day there was a big problem in the villa and I was told that my boss has died. There were too many guests coming to the villa that day and I didn’t get any food that day, so I thought that one of the guests must have taken it. But the same thing happened the 2nd day, the 3rd day and the 4th day.
It went on like this for a few weeks and I found it difficult to provide food for my family, so I decided to ask the wife of my boss for a raise in my salary or else I would quit my job as a watchman.
 
After I told her, she was shocked, and asked me, how come you never complained about your salary for the last 2 years? And why is this salary not enough for you now? I gave her so many excuses but she was never convinced!Finally in the end, I decided to tell her the truth, I told her the entire story of the bag of groceries, and as to how it was my daily provision. She then asked me as to when this stopped? I told her after the death of her husband. And then I realized that I stopped seeing the paper bag immediately after the death of my boss. Why didn’t I ever think of this before? That it was my boss who was providing this for me? I guess it was because I never thought that a person who never replied to my greetings could ever be this generous!
 
His wife started to cry and I told her to please stop crying and that I’m really sorry that I asked for a raise, I didn’t know that it was your husband who was providing me with the meals, I’ll remain as a watchman and be happy to provide my service. His wife told me, I’m crying because I’ve finally found the 7th person my husband was giving this bag full of food. I knew my husband was giving 7 people everyday, I had already found the 6 people, and all these days I was searching for the 7th person. And today I found out.
 
From that day onwards, I started to receive the bag full of food again, but this time his son was bringing it to my house and giving it to my hand. But whenever I thanked him, he never replied! Just like his dad!
One day, I told him THANK YOU in a very loud voice! He replied back to me to please not be offended when he doesn’t reply, because he has a hearing problem, just like his dad!” Oh! We have been wrong so many times judging others without knowing the true story behind their actions. Be kind and courteous in dealing with others, for everyone is fighting a hard battle. Be careful, not everything is about you. Before you assume, there is this thing called ASKING.
 
Don’t just jump to conclusion, because that is truly not an exercise, it may cause you more harm at the end of the day. Many of our problems are caused by how we process what happens around us. Don’t judge a situation you have never been in. Be humble enough to learn. You do not know it all. Lets change the way we feel about ourselves and others.
 
There are two sides to a story. Don’t believe everything you hear.
Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.
 
May Allah Ta‘ala make us from the righteous. آمــــــــــين ثـمّ آمــــــــــين  

The Spirit of Ramadan

Asad opened the refrigerator door and peered inside. His eyes fell on a huge chocolate cake and some sandwiches, the leftovers from yesterday’s tea.

“Oh God! Why am I being punished like this?” He groaned silently.

It was the first day of Ramadan and Asad was fasting. He had just returned from school and was feeling ravenous. After dropping his heavy backpack on the bedroom floor, he made a beeline for his favorite spot in the house, the kitchen. But fasting meant no food for at least four more hours. He would have to wait till sunset to break the first fast of the month.

Just for a second, Asad felt sorely tempted.

“Who would know if I eat a slice of the cake?” he mused. His parents weren’t home, his grandparents were resting and his baby sister, Fatima was too young to tell tales.

“Somebody would know, “a little voice argued inside his heart. “He, who knows everything, since He is our Creator.”

Asad slammed the fridge door shut in frustration. He was fourteen and felt ashamed of his momentary weakness. He went to the living room where a maid was spooning Cerelac into Fatima’s little mouth. Fatima gurgled and grinned at her older brother who bent down to give her a hug. Asad looked at the pale yellow concoction that was smeared across her face and swallowed hard. Even Cerelac smelled good at this hour.

He flopped down on the sofa in disgust and switched on the television.

“Maybe a nice program will take my mind off food for a while,” he thought, aggressively pressing down the channel buttons on the remote control.

He paused at BBC channel where a cute anchorperson was presenting a report. Asad stared at her for a while without registering the news but then some live images made his attention snap back at the report. Rachel Hayward was talking about intense, widespread poverty and famine in Africa where millions of children perished each year due to hunger and malnutrition.

Asad stared at the disturbing pictures of dark brown skeletal children with distended stomachs. Flies hovered around their faces and their naked bodies, as mothers listlessly tried to wave them away. Their misery was writ large on their faces and their empty eyes bore testimony to man’s inured ways.

