The Boy Who Used to Delay His Prayers

 
He remembered his grandmother's warning about praying on time: "My son, you shouldn't leave
prayer to this late time." His grandmother's age was 70 but whenever she heard the Adhan, she
got up like an arrow and performed Salah/Namaz/prayer. He, however could never win over his
ego to get up and pray. Whatever he did, his Salah was always the last to be offered and he
prayed it quickly to get it in on time. Thinking of this, he got up and realized that there were only
15 minutes left before Salat-ul Isha. He quickly made Wudhu and performed Salat-ul Maghrib.
While making Tasbih, he again remembered his grandmother and was embarrassed by how he
had prayed. His grandmother prayed with such tranquility and peace. He began making Dua
and went down to make Sajdah and stayed like that for a while.
He had been at school all day and was tired, so tired. He awoke abruptly to the sound of noise
and shouting. He was sweating profusely. He looked around. It was very crowded. Every
direction he looked in was filled with people. Some stood frozen looking around, some were
running left and right and some were on their knees with their heads in their hands just waiting.
Pure fear and apprehension filled him as he realized where he was.

His heart was about to burst. It was the Day of Judgment. When he was alive, he had heard
many things about the questioning on the Day of Judgment, but that seemed so long ago. Could
this be something his mind made up? No, the wait and the fear were so great that he could not
have imagined this. The interrogation was still going on. He began moving frantically from
people to people to ask if his name had been called. No one could answer him. All of a sudden
his name was called and the crowd split into two and made a passageway for him. Two people
grabbed his arms and led him forward. He walked with unknowing eyes through the crowd. The
angels brought him to the center and left him there. His head was bent down and his whole life
was passing in front of his eyes like a movie. He opened his eyes but saw only another world.
The people were all helping others.
He saw his father running from one lecture to the other, spending his wealth in the way of Islam.
His mother invited guests to their house and one table was being set while the other was being
cleared. He pleaded his case; "I too was always on this path. I helped others. I spread the word
of Allah. I performed my Salah. I fasted in the month of Ramadan. Whatever Allah ordered us to
do, I did. Whatever he ordered us not to do, I did not." He began to cry and think about how
much he loved Allah. He knew that whatever he had done in life would be less than what Allah
deserved and his only protector was Allah. He was sweating like never before and was shaking
all over. His eyes were fixed on the scale, waiting for the final decision. At last, the decision was
made. The two angels with sheets of paper in their hands, turned to the crowd. His legs felt like
they were going to collapse. He closed his eyes as they began to read the names of those
people who were to enter Jahannam/Hell.

His name was read first. He fell on his knees and yelled that this couldn't be, "How could I go to
Jahannam? I served others all my life, I spread the word of Allah to others." His eyes had
become blurry and he was shaking with sweat. The two angels took him by the arms. As his feet
dragged, they went through the crowd and advanced toward the blazing flames of Jahannam.
He was yelling and wondered if there was any person who was going to help him. He was
yelling of all the good deeds he had done, how he had helped his father, his fasts, prayers, the
Qur'an that he read, he was asking if none of them would help him. The Jahannam angels
continued to drag him. They had gotten closer to the Hellfire. He looked back and these were
his last pleas. Had not Rasulullah [saw] said, "How clean would a person be who bathes in a
river five times a day, so too does the Salah performed five times cleanse someone of their
sins?" He began yelling, "My prayers? My prayers? My prayers?"
The two angels did not stop, and they came to the edge of the abyss of Jahannam. The flames
of the fire were burning his face. He looked back one last time, but his eyes were dry of hope
and he had nothing left in him. One of the angels pushed him in. He found himself in the air and
falling towards the flames. He had just fallen five or six feet when a hand grabbed him by the
arm and pulled him back. He lifted his head and saw an old man with a long white beard. 

He wiped some dust off himself and asked him, "Who are you?" The old man replied, "I am your
prayers." "Why are you so late! I was almost in the Fire! You rescued me at the last minute
before I fell in." The old man smiled and shook his head. "You always performed me at the last
minute, and did you forget?" At that instant, he blinked and lifted his head from Sajdah. He was
in a sweat. He listened to the voices coming from outside. He heard the adhan for Salat-ul Isha.
He got up quickly and went to perform Wudhu. 

"Say Your Prayers Before Prayers For You Are Said."

