Let me hug you

*Come, let me hug you on my chest:*

A true story which happened in Saudi Arabia.
Saeed bin Jumaan was an old father whose job was being a teacher. After the death of his wife, may Allah Have Mercy on her, he lived with his sons so they could serve him. Allah blessed him with four sons, and Alhamdulillah all of them were obedient.

Their father was known for his strength, prestige and words. If someone said Saeed bin Jumaan has arrived in the school, the principal and the teachers would get afraid, so how would the students be?

He used to hit his sons very hard, and hung his bamboo stick at the door.
When he became old, he realized his weakness and felt ashamed about how he hit his sons.

This story was told by one of his sons.

He said that their father sent them a message saying: “Habits often drive us to do wrong. Sorry my sons for what I did to you when you were young. I was cruel on you, not because I didn’t love you, but because you were more precious than my breath. Our tradition was saying that the cruel father is the only one who can raise his children properly, but a compassionate father is a one who failed, one who drives his sons to failure. I pretended to be tough and used force expecting that it will benefit you and thinking it was best for you. I was satisfied with our tradition, so as to please the society more than anything else, as if their satisfaction will make us enter Jannah! I tried to please the society even though deep inside I knew it wasn’t right.

My sons, don’t turn against me. When I see you kissing your children and befriending them, my heart breaks apart from pain, and I want to scream and tell you I also loved you, and I still love you.

So why is it, that when one of you kisses your children, you look at me in such a way that I feel like a sharp blade is stabbing my heart? It is as if you are telling me to learn how to love my children and be tender to them.

I understand how parents should deal with their children. But this wasn’t our time, and I can’t bring back what I’ve lost a long time ago. So don’t teach me anything unless it’s useful.  I ask for your forgiveness.  You can do anything you want to me, but don’t torture me with that look.”

This story was told by his youngest son, Yaser, who is now the father of three sons and a daughter.

“We were all touched by his message and we went and kissed his head, hands and feet, and we told him if it wasn’t for the way he raised us, we wouldn’t have been successful men.  When I went to bed to sleep, my father’s words kept ringing in my ears, and my heart ached and I turned over on my bed but it didn’t help.

Then I cried bitterly and I wrote to my father saying:
My beloved father, You may have thought that our looks to you when we embrace our children is a punishment, but this is the proof of our innocence, and only Allah Knows. When I embrace my children and look at you, it’s like I am saying ‘what if my father embraces me now?’ Because even though I’ve grown up and I’ve become a father, it doesn’t mean that I don’t need your warm hug and kisses. So can I have a hug and a kiss?”
Then he sent it to his father’s mobile phone and slept.

At dawn, Yaser went out of his room to pray and found his father standing on his crutches at the door, saying: “Come my son, let me hug you on my chest, I didn’t realize that beating you would hurt my heart so much now. If I did good then Allah Knows, If I was wrong then forgive me. You don’t know how precious you are to me. You are my soul, my liver and my everything.”

He brought Yaser to his chest and kissed him, and both of them started to cry.

After a few minutes, the father fell to the ground. His sons took him to the hospital and they tried to help him, but his time had come, he had departed from this world. May Allah have mercy on him.

So be gentle to your parents, because they might have wanted so much to be tender to you but they didn’t get the chance to.

Forget any painful past and remember that they have a great value, even if they didn’t raise you up with love.

Who stood up for your interests until you became an adult man, or woman and active member of society?

O Allah forgive our parents and have mercy on them, as they brought me up when I was little. Ameen!

Please share this story with those you love, because many need this.

The Story of Barseesa

There was a man who lived amongst the children of Israel named Barseesa. His worship and devotion to Allah was so great that we call him ‘aabid bani Isra’eel’: the great worshipper from the Children of Israel.

During his time, the King of the land made a call for men to join the army to fight in a jihad against an enemy. Amongst those who wanted to sign up were three brothers, but there was one problem. They had one sister and no other family to look after her. So they decided to go to Barseesa, the righteous man, and ask him to look after her in their absence, as they feared no evil from him.

Barseesa immediately refused their request: he would rather devote his time to worship of Allah. But when the three brothers went away, shaitan came to Barseesa and whispered to him “If you don’t look after the sister, then they will leave her in the hands of someone else, and then her safety isn’t guaranteed.”

So Barseesa changed his mind and took responsibility for the sister while the three brothers left. He left her in a house next to the building in which he prayed and each day he would prepare her some food and leave it outside his house for her, and then she would come and pick it up.

