CARE FOR ANIMALS

A man once came to Prophet Muhammad (s) carrying

with him his belongings and a box. He said, "O Prophet! While
I was passing through a jungle, I heard the voice of some
bird's babies. I took them and put them in this box. The
moment I did that, their mother came fluttering round my
head."
And the Prophet said, "Put them down". When the man
put the box on the ground, the mother of the young birds
joined them. Seeing this, the Prophet asked the man who now
had a look of surprise on his face, "Are you surprised by the
affection of the mother towards her young? I swear by Him
(Almighty Allah) who has sent me, surely, God is more loving
to his servants than the mother to these young birds. Return
these baby birds to the place from where you took them, and
let their mother be with them."
"Fear God with regard to animals", said the Prophet of
Islam, "ride them when they are fit to be ridden, and get off
their backs when they are tired; surely, there are rewards for
being kind and gentle to animals, and for giving them water to
drink."

Imam Ali (a) had some ducks under his care in his
house. At the time of his death, he had given particular advice
to his sons to take good care of those animals, or to set them
free if it was not possible to look after them properly.
The Holy Qur'an has also guided us by telling us that, in
the eyes of God there is no difference between the human
world and the animal world. "There is no beast on earth, nor
bird which flieth with its wings, but they are nations like you unto the Lord shall they return".
The Prophet of Islam was once performing ablution
(Wudhu) for prayers from a pot of water. A cat passed there
and turned its eyes at the pot of water with a thirsty look. The
Prophet realised at once that the cat was very thirsty, so he
stopped the ablution (Wudhu) and placed the pot before the
cat.
Only after the cat had fully quenched its thirst, did the
Prophet resume the ablution (Wudhu). By this action, the
Prophet has shown that quenching the thirst of even a small
dumb animal is a noble act full of virtue and should be given
first attention before one prepares for offering prayers to God.
AL-QUR'AN - THE GREAT AND HOLY BOOK

Islam has taught that in the eyes of Allah, animals also

have rights in the same way as man has. They should not be
treated badly, tortured or left to starve without food or water.

About a hundred years ago, England had a powerful

Prime Minister. He was a Christian to a high section of the
Anglican Church. His name was Gladstone. One day in the
year 1882, he was speaking in the British Parliament on how

to weaken the power of Muslims in Egypt so that the British

could continue to rule over them.

Then the Holy men of Al-Azhar university protested to

the authorities and demanded that an end be put to it.

At one stage he raised a copy of the Holy Qur'an in his

hand and said that so long as this book remained with the
Muslims in that country and they respected and followed it,
the British would never be able to dominate them. He added
that the only solution was to try and separate the Holy Qur'an
from the Muslims of Egypt.

Now let us find out what are the qualities of this book
which the enemies wished to remove from the Muslims.

At the end of the speech; a committee was formed to

decide upon ways and means of carrying out Gladstone's
recommendation. The committee resolved to send some
experts to Egypt who would launch a campaign which would
weaken the faith of people and make them suspicious of the
truth of the Holy Qur'an. The aim was to discourage people to
refer to the Holy Book and gradually make them turn against
the Islamic way of life.
In the course of this political and vicious programme, a
learned man by the name of Dunlop was sent to Egypt as a
teacher. He prepared many books containing lessons which
were nothing but propaganda in disguise. One of the lessons
on history was based on showing how Egypt was lagging
behind and was not making progress because of Islam and the
Qur'an. It alleged that people of Egypt were much more
civilized
prior
to
the
coming
of
Islam.
Such ill-intentioned programme first succeeded to a small
extent in influencing the youths at schools.

The Holy Book is known as Al-Qur'an which means 'The

Reading', the reading of the Prophet of Islam who never went
to any school. Prophet Muhammad (s) had retired to a cave on
Mount Hira not far from Mecca. One day Angel Jibrail (Gabriel)
came to him and said "Read". The Holy Prophet said: "What
should I recite?" Jibrail said: "Read in the name of thy Lord,
who created; created man out of a mere clot of congealed
blood; read; and thy Lord is most bountiful; He who taught
(The use of) pen; taught man that which he did not know".
The Holy Qur'an as word of God, the Almighty, as
revealed to his Prophet Muhammad (s) This book gives
guidance for our daily life. It appeals to our power of
reasoning, and exhorts us to follow the commands of Allah. It
is a living miracle of Prophet Muhammad (s), the last of the
Prophets who came from God. It is not surprising at all that
this Holy Book has remained intact for the last 1400 years.
And it shall remain so till the Day of Judgement, for Allah has
taken it on himself to protect it.
"Surely we have sent down the reminder (The Qur'an)
and we will most surely be its guardian (Sura Al-Hijr -verse 9).
The Qur'an is divided into 114 chapters (Suras). There are in it

6226 verses (Ayats) containing 99,464 words made up of

330,110 letters.

alone guides the destiny of man without Whose will nothing

can happen?" This was Abu Hanifa's third challenge.

Imam Ja'far Sadiq (a) has said that one should at least
recite 50 Ayats everyday. Let us, therefore, value and respect
this Great Book by reading it with understanding and follow its
teachings.

As soon as the speaker, Abu Hanifa, had made these

three criticisms, Bahlool got up, took a piece of brick and
aiming at Hanifa, let it go and cracked Abu Hanifa head.

