Assalamu alaikkum my Dear bro/sis, Hope you are doing well by Gods Grace and busy in procuring the

blessings and mercy from Our Lord. Am here with the newsletter for the month of January and as well as the reminder call.

Thought for this month:

Shuayb ar-Rumi (May Allah be pleased with him) ("Shuayb") came from an Arab royal family background; however, as a small child he was kidnapped from Arabia and sold as a slave. He heard of Muhammad(PBUH)and decided to visit him in order to discover directly what the Prophet(PBUH)had to say about this new religion. When the Prophet was preparing for hijrah, Shuayb(May Allah be pleased with him) was preparing to accompany the Prophet (PBUH). However, the Quraysh was determined to prevent Shuayb's(May Allah be pleased with him) escape to Madinah. The Prophet (PBUH) together with Abu Bakr completed the hijrah to Madinah whilst Shuayb(May Allah be pleased with him) was under the watchful eyes of the Quraysh in their captivity. During his escape he was captured by some of Quraysh's men and was prevented from leaving Makkah. His captors said, "We will not let you escape from us with your life and money. When you came to us you were weak and poor. Now you have acquired wealth in Makkah [and you are leaving Makkah!]". Shuayb(May Allah be pleased with him) however was not interested in his earthly gains. Rather, he was much more interested in serving the cause of Islam and remaining in the company of the Prophet(PBUH)and his fellow sahaba. So Shuayb(May Allah be pleased with him) struck a deal with his captors! They would keep all his wealth in return for his release and continuation of his journey. Let us take a quick pause here! 1. As a trader, Shuayb (May Allah be pleased with him) must have known that this was indeed a heavy price to pay for his emigration.

2. After all, he had escaped slavery in Constantinople and worked very hard to make a comfortable living in Makkah. Was his situation not like ours? in the sense that we also escaped poverty, we need to ask ourselves whether our love for Allah and His Messenger and His Deen is anywhere near to the level of Shuayb's(May Allah be pleased with him) sacrifice! When Shuayb(May Allah be pleased with him) arrived in Madinah, the Prophet(PBUH)greeted him with a smile and said, "Your transaction has been fruitful, O Abu Yahya. Your transaction has been fruitful!" The Prophet(PBUH)repeated this three times. Nobody had yet come to the Prophet(PBUH)to inform him about Shuayb's(May Allah be pleased with him) sacrifice.

The Qur'an also described this level of sacrifice in Allah's path. Allah says: "And of mankind is he who would sell himself, seeking the Pleasure of Allah. And Allah is full of Kindness to (His) slaves." [Al-Baqara, 2:207]

In fact, the glad tidings conveyed in this ayah do not just apply to the sahaba like Shuayb(May Allah be pleased with him), nor is the Prophet's comment about Shuayb(May Allah be pleased with him) transaction only applicable to him. In fact, it can also apply to us if we are prepared to make such sacrifices.