And I Hurried to You, My Lord

 
A Qur'aan teacher always advised her students to live by this Ayah:

َ ْ‫ك َربِّ لِ َتر‬

ٰ ‫ضى‬ ُ ‫َو َع ِج ْل‬
َ ‫ت إِلَ ْي‬

"And I hurried to You, my Lord, so that You'll be pleased."

[Taahaa, [20]: 84]

She told them, "This Ayah is what moves me. When I hear the Adhaan and I'm occupied and in
the middle of something, I remind myself of this Ayah and so I get up to pray."

"When my alarm goes off at 2am and I want to go back to sleep I remember: 'And I hurried to
You, my Lord, so you'll be pleased', and so I get up and stand before Allah."

Her husband had the following arrangement with her: On his way home from a long day at work
he'd call her so she'll get the food hot & ready, so he can come home and eat & rest.

One day he asked her to make Mahshi (stuffed grape leaves) - a very time consuming dish. The
process involves wrapping many of them and then putting them in a pot to cook. She had 3
more to wrap; but the Adhaan was called.

So she left the 3 remaining grape-leaves (which would have taken her 5 more minutes) and
went to pray. 

Her husband came home and found that the food was not ready and she was in sujood. He
noticed there were only 3 grape-leaves left. A bit upset, he uttered, "You could have just
finished them & put the pot to cook then pray!" But she wasn't responding. 

He went to her to discover that she had died in her Sujood!

SubhaanAllaah! Had she waited like any of us to "finish whats in her hand" she would have died
in the kitchen! Indeed, the way we live our life is how we will die.
 
Lessons on Life
 
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too
quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great
distance away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer,
and the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had
seen. The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no it was
covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with
blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had
ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full
of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but
only one season in the tree's life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only
one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come
from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your
summer, fulfillment of your fall. Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.
Don't judge life by one difficult season. Persevere through the difficult patches and better times
are sure to come sometime or later.

The Power of Istighfar

 
This story about "Istighfar" is from the life of Imam Ahmed Bin Hanbal, who is considered as a
renowned scholar of Islam and a famous theologian. Imam Ahmed is also considered to be the
founder of the Hanbali school of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and is one of the most celebrated
Sunni theologians, often referred to as the "Sheikh ul-Islam" or the "Imam of Ahl al-Sunnah."

During his old age, while Imam Ahmed was traveling he stopped by a town. After the prayers,
he wanted to stay for the night in the masjid yard because he didn't know anyone in the town.
Owing to his humility, he hadn't introduced himself to anyone thinking that if he did, he would be
welcomed by many people.

Failing to recognize Ahmed bin Hanbal, the caretaker of the mosque refused to let him stay in
the mosque. As Imam Ahmed was quite old, the caretaker had to drag him out of the mosque.
On seeing this, a baker from a nearby place felt pity for this man (Imam Ahmed) and offered to
be the host to him for the night. During his stay with the baker, Imam Ahmed observed that the
baker would constantly recite Istighfar (seek forgiveness from Allah). Imam Ahmed asked the
baker if the constant practice of saying Istighfar had any effect on him. The baker responded by
telling Imam Ahmed that Allah had accepted all of his duas (supplications), except one. When
he asked him what dua was it that hadn't been accepted, the baker replied that he had been
asking Allah to provide him the privilege to meet the famous scholar Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal.

On this, Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal said that Allah had not only listened to his dua but had
dragged him onto his (the baker's) doorsteps. [Summarized from Al Jumuah magazine, vol19,
issue 7]This story is a reminder of the power of saying Istighfar (seeking forgiveness) frequently.
 
 The Tale of Two Frogs
 
A group of frogs were hopping contentedly through the woods, going about their froggy
business, when two of them fell into a deep pit. All of the other frogs gathered around the pit to
see what could be done to help their companions. When they saw how deep the pit was, the
rest of the dismayed group agreed that it was hopeless and told the two frogs in the pit that they
should prepare themselves for their fate, because they were as good as dead.

Unwilling to accept this terrible fate, the two frogs began to jump with all of their might. Some of
the frogs shouted into the pit that it was hopeless, and that the two frogs wouldn't be in that
situation if they had been more careful, more obedient to the froggy rules, and more
responsible.

The other frogs continued sorrowfully shouting that they should save their energy and give up,
since they were already as good as dead. The two frogs continued jumping as hard as they
could, and after several hours of desperate effort were quite weary.