BAHLOOL PROVES THE THREE FACTS

Abu Hanifa was once teaching Islamic beliefs to his
students. He was arguing and challenging the validity of some
of the statements which had been proclaimed by Imam Ja'far
al-Sadiq (a) Bahlool happened to be present as well. Abu
Hanifa proclaimed that he could not agree with the three
understated statements as made by the Imam.
The first one was that "Allah can never be seen."
According to Abu Hanifa it was impossible for a thing to exist
and yet be invisible! The second things that the Imam had
stated was that "Satan (devil) will be thrown in the inferno of
Hell which will scorch him bitterly." Abu Hanifa argued: "How
was it possible for fire to hurt 'fire', the fact that Satan was
created from fire itself!"
The third statement of the Imam was that "Man alone is
responsible for his actions and Allah - the most powerful - has
nothing to do with his actions." "How is it possible, when Allah

Bahlool was caught and taken before the Caliph for

punishment. In his defence, he pleaded that he had done
nothing else except reply to the three criticisms which Abu
Hanifa had made against the Imam.
The Caliph asked him to explain as to how and why he
chose to reply by hitting and injuring Abu Hanifa. Bahlool said,
"This man claims that if God is there, then he must be seen.
He is now complaining of pain in his head due to the brick
having hurt him. If the pain is definitely there, can he show
me where it is? Well! just as pain can be there without being
seen Allah also exists without being seen."
"Secondly, he says that fire cannot burn fire. It is a fact
that man is made out of clay and this brick with which I hit his
head is also made out of clay, if clay can inflict pain and hurt
clay, why can't fire do the same to fire?"
"The third thing he says is that man is not responsible
for his own actions but Allah does all things. If this is so, then
why does he want justice from you and why does he want me
to be punished for hurting him? He might as well transfer the

punishment to Allah Who, according to him - is responsible for

all the actions of man!"
Everyone in the court was stunned at this and Abu
Hanifa was dumb founded - having nothing to say. So Bahlool
was released without any punishment.
Thus, while some Muslim sects believe that Allah can be
seen, perhaps on the Day of Judgement, the Shia Muslims say
that Allah is the creator of everything; He was not created and
as such he has no body like us that can be seen. If we can still
believe in unseen things like air, electricity and human soul,
why can't we believe in the unseen God?
If we are responsible for our actions and are to be
punished or rewarded accordingly, then it is only fair and just
that Allan should not manipulate or compel us to do things but
leave us alone to act the way we see it fit, and be answerable
for those actions ourselves.

people to turn away from worshipping idols to worshipping

Allah, the Almighty, the All-Knower, the Master. The Prophet
sent letters of invitation to Kings and Rulers of various
countries in the world, inviting them to embrace Islam. Many
of the letters were met with a favourable response whilst
others were rejected.
In many cases, the messengers of the Prophet were
badly treated and abused. But the Prophet was not worried by
these setbacks. He was inviting people to the right path and a
few setbacks could not deter him from propagating Islam.
Abu Sufyan a leader of the tribe of Quraish and the arch
enemy of the Prophet was in Constantinople on a business
trip, when the Prophet's letter of invitation reached Hercules,
the Byzantine emperor of Eastern Roman Empire. Hercules, at
the time was in his court at Constantinople celebrating his
victory over the Persians.
Hercules read the letter through an interpreter and then
asked the people in his court, to find out if there was someone
in the city, who knew the Prophet. Abu Sufyan with his
companions was brought into the court. The emperor asked
Abu Sufyan, "What kind of family does Muhammad belong
to?"

HERCULES AND ISLAM

Arabia, during the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(s), was a country without any central authority. It was a
country far from the civilised nations of those days. At the
time Prophet Muhammad (s) was spreading Islam; asking

"Noble", replied Abu Sufyan "Has there been a king in

his family?" Hercules asked. "No," said Abu Sufyan "Are the
people who have accepted his religion poor or rich?", Hercules
questioned again. "They are poor", replied Abu Sufyan.

Hercules was now becoming more and more interested

and he went on asking questions. His next question was, "Are
his followers on the increase or decrease?" "Increasing", Abu
Sufyan replied shortly. "Have you known him to tell lies"?
asked Hercules. "No", admitted Abu Sufyan. "Does he ever go
against his convents?", Hercules once again asked.
"Not so far. But we have to see whether he carries out the
new agreement made between us and him", Abu Sufyan
answered lengthily for a change. "Have you ever fought him
in wars?" Hercules questioned.
"Yes", answered Abu Sufyan "What has been the result?"
Hercules asked, getting more and more interested.
"Sometimes we have won, sometimes he", replied Abu
Sufyan. "What does he teach?" asked Hercules. "Worship One
God, join no partners with Him, carry out your prayers, be
chaste, speak the truth and keep union with your relatives",
answered Abu Sufyan, even surprised at his own answer as it
sounded like he was preaching Islam.
Hercules stood up and said, "If all you said is true, then I
am sure that this Prophet's Kingdom will reach here where I
am standing. I was certain that a Prophet was coming, but I
didn't know that he would be born in Arabia. If I were to go
there, I would embrace Islam and wash the Prophet's feet with
my own hands." This was the way in which the Prophet spread
Islam. He impressed them by his truthfulness, honesty, noble
character and dedication in the service of Allah. He did not
compel people to accept Islam under threat of waging wars,
nor did he compel people to accept Islam by the force of the