Asad thought with a guilty pang about the uneaten pizza he had thrown away in a fit of temper last night. He had ordered his favorite Chicken Supreme but the delivery boy had brought some other pizza and would not take it back. Asad had paid for it and just to show the impertinent delivery guy what he thought of his services, had tossed the pizza into the trash can outside his house. It had felt so good at that time but now he felt like a total jerk.

He remembered how his grandmother always chided him when he left rice uneaten on his plate that was later scrapped off by the servant and dumped in trashcan. He remembered the lavish meals he and his friends ordered in college canteen and then discarded because they could not eat a bite more. If excess, extravagance and waste were crimes, then he was guilty of each one of them.

He changed the channels once again and put on MTV. He had a huge crush on Beyonce but after witnessing the BBC report, the music seemed too loud, too cheerful and even obscene. He switched the television off.

“What is wrong with me today?” He thought uneasily. “It must be the lack of food that is making me so restless.” He glanced at the stately golden clock adorning the living room wall. Only twenty minutes had passed and he still had more than three and a half hours to kill.

“I’ll go to Bilal’s house.” He decided, thinking about his friend’s house across the street. “Maybe a few rounds of computer games will improve my mood.”

When he stepped out of his house, he saw was a couple of dirty, bedraggled children foraging through the trash can. The older kid, who seemed about 5 yrs old, dragged a piece of dried chapatti out of the refuse heap and brushed away blackened mango peels from it. He broke it in two and offered the other half to his younger sister. Asad stood rooted to the spot in horror.

“Hey. Don’t eat that. It’s terribly dirty and probably mouldy too,” he shouted but the duo quickly crammed the hard chapatti into their hungry mouths and scampered off.

“Why had I never noticed such things before?” he wondered.

Asad had never been hungry in his entire life so poverty, deprivation, and hunger were concepts that he had never thought about.If the home cooked meal was not to his liking, he always ordered his favorite foods from upscale restaurants and had them delivered home. He had a credit card, a gift from his father on his fourteenth birthday and he used it for lavish meals whenever he wished.

Now hunger due to the obligatory fast was forcing him to look at the plight of the less fortunate and the more he saw, the more disturbed he felt.

He crossed the street and saw a construction crew at work. Bilals’ father was having a wing added to his already imposing residence. Asad paused to admire the skill of an old carpenter who was busy smoothing a rectangular block of wood. Wood shavings littered the floor around him.

“Are you fasting, babaji?” He asked respectfully.

The old man looked up and wiped the perspiration from his brow.

“Aye, son. Work is no excuse for not fasting,” he replied.

Asad could not imagine fasting and then working in the relentless summer afternoon heat. He looked around at the laborers, mason, and brick layers working in a rhythmic method.

“What do you eat for iftaar?” he asked out of curiosity, referring to the evening meal. He imagined the lavish food that got prepared in their kitchen everyday. It took their chef at least two hours to put together an afternoon tea.

The old man smiled,” Whatever Allah provides for us, son. He is Merciful and Most Gracious.”

“Does Mr. Haroon provide you with meals?” Asad persisted. He knew Bilal’s father was rather tight fisted. He would have insisted that the men put in whole shifts instead of cutting down their working hours in deference to Ramadan.

“What do rich men know about empty stomachs, my son,” the old carpenter replied, moving his plane over the wood in a smooth, fluid motion.

With bile rising in his throat, Asad turned back towards his house. His mind was in turmoil and his heart ached. In the living room he paced restlessly and then saw some CDs that his grandfather was fond of listening. He put on one in the magnificent stereo system that his father had recently purchased. It was recitation of the Holy Quran. As the soul stirring voice of Qari Saad Al Ghamdi reciting Surah al Baqarah filled the room, Asad felt waves of serenity hitting him. He felt engulfed in peace and tears shimmered in his eyes.

“Those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah and do not follow up their spending by stressing their benevolence and causing hurt, will find their reward secure with their Lord. They have no cause for fear and grief. ”

Asad spent some time listening and absorbing the message from Allah. Then he took a bath and said his prayers. His parents came home and the smell of iftaar being prepared filled the house.

As the entire family gathered for breaking the fast, Asad looked at the dining table laden with a variety of food ___ sandwiches, cake, fruit cocktail, tempura, triangular samosay, fried chicken pieces, dates and a variety of other dishes.