Finally, one of the frogs took heed to the calls of his fellows. Spent and disheartened, he quietly
resolved himself to his fate, lay down at the bottom of the pit, and died as the others looked on
in helpless grief. The other frog continued to jump with every ounce of energy he had, although
his body was wracked with pain and he was completely exhausted.

His companions began a new, yelling for him to accept his fate, stop the pain and just die. The
weary frog jumped harder and harder and - wonder of wonders! Finally leapt so high that he
sprang from the pit. Amazed, the other frogs celebrated his miraculous freedom and then
gathering around him asked, "Why did you continue jumping when we told you it was
impossible?" Reading their lips, the astonished frog explained to them that he was deaf, and
that when he saw their gestures and shouting, he thought they were cheering him on. What he
had perceived as encouragement inspired him to try harder and to succeed against all odds.

This simple story contains a powerful lesson. Your encouraging words can lift someone up and
help him or her make it through the day. Your destructive words can cause deep wounds; they
may be the weapons that destroy someone's desire to continue trying - or even their life. Your
destructive, careless word can diminish someone in the eyes of others, destroy their influence
and have a lasting impact on the way others respond to them.

Did You Thank Allah for Your Eyesight?

 
A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I
am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He
then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that
everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That
afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy
recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning?
What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way."
What he had written was: "Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it."

Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was
blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be
surprised that the second sign was more effective?

"It is He, Who has created for you (the sense of) hearing (ears), sight (eyes), and hearts
(understanding). Little thanks you give." [surah Al-Mu'minun; 78]

The Emperor and the Seed

 
An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor.
Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided something different. He
called young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It is time for me to step down
and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you."

The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed
today. One very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here one
year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that
you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!"

One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home
and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he
planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had
grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and
the plants that were beginning to grow.

Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by.
Still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he
felt like a failure. Six months went by-still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had killed his
seed.

Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his
friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for
inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But honest about
what happened, Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his
empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by
the other youths. They were beautiful-in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor
and many of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey nice try."

When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried
to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the
emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!" All of a sudden, the emperor
spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to
the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"
When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the
kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He
looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is
Ling!" Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new
emperor? Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you
to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds
which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.
When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave
you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it.
Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"

The Prophet taught, "Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise.
And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to Al-
Fajur (i.e. wickedness, evil-doing), and Al-Fajur (wickedness) leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man
may keep on telling lies till he is written before Allah, a liar." [Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 8:116]

The Pious Man and the Shopkeeper

 
There lived a pious man all by himself, who spent most of his time in praying, fasting and
praising Allah. Almost all his waking hours were utilised in meditation and devotions. He was
very happy with his spiritual progress. No wicked thoughts came to his mind and no evil
temptations entered his heart.

One night, he dreamt a rather disturbing dream. He saw that a shopkeeper in the town was far
superior to him in spirituality and that he must go to him to learn the basics of true spiritual life.

In the morning, the pious man went in search of the shopkeeper. He found him busy with his
customers, selling goods and collecting money with a cheerful face. He sat there in a corner of
the shop and watched the shopkeeper carefully. No signs of any spiritual life at all, he said to
himself. His dream could not be true. But then he saw the shopkeeper disappear to pray his
Salah. When he returned, he was busy dealing with money matters again.

The shopkeeper noticed the pious man sitting in the corner and asked: "As Salamu Alaikum,
would you like something, brother?"

"Wa Alaikum As Salam. Oh! No! No!" said the pious man. "I don't want to buy anything, but I
want to ask you a question." He then related his dream.

"Well, that is very simple to explain," said the shopkeeper, "but you will have to do something for
me before I answer your question."

"I will do anything for you," replied the pious man.

"All right! Take this saucer; there is some mercury in it. Go to the other end of the street and
come back fast within half an hour. If the mercury falls out of the saucer, you will hear nothing
from me. There you go now."

The pious man took the saucer and started running. The mercury nearly wobbled out of the
saucer. He saved it just in time, and slowed down. Then he remembered he had to return within
half an hour, so he started walking at a fast pace. At long last he returned puffing and panting.
"Here is your mercury, safe and sound," he told the shopkeeper. "Now tell me the true
interpretation of my dream."

The shopkeeper looked at the pious man's weary condition and asked him: "Well, friend, how
many times did you remember Allah while you were going from this end of the street to the
other?"

"Remember Allah!" exclaimed the pious man. "I did not remember Him at all. I was so worried
about the mercury in the saucer."