sword. He fought only in defence, and only when the enemies

waged war on him.
SHE HAD TRUE FAITH
Abu Baseer was once in the company of Imam Ja'far alSadiq (a) when a woman came and said to the Imam, "I have
come to ask a question. I am ill. Physicians in Iraq have told
me to take liquor. Now I want to know what to do in such
circumstances?"
The Imam asked her, "Why don't you drink what the doctors
have prescribed for you?"
She replied, "As I am your follower, I shall obey what
you say. If you permit me, I shall drink it; if not, I shall keep
away from it; so that if I am asked by the Almighty God on the
Day of Judgement why I did so, I shall reply that I followed the
instructions of the Imam of the day."
Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a) turned to Abu Baseer and said:
"O Abu Baseer. Did you listen to what this woman has to say?
Are you not moved by her faith? Inspite of her illness, she is
refraining from taking liquor without the Imam's permission."
The Imam then turned to the woman and said, "By God,
I do not permit you to drink. If you do so, you shall be sorry
when your soul reaches your throat (that is at the time of
death)".

So saying the Imam pointed at her throat; and asked her

three times if she understood what he had said. The woman
nodded her head. One of the things which Islam has strongly
forbidden is the taking of any intoxicating drink, like beer,
wine. They are harmful to the body and mind. Under their
influence one loses one's senses and is apt to commit criminal
acts. We read of fatal accidents and crimes committed
because of drinks.
Even trading in liquor and sitting in bars where people
are drinking are also forbidden in Islam so that there is no
temptation in the way of people to taking them. The Holy
Qur'an says, "O Believers, Intoxicants and games of chance,
idols and divining arrows, are abominations devised by Satan.
Avoid them, so that you may prosper. Satan desires to stir up
enmity and hatred among you by means of intoxicants and
gambling, and to keep you from the remembrance of Allah
and from your prayers. Will you not abstain from them?"
(Chapter 5, Verses 90, 91)
The above verses from the Qur'an warn us of the effects
of drinking. The first Imam, Ali (a), said, "Suppose a drop of
liquor is put in a well and from its water a land is irrigated.
Grass grows on the land and a sheep grazes there. That sheep
then gets mixed in a flock of other sheep who have grazed
elsewhere. If all the sheep are slaughtered making it difficult
to identify the meat of the sheep who had grazed on a land
which was irrigated from the water of the well, then I shall not
eat any of that meat."

Thus Imam Ali (a) has emphasized the evil of alcohol.

For the sake of our own physical, mental and spiritual welfare,
we should always keep away from drinks.
A Call to Prayers on a Cold Wintry Morning
It was a wintry morning with much snow falling coupled
with the blowing of a strong cold wind. It was not easy to
come out in the open air. Yet one could see people rushing to
their work and students with books in their hands hastening to
their schools.
In one of the mosques in Hamadan - Iran, religious
students were assembling in order to attend a morning class.
It was an important school of Islamic theology and the tutor
was also a very great learned one. His discourses were indeed
very thought-provoking and so were his students quite
intelligent. The tutor was none else but the world famous and
a great Persian thinker and philosopher 'lbn Sina', popularly
known in Europe as Avicenna. His lectures and writings on
various science subjects had become the standard text books
for hundreds of years in the universities of Europe. Students
admired his deep philosophical thinking. They felt honoured to
sit in his class and hear his inspiring lectures.
That cold morning, students had already assembled in
the mosque and were still anxiously awaiting the arrival of
their learned tutor. They were wondering if the intense cold
weather that day had delayed his coming. A few minutes had
passed when suddenly the students witnessed the graceful

arrival of 'lbn Sina', their great learned tutor. They felt very
happy and stood up as a mark of reverence and respect for
him. He sat down at his usual place and exchanged greetings
with his students. He commenced his discourse in his usual
lucid manner that held his students spellbound. He also gave
satisfactory answers to their questions. Among the students
was one very young and enthusiastic by name 'Bahman Yar'.
He was much more close and attached to 'lbn Sina' the
learned tutor. He was also the foremost among the clever and
advanced students of the class. Every time he listened to the
lectures of his tutor, he became more and more fascinated
with his deep philosophy and knowledge on every subject.
He would say to his class-mates: "I wonder why our
tutor 'lbn Sina' does not claim to be a prophet despite his
supreme intelligence and magic personality" It is said that one
day by chance 'lbn Sina' was standing at a baker and loafseller shop. His attention was drawn to a very smart young
boy who was displaying signs of much intelligence. The boy
was saying to the baker: "My mother is requesting for a little
fire." The baker responded: "Have you brought any pot to
carry the fire?" "No! But I know how to carry it", replied the
boy instantly. So saying he applied some ash over his palm
and stretched his hand to the baker who placed a piece of
burning firewood over his palm. Without any hesitation, the
boy took it and went home.
'lbn Sina' was rather amazed to see the intelligence and
courage of this boy. He thought of having him for special