“Mom, do we need to cook so much food for one meal that no one can possibly finish?”

“What’s on your mind, son?” his father asked, surprised by his son’s unusual question.

“Dad, Mom’s on a diet, grandparents can’t eat fried and salty food as per doctor’s orders and Fatima can’t eat solid food. That leaves you and me to finish at least eight dishes. It’s pure waste.”

“Asad, what is wrong, son?” His mother asked concerned about her son’s state of mind.

“Mom there are people out there dying of hunger. There are people who have a handful of dried dates to eat and yet work all day on rich people’s mansions and then thank God for His blessings.”

“Asad, we do pay zakat and charity to help those in need. I am very happy that you are being so thoughtful and caring, but we cannot eradicate poverty on our own,” his father reasoned.

“Yes, but maybe this Ramadan we can share our food with those whose needs are greater than ours, father. May I?” Asad asked with a tilt of his head towards the food.

The grown ups looked bemused but Asad felt a gleam of pride in their eyes. He went outside and invited the laborers for iftaar. At first hesitantly and then with joy and gratitude they accepted his offer.

Asad’s servants laid out linen on the green grass of their beautifully manicured lawn and the men took off their shoes and sat cross legged waiting for the Maghrib azaan which would signal the time to break the fast.

As Asad passed out fresh dates and fruit to about two dozen men in the garden, the old carpenter said smilingly, “Didn’t I tell you that Allah is the best Provider and we eat out of His provisions.”

For the first time in the day, Asad laughed aloud in joy.

“Thank you for teaching me the true spirit of Ramadan, babaji . It is not about mindlessly abstaining from food and drink all day but understanding the needs of others and pleasing Allah to gain His blessings that Ramadan is all about. Sharing and caring, that’s the true spirit of this holy month.”

“Aye, and praying too. Now help this old man get up so that I can say my prayers, young man.”

Happy and satiated, they all went to the local mosque to offer their prayers and thank Allah for all His blessings.

By Gulrukh Tausif

Allah’s Mercy

Imam Raazi rahmatullahi alayhi has written a story narrated by a pious person. The person narrated, “One evening I was walking along the riverbank, suddenly my eyes fell upon a scorpion walking in front of me. A thought occurred to me that this is also the Creation of Allah Ta’ala and Allah Ta’ala has created it out of some wisdom and reason. I did not know where it was coming from and where it was going to, or where it’s home was. I thought in my heart that I have got time; I have come out for a walk, so I will follow this scorpion. Therefore, I followed it. The scorpion stopped at one point on the riverbank and I stood near it.

After a short while I saw a tortoise swimming towards the scorpion. To my surprise, the scorpion jumped on to the back of the tortoise and mounted itself on it. As this was an extraordinary occurrence, I was determined to see where the scorpion would go. I also tagged along to see what happens.

The scorpion jumped off the tortoise’s back at the other side of the riverbank and hurried along in a certain direction. Further on I saw a man sleeping under a tree. I thought to myself that the scorpion might bite the man; therefore, I should quickly awaken him. Just as I reached him, I saw a poisonous snake with its mouth wide-open standing by the head of the man. Suddenly the scorpion confronted the snake and stung it so decisively, that the snake fell onto the ground helpless.

As this amazing incident unfolded before me, I thought to myself that this must be a very pious man. I approached him to request for duaas but was astonished to find him in a state of drunkenness. Just then the man woke up, and I narrated to him the incident that had just taken place. The man was very touched by what he heard and immediately repented.

Allah’s Mercy is always directed towards His bondsmen, only if we were to turn towards him.”

Business with Allah

Money has very little to do with it, otherwise all the rich would be blissfully happy and the poor totally miserable. Money can buy medicines but not health, acquaintances but not friends, servants but not faithfulness, food but not appetite.

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has very aptly said that : “Riches are not from an abundance of worldly goods, but from a contented mind.”

With all the scientific and technological advancement, man is still living a life of continued misery and unhappiness. Everywhere we look we find turmoil and confusion, people don’t know how to solve their problems, how to achieve true happiness. Most don’t even know what their function is in this cycle of Creation.

If we want to achieve true happiness then we have to look towards our Creator and Source of happiness where He says in Surah Asr: ‘By the token of time Man is in loss, except such as have faith and do righteous deeds and join together in the mutual teaching of truth and of patience and constancy.’