"But I do remember Him all the time," said the shopkeeper. "When I am doing my business, I am
also carrying mercury in a saucer. I am fair, honest and kind to my customers. I never forget
Allah Ta'ala in my dealings with other men."

"Men whom neither trade nor sale (business) diverts from the remembrance of Allaah (with
heart and tongue) nor from performing As-Salaah (Iqaamat-as-Salaah) nor from giving the
Zakaah. They fear a Day when hearts and eyes will be overturned (out of the horror of the
torment of the Day of Resurrection). That Allaah may reward them according to the best of their
deeds, and add even more for them out of His Grace. And Allaah provides without measure to
whom He wills" [Al Quran, Surah an-Noor 24:37-38]
 
Junaid Baghdadi and Love for Allah
 
Once at the time of Hajj, there was a gathering in Mecca of some friends of Allah; the youngest
among whom was Junaid Baghdadi (ra). In that gathering, there was a discussion on the
subject of 'Love for Allah' and as to who is the lover of Allah. Many of them expressed their
views on the subject, but Junaid (ra) kept quiet. He was pressed to say something.

With his head bowed down and tears in his eyes, he said, "The lover of Allah is he who forgets
his own self, remains engaged in Allah's remembrance with due regard to all its requirements;
sees Allah with the eyes of his heart, which is burnt by the heat of Allah's fear; Allah's
remembrance affects him like a cup of wine, he speaks the word of Allah as if All-Mighty Allah
speaks through his mouth; if he moves, he does so under the command of Allah; he gets peace
of mind only through the obedience of Allah; and when such a stage is reached, his eating,
drinking, sleeping, awakening and, in short, all his actions are for the pleasure of Allah; he
neither pays heed to the worldly customs, nor does he attach any importance to unfriendly
criticism by people."

A Thousand Camels
 
In the times of Umar (Radiallahu Anhu) there was a severe famine. All the people of Madinah
were suffering due to the shortage of food. A caravan made up of a thousand camels loaded
with a large stock of food grains belonging to Uthman (Radiallahu Anhu) arrived from Shaam
(Syria). Several merchants offered to buy all of it. He asked them what profit they would pay.
"Five per cent," they said. He answered that he could get higher profit than that. They began to
argue with him, saying that they did not know of any merchant who would offer him more than
their quote. He said to them, "I know of one who repays a profit of more than seven hundred to
a dirham (Arabian currency)." He then recited the verse of the Noble Quran in which Allah
Ta'ala mentioned this profit. "The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the Way of Allah,
is as the likeness of a grain (of corn); it grows seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains.
Allah gives manifold increase to whom He pleases. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures'
needs, All-Knower." (2:261).
"O traders! Bear witness with me that I donate all this to the poor people of Madinah!" said
Uthman (Radiallahu Anhu).

Source: Related by Shaikh Habibullah Mukhtaar in his book "Bringing Up Children in Islaam" in
the chapter of Generosity.

Dear readers, what ever we give for the sake of Allah is really ours and whatever we keep with
us will one day be someone else's. Let us follow the footsteps of our Prophet and the pious
Sahabah, with whom Allah was pleased with, by helping the needy ones in this blessed month
of Ramadan.

A Brother Like That

 
Shuaib received an automobile from his brother as an Eid present. On Eid day when Shuaib
came out of his house, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. "Is this
your car, Uncle?" he asked. Shuaib nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Eid." The boy was
astounded.

"You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you nothing? Boy, I wish..." He
hesitated. Of course Shuaib knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a
brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Shuaib all the way down to his heels. "I wish," the
boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that." Shuaib looked at the boy in astonishment, then
impulsively he added, "Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?" "Oh yes, I'd love that."

After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes aglow, said, "Uncle, would you mind driving
in front of my house?" Shuaib smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He
wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile. But Shuaib was
wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked. He ran up the steps.
Then in a little while Shuaib heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was
carrying his little crippled brother. He sat him down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up
against him and pointed to the car.

"There it is, little brother, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Eid and it
didn't cost him a penny. And some day I'm gonna give you one just like it...then you can see for
yourself all the pretty things in the Shop windows that I've been trying to tell you about."

Shuaib got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother
climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable ride. That Eid, Shuaib learned
what the RasulAllah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) meant when he had said: "love for your brother
what you love for yourself".