training and education under his personal care. The proposal

was communicated to the parents who agreed and entrusted
the boy to his full care. Thus 'Bahman Yar' since then was
staying at no other place except at the house of his tutor and
care-taker, 'lbn Sina'. They were all the time to be seen
together. The boy being highly intelligent derived the best of
the knowledge that his tutor could impart. Years passed and
'Bahman Yar' grew up not only in age but also in knowledge
and understanding under the patronage of his tutor. The
learned tutor was also very proud of this most capable
student.It was one of the coldest nights of the wintry season.
Midnight had passed and the snow-falling was very heavy.
Both 'lbn Sina' and 'Bahman Yar' were sleeping in one room
under warm thick blankets. The light in the room was already
extinguished but the student was still asking intricate
questions on some deep subjects. The tutor was replying in
his usual impressive manner. Fascinated by the supreme
knowledge and deep philosophy of his tutor, he again made
the
suggestion
which
he
had
made
before:
"Oh my learned tutor!" he pleaded, "with all this high
status of knowledge that you enjoy and being master of all
the sciences, why not declare yourself a prophet? Sir! Don't
you think that you even excel some of the previous prophets
in knowledge and your status today is unparalleled in the
world! Should you decide to claim prophethood, no one would
dare challenge you. Let me assure you that I shall be the first
to offer my allegiance and would serve you with full faith."

Since 'Bahman Yar' was still young and immature, his

above proposal to his tutor was rather emotional than logical.
'lbn Sina' smiled but did not give any reply.
That night the cold weather had become extreme and
there was heavy snow-falling. Both were already fast asleep. It
was past midnight and suddenly 'lbn Sina' woke up and raised
his head out of the warm blanket. Incidentally he was very
thirsty and the water-mug in the room was empty. So he
decided to wake up his student to go out and bring him some
water.
"Oh 'Bahman Yar'! My son 'Bahman Yar'! Please wake up
and bring me some drinking water from outside", he said
repeatedly. "Why is there no water in the water-mug near your
goodself, Sir?" asked 'Bahman Yar.'
"No!" replied 'lbn Sina.' 'Bahman Yar' raised his head
and saw heavy snowfall outside. The thrilling sound of the
strong cold wind also made him nervous to go out. Again 'lbn
Sina' grumbled: "Oh 'Bahman Yar'! Why the delay? Bring me
some water, I am too thristy."
'Bahman Yar' dared not come out of the warm blankets
to face the cold weather outside the room. He was, therefore,
putting forward lame excuses to his tutor. "Oh my respected
tutor! It is harmful for you to drink water now that you have
just come out of the warmth of thick blankets. It is better you
go to sleep again till the early morning which is not far off",
said 'Bahman Yar'.

"My son! Bring me water, I am too thirsty. I myself am a

medical expert and know better what is harmful than you do. I
am unable to sleep, please bring me some water from
outside", again appealed 'Ibn Sina'. In response 'Bahman Yar'
again put forward excuses and argued that he would catch
cold and fall sick if he were to go out in that extreme cold
weather. So saying he went back to sleep.
There was dead silence everywhere and no sound of
anything was to be heard. Outside it was still pitch dark
except the first light of Subhe Sadiq (true dawn) in the eastern
horizon had commenced to appear. Suddenly the silence
broke with a melodious voice of a muezzin - caller to prayer
from the top of a minaret at the nearby mosque. After reciting
some verses of the, Holy Qur'an, the muezzin in a loud voice
said, "Allaho Akber" - Allah is the Greatest. "Ash-hado an la
ilaha illallah" - I bear witness that there is no god except Allah.
Both the tutor and his student quietly listened to the
melodious voice of the muezzin. The call to prayers then
proceeded to the words "Ash-hado anna Muhammadan
Rasoolullah" - I bear witness that Muhammed is the
Messenger of Allah. On hearing this, 'Ibn Sina' thought of
taking the opportunity of responding to the repeated proposal
made to him by 'Bahman Yar'. He said:
"Listen to me, oh my son 'Bahman Yar'. Now I wish to
reply to your repeated suggestion". The student sat up to hear
attentively of what his learned tutor abruptly wanted to say.
'Ibn Sina' then proceeded: "You have been suggesting to me

several times to claim prophethood, that people would put full

faith in me and that you would be the first one to do so. Now
look, you have been my close student for several years and
benefited from me a great deal, yet you did not think it
prudent to obey me by coming out of your warm bed for a
moment and bring me water that I badly needed to quench
my thirst. Instead you chose to put forward lame excuses."
"But think of this man who is now calling to prayers at
the top of the minaret after coming out in the coldest weather
and making ablution with cold water in the early hour of this
morning. It is for no other purpose but in obedience to and
respect for the command of Allah as conveyed by His apostle
Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (s) some four hundred years ago.
"What a great difference there is between me and that
Prophet sent by Allah!"

house. His heart was not in his work. He resorted to poor

workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an
unfortunate way to end his career.
When the job was done, the carpenter called his
employer and showed him the house. The employer handed
over some papers and the front door key to the carpenter and
said "This is your house, my gift to you."
The carpenter was in a shock! What a shame! If he had
only known that he was building his own house, he would
have made it better than any other house that he ever built!
Our situation can be compared to this carpenter. Allah
Ta'la has sent us to this world to build our homes in paradise
by obeying His commands. Now, we have to decide how well
we wish to build the homes where we will live forever.