After some time, shaitan again came to Barseesa and suggested “why don’t you go and deliver the food to her doorstep. As it is, she is coming out of the house and everyone sees her, and you can see her inconvenience.”

So Barseesa accepted this suggestion and started taking the food right to the doorstep of where she was staying.

This continued for a while until shaitan came to him again and said “how can you leave the food at her doorstep? She still has to open the door and people see her.” Barseesa again changed his plan and decided to take the food into the house. But that was it, he decide. No further.

So this continued for a while until shaitan came and whispered to him “why dont you ever ask her how she is, at the moment she lives like a prisoner no one ever talks to her.” So now Barseesa started to talk to her, and soon they were smiling and laughing with each other and then passions flared, and then they fell in love, and then Barseesa, `aabid Bani Israeel, committed zina.

The story doesn’t end there because she became pregnant.

Shaitan now came to Barseesa and said “What have you done? If those three brothers come back and find their sister with a child, they will know that you betrayed their trust and committed zina with their sister, and then they are going to kill you. The only way to get out of this situation is to kill the child.” So Barseesa killed the child.

Shaitan came back to him again and warned “Do you think that the woman is going to keep quiet about the fact that you killed her child? The only way you can save yourself from this situation is to kill her too.” So Barseesa killed her as well.

Time passed, and the three brothers returned from jihad and asked for their sister. Barseesa merely pointed to a fake grave in which he had buried some animal bones. So the brothers cried and returned to their home.

However, shaitan came to each of them in a dream and said “that man Barseesa is a liar. When you were away he committed zina with your sister and then he killed her and their child and buried her in such-and-such place. And the grave you were shown is a fake grave with animal bones in it.”

When these three brothers woke up, they were shocked that they had all shared the same dream. So they checked the false grave to find the animal bones, and found the real grave of their sister and her child. When they interrogated Barseesa about it he confessed to everything, so they chained him up and dragged him to the King so that he could be executed. On the way there, shaitan appeared to Barseesa in a physical form and said “O Barseesa, do you know who i am? I am shaitan, and i am the one who has led you along this path. And now i am the only one who can save you.” Barseesa begged for help, so shaitaan instructed “If you prostrate to me i will save you.” So Barseesa prostrated to shaitan and … shaitan disappeared.

Barseesa ex-`aabid Bani Israeel was led away and executed. The once best of people died as the worst of poeple.
The point of the story is, you might think at the beginning that what you are doing is fine and that you can keep check on your emotions and everything, but you don’t know where this will lead to. Shaitan didn’t come to Barseesa directly and tell him to commit zina or murder, rather he took the softly-softly approach, and Barseesa fell for it. Shaitan doesn’t come to us guys and say “go and sleep with that girl.” He starts off by saying “hey, check her out, isn’t she pretty.” And then, “why don’t you just pop over there and say hello to her?”* and then … i guess you know what i’m saying. This excellent story was shared by a brother, may Allah (SWT) reward him. AMEEN.

When Allah has said that shaytan is an awoved enemy to you and we dont understand all his little ways that he uses to trap us, why open the door for him…

Say Thanks to Allah

A man reached 70 years of age and he faced a disease; he could not urinate. The doctors informed him that he was in need of an operation to cure this disease. He agreed to have the operation done as the problem was giving him much pain for days.

When the operation was completed, his doctor gave him the bill which covered all the costs. The old man looked at the bill and started to cry. Upon seeing this the doctor told him that if the cost was too high then they could make some other arrangements. The old man said “I am not crying because of the money but I am crying because Allah let me urinate for 70 years and He never sent me a bill.”

…and if you try to count the blessings of Allah, never will you be able to count them… Surah Ibrahim

Allah states that the servants are never able to count His blessings, let alone thank Him duly for them. In Sahih Al-Bukhari it is recorded that the Messenger of Allah( Peace and blessings be upon him) used to supplicate;

«اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ الْحَمْدُ غَيْرَ مَكْفِيَ وَلَا مُوَدَّعٍ وَلَا مُسْتَغْنًى عَنْهُ رَبَّنَا»

O Allah ! All praise is due to You, without being able to sufficiently thank You, nor ever wish to be cutoff from You, nor ever feeling rich from relying on You; our Lord!

It was reported that Prophet Dawud peace be upon him, used to say in his supplication, “O Lord! How can I ever duly thank You, when my thanking You is also a favor from You to me’’
Allah the Exalted answered him, “Now, you have thanked Me sufficiently, O Dawud,’’ meaning, `when you admitted that you will never be able to duly thank Me.’

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Thanks to Allah

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.

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