Giant Ship Engine that Failed

 
The following is an incident about an engine failure in a giant ship. The ship's owners tried one
expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine. Then they brought
in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a youngster. He carried a large bag of
tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very
carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do.
After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He
gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life He carefully put his hammer
away. The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten
thousand dollars.

"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!"

So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."

The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer $ 2.00

Knowing where to tap $ 9998.00

Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life makes all the difference.
Knowledge in Islam is highly valued. Knowledge will benefit us in this world and in the hereafter.
 
The Guard Who Found Islam
 
By Dan Ephron - NEWSWEEK
From the magazine issue dated Mar 30, 2009

Army specialist Terry Holdbrooks had been a guard at Guantanamo for about six months the
night he had his life-altering conversation with detainee 590, a Moroccan also known as "the
General." This was early 2004, about halfway through Holdbrooks's stint at Guantanamo with
the 463rd Military Police Company. Until then, he'd spent most of his day shifts just doing his
duty. He'd escort prisoners to interrogations or walk up and down the cellblock making sure they
weren't passing notes. But the midnight shifts were slow. "The only thing you really had to do
was mop the center floor," he says. So Holdbrooks began spending part of the night sitting
cross-legged on the ground, talking to detainees through the metal mesh of their cell doors.

He developed a strong relationship with the General, whose real name is Ahmed Errachidi.
Their late-night conversations led Holdbrooks to be more skeptical about the prison, he says,
and made him think harder about his own life. Soon, Holdbrooks was ordering books on Arabic
and Islam. During an evening talk with Errachidi in early 2004, the conversation turned to the
shahada, the one-line statement of faith that marks the single requirement for converting to
Islam ("There is no God but God and Muhammad is his prophet"). Holdbrooks pushed a pen
and an index card through the mesh, and asked Errachidi to write out the shahada in English
and transliterated Arabic. He then uttered the words aloud and, there on the floor of
Guantanamo's Camp Delta, became a Muslim.
 
The Other Doors
 
Our 4 year old son has some fairly serious health problems, so we are "frequent fliers" at the
local children's hospital. Two weeks ago, our son was there for several days having surgery.

As stressful as that was for us, my visits to that hospital almost always leave me feeling grateful.
Why? Because of "the other doors."

As I walk the corridors of that hospital, I pass doors leading to many different departments. I
pass the department where surgeons reconstruct children's faces. I pass the department where
specialists treat children who have been tragically burned. I pass the department where children
with cancer spend their childhoods battling a disease that terrifies most adults. Every day,
people walk through those doors. I keep walking.

Occasionally, I walk through a ward, past the room of a dying child. I look in at the child,
unconscious amid a mass of tubes and machines. I see the family, staring blankly into space,
grieving for what is to come. I keep walking.

On the fourth floor, I pass the "catacombs" where parents with children in ICU watch their days
and nights stretch into weeks and months, hoping against hope for good news. I keep walking.

It's late one evening, and I walk to the waiting room. Only one family remains, and their doctor
arrives from surgery. He begins to tell them about the patient's injuries....a shotgun blast, self-
inflicted ....massive facial damage.... a dozen more operations to come....a lifetime of
disfigurement...a lifetime of asking "why?" I sit, half-listening, considering the doors, this family
will face in the years ahead.

I stood up. I walk back to the preschool ward, to the one door I seek. Behind this door, our son
is slowly recovering from surgery. And in a strange way, I am grateful for the "situation" that we
live with.

Because there are a hundred other doors in this place that are far worse. And we could just as
easily be in one of those rooms.

As you pray for strength to open the doors you face, be sure to thank Allah Ta'ala for the doors
he has spared you.

The Pious "Drunkard" and "Fornicator"

 
Sultan Murad IV, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623-1640, would often anonymously
go into the midst of the people and see their state. One evening, he felt an uneasiness in
himself and the urge to go out. He called for his head of security and out they went. They came
to a busy vicinity, and found a man lying on the ground. The Sultan prodded him but he was
dead and the people were going about their own business. Nobody seemed to care about the
dead man lying on the ground.

The Sultan called upon the people. They didn't recognise him and asked him what he wanted.
He said, "Why is this man lying dead on the ground and why does no one seem to care? Where
is his family?"

They replied, "He is so and so, the drunkard and fornicator!"

The Sultan said, "Is he not from the Ummah of Muhammad (saw)? Now help me carry him to his
house."