The Carpenter
A World of Smile
A highly skilled carpenter who had grown old was ready
to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave
the house building business and live a more leisurely life with
his family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to
retire.
The employer was sorry to see his good worker go and
asked if he could build just one more house as a personal
favor. The carpenter agreed to this proposal but made sure
that this will be his last project. Being in a mood to retire, the
carpenter was not paying much attention to building this

About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in

college, I was working as an intern at my University's Museum
of Natural History. One day while working at the cash register
in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little
girl in a wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was kind of
perched on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs,
just a head, neck and torso. She was wearing a little white
dress with red polka dots. As the couple wheeled her up to me

I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward

the girl and gave her a wink. As I took the money from her
grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the
cutest, largest smile I have ever seen. All of a sudden her
handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose
smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a
completely new sense of what life is all about. She took me
from a poor, unhappy college student and brought me into her
world; a world of smiles, love and warmth.
That was ten years ago. I'm a successful business
person now and whenever I get down and think about the
troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the
remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.
The Persistent Cough
Hakim was coughing at night and could not sleep. Mum
took him to the doctor to get a cough mixture. That night and
the following night there was no improvement to his cough.
Next day mum was talking to her friend and she
suggested making a home remedy. Her friend Jasmina said
that she used a home ready with the whole family and it
worked well by the will of Allah SWT.
Mum gave Hakim Coffhelp. Hakim said, Bismillah [In
the name of Allah]. Mum said, Let us make a dua to Allah
(Subhanahu wa Ta'ala). It is Allah who heals us. Then Hakim
said, Ya Allah! heal me.

The first night Hakim still coughed but it was not as bad.
With each passing night mum noticed Hakim was coughing
less and less and Hakim was getting a more peaceful sleep.
After a few days Hakim was able to sleep through the
night without coughing. Hakim wanted to share this news with
grandma so he called her and said, Grandma my cough is
gone, Alhamdulillah [Praise be to Allah SWT]. I can sleep
through the night. Coffhelp has worked. You must use it when
you have a cough.
Grandma said, Alhamdulillah, you are feeling well
again. Hakim, Coffhelp has worked only because Allah
(Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) has willed it. You should say, by the will
of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) Coffhelp has worked and I
dont cough anymore, Alhamdulillah.
The Mice and the Elephant
Once upon a time there was a colony of mice who feared the
elephants. Whenever the elephants walked through the mices
land with their enormous feet many mice were harmed. One
day, the mouse king went to the King of the Elephants and
said, "If you spare our lives, we will help you in a time of
need." The elephant king agreed. He ordered the elephants to
be careful never to step on a single mouse.
From that day forth the elephants paid attention and
lifted their huge legs carefully, never harming their tiny

friends. If they entered the land of the mice, they lifted their
trunks and trumpeted a warning; "We are walking. We are
walking."
One day, elephant trappers came to the forest. They
were seeking many elephants for the human kings soldiers to
ride into battle. Day by day more and more elephants were
caught in great rope traps.
The elephant king was very sad. Then, he remembered
the promise of the mice and sent for his little friend, the
mouse king. The king of the mice arrived and listened to the
elephants story.
Then the mouse king called all the mice together.
Thousands and thousands of mice gathered to discuss how
they might help the elephants. No one had forgotten how
their huge friends had spared their lives. One clever mouse
made a plan. All the mice rejoiced.
The mice formed into little groups. Each group gnawed
the ropes of a single trap with their tiny sharp teeth. By
morning, all the elephants were freed. Frustrated, the trappers
left the forest.

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.

Mahmood's Adventure
It was during the last week of January when Mahmood
and his friends went out camping in the mountains by a lake.
As it was Allah's will, it happened that the friends arrived on
an island at the very center of a frozen lake because the car
broke down and they could do nothing but stay on the island.
A few days later, the lake showed signs of thawing and
the friends hurried across the lake, taking whatever they
could with them. Unfortunately, during the same time period,
Mahmood was gone to explore and was far away from them at
the time they escaped across the island. When Mahmood
came back, he saw most of the stuff gone and no one around.
Most of the lake had now melted and Mahmood was trapped.
The island, as Mahmood estimated was about 2 miles
long and 1 mile wide. It was full of greenery and had much of
the liking of a forest. Mahmood was able to identify many of
the plants because of his previous camping experiences. The
lake on the other hand, was too cold and wide to cross by

swimming. Many attempts to swim across it failed and so

Mahmood had to accept the idea that he would have to wait
until somebody rescued him or until the lake got a little bit
warmer. He knew he was marooned and alone on the island.
As the days passed, Mahmood kept on remembering his
parents, brothers, and sisters. He slept on his sleeping bag
that he had brought with him for camping. He lived on many
fruits he recognized as safe ones.
One day, as Mahmood had feared, a great python
appeared. "This is not going to be any regular fight,"
Mahmood thought to himself. The python, even though this
one was extraordinarily deadly and the center of terror among
the animal inhabitants of the island, retreated back a little.
Never had it seen a thing so big. It was afraid.
Mahmood had gathered many rocks and now hurled
them with all his might on the python. The python couldn't
dodge these missiles and one by one the rocks began tearing
up its body. The snake, nevertheless, tried to make its way
forward but only found that to make its end come sooner.
Mahmood hurled the last, heavy rock on the snake,
splitting the snake's head into two and breaking up into tiny
pieces on the rocks below the python's head. The python was
dead.
Mahmood had a few more skirmishes of the like with a
few more animals and began feeling more confident about
living alone with the animals of prey all around him. He was
now learning the true meaning of courage.
Summer was coming up fast. Mahmood had hoped that
someone might come boating on the lake and rescue him.
Mahmood's hope was fulfilled later than he had expected. He