As long as we attach our happiness to material things it will always elude us. We reflect on the life story of the wealthy Christina Onassis who owned fleets of ships, lakes, real estates. For weeks her story dominated the papers as Christina was the only legal heiress of her father Aristotle Onassis besides her late father’s wife Jaqueline Kennedy.

What an inheritance she gained! Someone inheriting such a huge fortune should certainly be the happiest person in the world. Was this true for Christina? She married an American but after a few months the marriage broke up. Thereafter she married a Greek but only for another few months. Then she decided to stay out of marriage searching for happiness, it did not materialize. A few years later she married again to a Russian communist. She divorced him after one year. Then a French industrialist.

When the marriage broke up she vowed never to marry again. – Four husbands from four different countries over a period of two years! At a party the press asked: ‘How do you feel being the richest woman in the world?’ She replied, ‘Yes I’m the richest woman but I’m searching for happiness.’

Then we consider the man whom Allah Ta’ala gave an incurable disease. The doctors who gave up hope of his recovery, as a last resort, advised him to proceed to England for an emergency operation. The man asked for three days to organise his things and see to his family in case he died. Then he was sitting with his friend in his office which was next door to a butcher. While he gazed out of the window he saw a woman picking up awful pieces of meat and bone from the bin. He went down and asked her ‘What are you doing?’

She said, ‘Son, Allah has given me five daughters and they haven’t tasted meat for a year. I’m just picking up these bits and pieces for them. The man broke down into tears and went to the butcher and told him that the lady would collect meat from him every week, he should give her whatever she needs. She turned and said, ‘But I only need one kilo’. He said, give her two kilos and paid one year in advance.

The woman could not believe all of this, she just burst into tears and raised her hands to Allah to make this man happy. When he went home he felt so much better, he felt he had so much energy. He met his daughter who was pious, she said, ‘Father, you look so well, you’re moving so well.

I see so much light in your face, where did this come from? He told her about the old woman. She cried and lifted her hands and made Du’ah to Allah to cure him from his heart disease because he had made the poor old woman and her daughters happy. Allah accepted this and when he went to England the doctors were stunned at his remarkable recovery and asked him which doctor had cured him. He cried and said, ‘I only did business with Allah’.

The King and His Friend

This is a story about a King in Africa who had a close friend that he grew up with.

The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) by remarking,

“This is good, Allah Almighty knows best”

One day the King and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the King. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the King fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual,

“This is good! Allah Almighty knows best.”

To which the King replied,

“No, this is NOT good!”

and ordered his soldiers to put his friend into jail.

About a year later, the King was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured the King and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the King was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So after untying the King, they chased him out of the village.

When the King reached his Palace, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend.

“You were right”

the King said,

“It was good that my thumb was blown off.”

And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened.

“I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this.”
“No,” his friend replied, “this is good…Allah Almighty knows best”

“What do you mean, ‘this is good’! How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?”

The King’s friend replied:

“Remember that the Almighty knows best and if I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you on that hunting trip.”

“He knows what is before them and what is behind them: And to Allah go back all questions (for decision)” Qur’an: Surah Al Hajj 22:76

Do Not Judge Things or Events by its Immediate Outcome!
Almighty Allah, the Most High is the All-Knowledgeable, the All-Knower… He chooses to show us things… but sometimes… we are not shown the wisdom behind some things. When we are confronted by circumstances that are not very pleasing…. we are quick to say: “This is not good…” but… is it really? We might not know the purpose behind it. It might turn to be a good thing…. thus… when we are faced with any situation…. do not be too quick to judge… always remember…. this life is a test… the good and the bad…. and there is nothing that happens for no reason… our brains are just not gifted enough to understand these reasons yet. Sometimes … things happen to us for a reason.

I Didn’t take drugs

I went to visit some friends. Mom, I remembered what you said.
You told me not to take DRUGS. Mom, so I kept away from those who were ‘hooked’ and instead, I regretted to find some among my so called ‘friends’ who were so induldging. I really felt proud inside, Mom, the way you said I would.

I Know I did the right thing, Mom, I Know you are always right.
Now everyone was leaving, Mom as everyone is driving out of sight.

As I got into my car, Mom, I knew I’d get home in one piece.
Because of the way you raised me, so responsible and sweet. 