The people carried the dead man with the Sultan to his house and once they reached, they all
left. The Sultan and his assistant remained. When the man's wife saw his dead body, she began
weeping. She said to his dead body, "May Allah have mercy on you! O friend of Allah! I bear
witness that you are from the pious ones."

The Sultan was bewildered. He said, "How is he from the pious ones when the people say such
and such about him? So much so that no one even cared he was dead!"

She replied, "I was expecting that. My husband would go to the tavern every night and buy as
much wine as he could. He would then bring it home and pour it all down the drain. He would
then say, 'I saved the Muslims a little today.' He would then go to a prostitute, give her some
money and tell her to close her door till the morning. He would then return home for a second
time and say, 'Today, I saved a young woman and the youth of the believers from vice.'"

The people would see him buying wine and they would see him going to the prostitutes and they
would consequently talk about him. One day I said to him, "When you die, there will be no one
to bathe you, there will be no one to pray over you and there will be no one to bury you!"

He laughed and replied, "Don't fear, the Sultan of the believers, along with the pious ones shall
pray over my body."

The Sultan began to cry. He said, "By Allah! He has said the truth, for I am Sultan Murad.
Tomorrow we shall bathe him, pray over him and bury him."

And it so happened that the Sultan, the scholars, the pious people and the masses prayed over
him.

We judge people by what we see and what we hear from others. Only if we were to see what
was concealed in their hearts, a secret between them and their Lord. If Allah knows, why does it
matter who knows and who doesn't know?!

"O you who believe, abstain from many of the suspicions. Some suspicions are sins. And do not
be curious (to find out faults of others), and do not backbite one another. Does one of you like
that he eats the flesh of his dead brother? You would abhor it. And fear Allah. Surely Allah is
Most-Relenting, Very-Merciful." (49:12)
 
The Sight of Kabah
 
One never tires of gazing at the sight of the House of Allah, the Kaa'ba. The site upon which the
mercy and blessings of Allah are constantly descending. There is truly nothing comparable to
the House of Allah on this Earth. People wish time would stand still so they could keep gazing at
the Kaa'ba; their thirst is never quenched, rather it increases.

Once, while on a visit to Washington, people told me that a woman had accepted Islam and had
some questions for me. They told me that many non-practicing Muslim women had started
practicing again due to her. At prayer time she would dress in her best clothes as if readying
herself for someone special, and would become oblivious to everything around her as soon she
started praying.

After a brief question and answer session, I asked her what prompted her to accept Islam. She
sighed and started explaining; "I was a Jew and my husband was a Christian who was posted in
Saudi Arabia for some technical work. Everyday I used to see Muslim men and women dressed
in white on their way somewhere. I asked my husband where they were going and he told me
that they go to perform pilgrimage at the Muslim shrine of Kaa'ba. I expressed a desire to go but
he told me that non-Muslims were not allowed. However, I was determined and so we both
bought white clothes and set out. Fortunately no one stopped us and we reached Makkah, from
where we found directions to the Kaa'ba. Upon seeing the Kaa'ba our eyes froze and time
seemed to stand still. When we turned to look at each other after some time, we were both
crying. With our eyes we told each other that this was the Truth and we should accept Islam. No
one ever told me about Islam, but there were so many blessings descending on that House that
they changed my life forever."

The blessings of Tawhid descend in Makkah, and the blessings of Prophethood descend in
Madinah. One has seen nothing in life if he has not seen these two holy sites. May Allah give all
Muslims the opportunity to visit to His House.

The Patient Old Man

 
When passing through a mountain pass, a bedouin (villager) once came across an old man who
was blind and who seemed to be afflicted with various ailments all over his body. It was clear
that he was wasting away. He was even paralyzed and was constantly forced to remain in a
seated position. The Bedouin could clearly hear him say, "All praise is for Allah, Who has kept
me safe from ailments with which He has tested many among His creation; and He has indeed
preferred me over many among those that He created."

"My brother!" exclaimed the bedouin. "What have you been saved from? By Allah, I think that
you have been afflicted with every single kind of ailment!"

"Go away from me," said the old man, as he raised his head. "Do I not still have a tongue with
which I can pronounce His Oneness, and with which I can remember Him every single moment?
And do I not still have a heart with which I can know Him?"

These words of the old man were enough for the bedouin to repent to Allah for his sins and ask
Him for forgiveness.

Remember, there is always someone else who is in more problem than you.