waited past June, July, and then even August. Maybe this is
not a public lake, he figured out.
Finally on the third week of September, a few boaters
appeared. Mahmood waved to them. They came to the island
and picked him up. He was free at last! He had stayed on the
island for 7 months. Mahmood stayed with the boaters on
their vacation. When the boaters decided to go home, they
dropped Mahmood off because he lived close to where they
lived.
As Mahmood walked up to the door of his house, he
wondered what his family would say to him. His parents were
the first to meet him. His mother couldn't believe her eyes
and
asked
him,
"Where
were
you?"
And his father asked, "What had happened?" Mahmood told
his family what had happened. They couldn't believe how he
had killed the snake. They were very proud of him.
As for Mahmood, he became more courageous from that day
onward. He also learned how to handle the situation when he
was alone. It was the best adventure of his life.

Hachiko was born in 1923 and was owned by Eisaburo

Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the
University of Tokyo. The professor used to take a train from
the Shibuya Station every day to go to the university. Each
day Hachiko accompanied the professor to the train station
when he left for work. Upon returning, the professor would
find the dog patiently waiting for his master and wagging its
tail. This happy routine continued until one fateful day in
1925, when the professor was taken ill on the job and
unfortunately died before he could return home. As usual, the
dog waited at the train station that day for his master to
return back. However, seeing that he wasnt coming back,
Hachiko waited till night fell and retuned back home.
The next day Hachiko went back to the train station again,
waiting for his master to come back. He patiently waited till
sunset and then retuned back home. The dog was so devoted
to the professor that he continued to visit the train station
everyday for the next 10 years! The people who passed the
loyal dog each day were so touched by his story that they
erected
a
statue
in
his
honor
in
1934.
In 1935, Hachiko died at the very same spot where he used to
wait for his master.

Hachiko, the Faithful Dog

In 1934, a bronze statue of a dog called Hachiko was
erected at the Shibuya Train station in Tokyo, Japan. The story
of this dog is mentioned below.

Dear readers, we should take a lesson from this story for ourselves. By
reciting the kalimah of Tawheed, all of us have taken an oath to be loyal to our
Master, Allah Taala. Now, we should look deep into ourselves and check to
see how much love we really have for Allah in our hearts.

Is there a God?
Once upon a time there was a king and he was a wise
man too. In his kingdom used to live many other wise men.
Now some of these would not agree to believe that God did
exist, while others not only agreed but argued to the
satisfaction of the King that there was 'God'. The King, being a
wise man, arranged for a discussion.
The date and time for discussion was fixed. The king
held his court at the appointed time on the appointed date.
The non-believers assembled in his presence but the believing
wise man did not come at the appointed time
The people waited and waited till they lost their
patience and uttered the words: "He has no arguments to
advance in support of his conviction, so he will not come. He
has lost, we have won."
At last, the wise man arrived and there was an uproar in
the court of the king. The people cried: "Why are you late? You
have lost".
The king asked him to explain the cause of his delay.
The believing wise man explained, saying: "I started from my
home in time, but when I came by the side of the river which I
had to cross before reaching here, I did not find a single boat,
by which I could cross and reach the opposite bank".

Upto this point the disbelieving men heard him patiently

and did not say a single word. The believing man then
continued:
"I waited and waited till at last I saw some planks of
wood coming out of the river".
And the unbelieving men began to shout "O, It is a lie. It
is unbelievable. It is unthinkable".
Continued the believing wise man: "Plank by plank
came out of the river and then I saw the planks were cut to
proper size and shape and joined to each other with nails by
themselves until they formed a boat. And then I took my seat
in it and came over to the other bank. I am late because of
the delay in the availability of the boat".
Amid a roar of the non-believing men, the believing wise
man tried to convince them of the cause of the delay; but the
opponents would not believe him. Then he said:
"You do not believe what I say. It appears the story of
the boat forming by itself is something impossible for you to
believe. Now in the name of justice, I ask you. Do you see the
earth, the sun, the moon, the stars and the skies? Every thing
is set according to a plan. But you say it came into existence
without a Creator. In other words you deny the existence of
God. How far is your statement reasonable and justified?

This silenced them all and there was no answer to this.

So the non-believers lost and the believer won.

The fisherman replied, "Only a little while."

The investment banker then asked, "Why didn't you stay out
longer and catch more fish?" The fisherman said, "With this I
have more than enough to support my family's needs."
The investment banker then asked, "But what do you do
with the rest of your time?" The fisherman said, "I sleep late,
fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife,
stroll into the village each evening and spend time with my
family, I have a full and busy life."
The investment banker scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA
and could help you. You should spend more time fishing; and
with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from
the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you
would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your
catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor;
eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the
product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave
this small coastal fishing village and move to a big town and
eventually to the the city where you will run your everexpanding enterprise."

The Fisherman
An investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal
village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.
Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The
investment banker complimented the fisherman on the quality
of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"
To which the investment banker replied, "15 to 20 years."
"But

what

then?"

asked

the

fisherman.

The investment banker laughed and said that's the best part.