I started to drive away, Mom, but as I pulled out into the road,
the other car didn’t see me, Mom, he hit me like a load.

As I lay there on the Pavement, Mom, I hear the policeman say, the other guy is “high” on drugs, Mom, and now, I’m the one who will pay for his recklessness. 

I’m lying here dying. Mom, I wish you’d get here soon.
How could this happen to me, Mom ? My life just burst like a balloon.

There is blood all around me, Mom, and most of it is mine.
I hear the medic say, Mom, I’ll die in a short time. 

I just wanted to tell you, Mom, I swear I didn’t take drugs. It was the others, Mom. The other didn’t think. He was probably the friend of my so called “friends”.

The only difference is, he is “high” and I will die. Why do people take drugs, Mom? It can ruin your whole life.
I’m feeling sharp pains now; pains just like a sharp knife.

The guy who hit me is walking, Mom and I don’t think it’s fair.
I am lying here dying and all he can do is stare. 

Tell my brother not to cry, Mom. Tell Daddy to be brave. And when I leave this world, Mom, Please remember me in you dearest prayers; as you always do.

Someone should have told him, Mom, not to take DRUGS. If only they had told him, Mom, I would still be around treasuring our fondest memories together. My breath is getting shorter and shorter, Mom, I’m becoming very scared. Please don’t cry for me, Mom. Please When I needed you, you were always there. You always guided me to good, Mom; and I appreciate every bit of it.

Mom, before I say good bye; tell my “friends”, not to take drugs; to admit they have a problem and to seek help. Tell them to speak to their Moms; like how I confide in you in everything. And tell, their parents to support, help and counsel them.

Mom; I didn’t take drugs and I’m proud that I listened to you……

Compiled, edited and adapted from “Death of an Innocent” to convey a message on Drugs.

“O You who believe, intoxicants,gambling, and the altars of idols, and the games of chance are abominations of the devil(shaytaan). So avoid them so that you may be successful.” Quran {5:90 }

Source: everymuslim.co.za

This Eid…

They had their haircuts the night before Eid and then hit town to get some nice new clothes for the night out they had planned for Eid.

It was going to be wicked, they were going to look sharp and fresh and the ladies of Birmingham would be flocking around them that night! Imran brought himself some Louboutins, a new aftershave and Riz spent 400 on a blazer from Selfridges, when he had gotten home from the haircut before he left for town his mother had asked him to take her shopping. He told her he was busy and instead called her a taxi so she could go herself. “Got things to do enit ammi flipping hell always doing my head in” he shouted as he left, slamming the front door, and leaving home. His mother was single, abusive husband had finally left her after years of torment. He had met another woman and was undoubtedly ruining her life too.

The boys went home and showered then prepared for the big night out. Imran had rented out an M4 for the weekend and they were going to drive it even though they planned to drink the night away. They left home, for the last time ever.

It was 2am and the boys were intoxicated. In a heaving club where they’d managed to pull 2 friends who were visiting Birmingham for the weekend. Riz slurred to them that they were going to take the girls on a mad cruise and showed photos of the car they had hired, the girls thought wow these boys have money and were taken by the idea. 30 minutes later and Imran was doing 120mph down a road where the max speed was 40mph. The girls had been dropped off as they were scared of the way Imran was driving and Riz was vomiting in the passenger seat as he’d drank too much.
It was a cold night and the crunching impact sent a shockwave through the icy still air as they smashed into a brick wall trying to avoid the roundabout they had suddenly approached. The occupants of the car died instantly that night. Intoxicated.

Family unaware, as their blood spilled into the street and people slowly began to gather. Later, as their bodies lay cold on metal beds in the hospital morgue it was their families who screamed, it was their families who suffered, they cried and prayed because of the way they had died.

Blood tests indicated alcohol and cocaine. Imagine that was you, planning your night out and you died. It doesn’t have to be a car crash, or even if you’re drunk.

Imagine you die doing something displeasing to Allah? Be scared and repent before it’s too late. This Eid please don’t let this status be about you. Drive carefully and remember the angel of death could be coming for you….. #Share

Lessons from a Donkey

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.

Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

MORAL : Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up. Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred – Forgive.
2. Free your mind from worries – Most never happens.
3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less from people but more from yourself.

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