The Friendly Stranger

By Muhammad Haroon Siddique

Age 10

RING RING, rang the telephone.

“Assalamu Alaikum dear! I’ll be home in half an hour!” mom informed. “Yusuf Beta
dinner is in the fridge. Please pray, read Quran and make sure you don’t go on the computer.”
She added with a serious tone.
“Sure Mom” Yusuf replied.

Yusuf was a tall and smart 11 year old. He loved soccer and computer games. He got
good grades in school, so his parents had allowed him to join the soccer league. His passion for
soccer helped him to stay motivated for school.

Yusuf ate his dinner. Then he prayed, read Quran and finished his homework. This half
hour felt awfully long.

Yusuf decided to go on the computer for only a few minutes. He decided to play his
favourite game called Soccer Stars. While he scored a goal against the opponent's team, he saw a
square pop up. It caught his attention so he clicked and there was a message from the username
Diego17.

“Hey! You’re pretty good! What’s your name?” it read.

He felt a little odd receiving a message. His parents had clearly warned him of the
dangers of online chats. He thought to himself it’s just one message. However, he didn’t feel
humble replying back to a stranger. But then again, he was sure a few words wouldn’t hurt.

“Oh, hi! I am Yusuf. Thanks!” he typed back.

They continued chatting while the game was on a pause. Bah-doop! It was another
message.

“Nice to meet you, Yusuf! I’m Diego. You’re really good. You must play in a league.” it
read.

“Yes! How’d you guess?” He replied. Yusuf enjoyed the conversation. Surely, a few
innocent messages couldn’t possibly harm him. Bah-doop! The chat window flashed again.

“When is your next game, Yusuf? I would love to watch you play.”
 “I play for the Oakville Soccer League every Thursday.” Yusuf replied. Then he heard
the athan go on. He logged off and went to make his wudhu.

“Assalamu Alaikum Beta!” Mom greeted whilst stepping inside, “How was your day?”
“ It was great! We had to present about our favourite sport!” Yusuf exclaimed. He left
out the part about his online encounter. He decided it wasn’t important and he would only get in
trouble.

The following day at Yusuf’s soccer game, Yusuf met Diego who had come to watch
him play. After the game, Diego handed him a gift bag. Yusuf felt honoured and looked inside
the bag. It was his favourite soccer jersey and $20 Soccer Stars gift card! He was surprised that
Diego had gotten him a gift even though they had just met!

Diego had a friendly look. He was 17 and supported long, curly hair. Yusuf chatted with
him for a while. He noticed that Diego knew a lot about soccer. They had so much in common!
It was getting late and Yusuf bid farewell to Diego.

The following week, Yusuf’s parents dropped him off to his soccer practice. They
advised Yusuf to walk straight home after the game. He noticed that Diego also had come to
watch.

After his soccer practice, Yusuf went to greet Diego. He informed him that he would
have to leave early as he had to walk. Diego offered him a ride home.

“No it’s not a problem.” Yusuf said. He felt Diego had already done so much for him.
But Diego insisted. Finally, Yusuf agreed and followed him to his car. Diego drove a little slow
and it was already past Asr. Yusuf noticed he missed the turn to his block. He started to feel a
little uneasy.

“Diego, we were supposed to turn left.” Yusuf demanded.

“Yeah I know. Don’t worry, I’m just taking a different route.” he replied. Diego drove
past Yusuf’s neighbourhood and parked at a shabby convenience store. Yusuf felt nervous and
read Ayatul Kursi. He saw a group of boys surrounding the car. “I just want you to meet some of
my friends. You’ll like them a lot! And then I will drop you home.” Diego assured. Yusuf
reluctantly agreed.

“Hey! Whaddup Dee? You did it!” one rowdy boy proclaimed. They high-fived each
other laughing.

By now, Yusuf was desperate. He regretted his decisions about befriending Diego. He
was also skeptical about the area he was in. Why did Diego bring him here? He made dua to
Allah and pleaded for forgiveness in his heart. He thought about how his parents would feel. He
decided he needed to come up with an escape plan.
 While Yusuf was in his thoughts, Diego elbowed him to enter the store. Yusuf tried to
object but Diego was persistent.

Suddenly, Diego’s friendliness completely switched to disrespectful and stubborn. The

boys pushed Yusuf to the rear corner of the store and surrounded him. They demanded that he
steal the elite Soccer Star game cards. Yusuf denied and tried to escape from their tight grasp.
The store owner noticed shuffling sounds.

“Everything okay back there, boys?” He yelled. The boys turned to look at him.

With all of the attention directed at the store owner, it was the perfect chance for Yusuf
to escape. He read Bismillah and managed to break away. The boys chased after him, tearing his
T-shirt from the back as Yusuf ran off as fast as he could.

As he ran home, a million thoughts raced in his head. It was all making sense to him.
Why was Diego so friendly? Why did he give him a gift and watched his games and offer him a
ride home? It was only to win his trust to get him to steal! Yusuf felt betrayed. But ultimately, he
was disappointed in himself, for trusting a stranger. He felt like his lungs were about to burst but
he didn’t slow down until he reached home.

He caught his breath and rang the bell. Mom opened the door.

“Beta, are you alright? Where were you? We were so worried.” Mom embraced him
and Yusuf felt safe.

Dad had been out in the neighborhood looking for him. He hugged Yusuf and was glad
he was home safe. They were worried about him not coming home after his practice.

His dad then recounted how he saw a few teenage boys being taken away by the
neighborhood patrol a few blocks down. Yusuf felt extremely guilty and related everything
truthfully to his parents.

“Mom, all this happened because I disobeyed you when you told me not to go on the
computer that day.” Yusuf concluded. “But I did, even though it was only for a few minutes.”

Yusuf’s parents told him that they were proud of him for telling the truth, but also for
refusing to steal. They told him that he did what Prophet Yusuf did when he faced a crime. He
ran away as fast as he could from it and Allah helped him.

“You did the right thing, Yusuf.” Dad reassured. “You had shyness from Allah, so you
didn’t steal even when pressured. That is brave!”
Yusuf was grateful. Allah had saved him from greater trouble. He promised his parents
that he would never disobey them again and that he would never talk to any strangers online or
even in person.