"When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell
your company stock to the public and become very rich, you
would make millions." "Millions?...Then what?"
The investment banker said, "Then you would retire.
Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep
late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your
wife, stroll to the village in the evenings and spend time with
your family."

'I must come to you, for I am a student and you are my

teachers.' Some people for whom I had waited said: 'Since
when have you been waiting for us?' I informed them that I
had been sitting there for a pretty long time. They said: 'What
a pity! You could have awakened us from our sleep.' I said: 'I
did not like to disturb you for my own sake.' I thus carried on
my pursuits, till there came a time when people began to
flock to me for learning. My Ansari friend realized this at that
time and remarked: 'This boy has surely proved himself more
sensible
than
us.'"

Thirst for Learning

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with
him)
says:
"After the passing away of the Prophet (peace be upon him), I
said to an Ansari friend of mine: The Prophet is not now with
us. But a large number of Sahabah are still among us. Let us
go to them and get knowledge of the Islamic practices. He
said: ' Who is going to approach you for learning a regulation
in the presence of these eminent Sahabah?' I was not
discouraged. I kept up my quest for knowledge and
approached every person who was supposed to have heard
something from the Prophet. I managed to gather substantial
information from the Ansar. If on my visit to someone of the
Sahabah, I found him asleep, I spread my shawl at the gate
and sat waiting. Sometimes my face and body would get
covered with dust, but I kept sitting till they woke and I was
able to contact them. Some of them said: 'Abdullah you are
the cousin of the Prophet; you could have sent for us. Why did
you take the trouble of coming to our places?' I said to them:

Source: From the book "Stories of the Sahabah" by Shaikh

Muhammad
Zakariyya
Kaandhlawi.
Besides our quest for knowledge to earn a livelihood in this
world, we must as well gain sufficient knowledge of Islam. No
matter what age group we belong to at this moment, we
should atleast have that much Islamic knowledge with which
we can turn our 24 hours life into worship. Those with
knowledge and practice will be exalted in this world and in the
hereafter.
Prayer of a Sick Person
Imam Baihaqi has stated on the authority of Hadhrat Ali
(ra) who stated: "Once, I was present with the Prophet (peace
be upon him). At that time, I had fallen so much sick that I
prayed to Allah Almighty to grant me death if I am destined to
die so that I may get relief from the sickness, otherwise, I may
be restored to normal health from the sickness if I have to live

for sometime. I, also, prayed for being granted patience if this

sickness is a test for me from Allah Almighty." Hearing that,
the Prophet beat Ali with his foot and observed: "Oh Ali!
repeat what you were saying." Ali (ra) repeated his prayer.
Then the Prophet prayed to Allah Almighty: "O Allah! Heal him
from the sickness." Ali (ra) stated that he became healthy the
same
day
and the
pain
never
appeared
again.
Source: From the book "The Miracles of
Muhammad" by Shaikh Ahmed Saeed Dehalvi.

the

knew of that great sacrifice he used to make daily in order to

keep up with the commandment of Almighty Allah.
Dear readers, we too should sincerely adopt the
commandments of Allah in our lives regardless of our social
status. In this way, Allah will elevate us in this world and in
the hereafter.

Prophet
Return

The Righteous Beggar

The following incident took place in Dhaka which is the
capital
city
of
Bangladesh.
There was a beggar in the city who used to beg beside a
Masjid on Fridays after Jumah prayer. Begging was permissible
for him due to his adverse condition. Though he was a beggar,
he would pay attention to the sermons that were delivered
during the Khutbah. One such sermons was about the
importance of earning halal income. He learnt that
supplications (dua) will not be accepted from those people
whose income are from forbidden sources. He immediately
decided to accept money from only those individuals that he
knew had halal income. His daily earnings decreased as a
result
but
he
was
committed
to
his
decision.
Then came a day when the beggar died. Eventhough he lived
as a beggar, his funeral was like that of a king. Many
dignitaries of the area attended his funeral because they

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Army of Elephants
The following incident is mentioned in Surah Feel of the
Holy Quran and it happened during the period of the birth-year of
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Abraha Al-Ashram was
the governor of Yemen on behalf of the king of Ethiopia. He
(Abrahah) thought to build a house (like the Kabah at Makkah) in
Sana (the capital of Yemen) and call the Arabs to perform the
pilgrimage there in Sana instead of the Kabah in Makkah, with
the intention of diverting the trade and benefits from Makkah to

Yemen. He presented his idea to the king of Ethiopia who agreed

to it. So the house (church) was built and he named it Al-Qullais;
there was no church of its like at that time. Then a man from the
Quraish tribe of Makkah came there and was infuriated by it, so
he relieved his nature (stools and urine) in it, soiled its walls and
went away. When Abrahah Al-Ashram saw that, he could not
control his anger and raised an army to invade Makkah and
demolish the Kabah. He had in that army thirteen elephants and
amongst them was an elephant called Mahmud which was the
biggest of them. So that army proceeded and none amongst the
Arab tribes that faced them (fought against them) but was killed
and defeated, till it approached near Makkah. Then there took
place negotiations between Abrahah Al-Ashram and the chief of
Makkah (Abdul Muttalib bin Hashim, the grandfather of the
Prophet), and it was concluded that Abrahah would restore the
camels of Abdul Muttalib which he had taken away, and then he
(Abrahah) would decide himself as regards the Kabah. Abdul
Muttalib ordered the men of Makkah to evacuate the city and go
to the top of the mountains along with their wives and children in
case some harm should come to them from the invading
oppressors. Then that army moved towards Makkah till they
reached valley Muhassir. While the army was marching towards
Makkah, in the middle of the valley, suddenly it was overtaken by
flocks of birds, flocks after flocks, air-raiding that army with small
stones slightly bigger than a lentil seed. There never fell a stone
on a soldier except it dissolved his flesh and burst it into pieces.
So they perished with a total destruction. Abrahah Al-Ashram fled
away while his flesh was bursting into pieces till he died on the
way (back to Yemen). Such was the victory bestowed by Allah,

(the All-Majestic, All-Powerful) to the people of Makkah and such

was the protection provided by Him for His House (Kabah in
Makkah).

Reward for Helping Others

Ibn Abbas narrated, Once I was in a state of itikaaf in
the Prophet's Mosque (Medina). A certain person came to me
and sat down. I said to him, 'O so and so, you look sad'. He
said, 'Yes of course, o fraternal brother of the Prophet. So-andso has his due on me, and by the one who lies in eternal
peace in the grave (i.e. Prophet Muhammad), I am not able to
pay the debt' I said, 'Should I not talk to him about your debt?'
He said, 'You can do so if you like' There upon I put my shoes
on and went out of the mosque. The person
asked him, 'Have you forgotten the state you
were in (i.e. itikaaf)?' I replied, 'Not at all, but I
have heard rom the one who lies in eternal
peace in the grave [saying this his eyes became filled with
tears],
said:
"One who moves to fulfill any need of his brother, and makes
effort for it, will find it better than itikaaf of ten years; and one
who performs itikaaf for one day for the pleasure of Allah, he
will create a distance of three ditches between him and the

hell - and each ditch has a width which lies between East and
West, or between the heaven and earth."
Better to Give
A young man, a student in one of the universities, was
one day taking a walk with a Professor, who was commonly
called the student's friend, from his kindness to those who
waited
on
his
instructions.
As they went along,they saw lying in the path a pair of old
shoes, which they supposed to belong to a poor man who was
employed in a field close by,and who had nearly finished his
day's
work.
The student turned to the professor, saying: "Let us play the
man a trick: we will hide his shoes, and
conceal ourselves behind those bushes, and
wait to see his perplexity when he cannot find
them."
"My young friend," answered the professor, "we should never
amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich,
and may give yourself a much greater pleasure by means of
this poor man. Put a coin in each shoe, and then we will hide
ourselves
and
watch
how
this
affects
him."
The student did so and they both placed themselves behind
the bushes close by. The poor man soon finished his work, and
came across the field to the path where he had left his coat

and

shoes.

While putting on his coat he slipped his foot into one of his
shoes, but feeling something hard, he stooped down to feel
what it was, and found the coin. Astonishment and wonder
were seen upon his countenance. He gazed upon the coin,
turned it around, and looked at it again and again.
He then looked around him on all sides, but
be seen. He now put the money into
proceeded to put on the other shoe; but
doubled
on
finding
the

no person was to
his pocket, and
his surprise was
other
coin.

His feelings overcame him; he fell upon his knees, looked up

to the heavens and uttered aloud a fervent thanksgiving in
which he spoke of his wife who was sick and helpless, and his
children without bread, whom this timely bounty, from some
unknown
hand,would
save
from
perishing.
The student stood there deeply affected, and his eyes filled
with tears. "Now," said the professor, are you not much better
pleased than if you had played your intended trick?"
The youth replied, "You have taught me a lesson which I will
never forget. I feel now the truth of these words, which I never
understood before: "It's more blessed to give than to receive."
Abdullah bin Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) reported that the
Prophet (sallAllahu alaiyhi wassallam) said that encouraging
good, prohibiting evil, lifting the burden of the weak person

and removing an offensive thing from a path are all

acceptable
prayers
to
Allah.
[ibn Majah]
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 Taala 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, AllKnower.
(2:261).
O traders! Bear witness with me that I donate all this to the
poor people of Madinah! said Uthman (Radiallahu Anhu).
Giving a Helping Hand

Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and his

companions (radiAllahu anhum) went on a journey. They
travelled
by
camels.
After much travelling they got tired. On the way they stopped
to rest. They decided to make a small camp and cook their
food. So they put their camels comfortably to rest and gave
them grass to eat. After that his companions decided to divide
the work among themselves.
One companion said, "I will go and kill the lamb for
meat."
Another companion said, "I will clean the ground around
the camp."
The third companion said, "I will do the cooking."
Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said, "I
will bring wood for the fire."
All the companions (radiAllahu anhum) said with one
voice, "No, Sir, we will do that for you."
But the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) replied, "I
very well know that you all will do that for me. But it is not

good for me to sit idle while you work. I am your companion. I

must work as much as you do. Allah does not like any one to
enjoy any superiority over his companions."
So saying, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) went
to gather fire wood.

Key Points: It is not good to sit idle while others work; you
should always share the work with your companions.
Teaching the value of work, co-operation, sharing, aiding and
helping others, laziness.

The Boy who threw stones at trees

There was a boy who lived in the city of Madinah, who loved
the taste of dates. He would do almost anything to enjoy
dates
fresh
from
the
tree.
Just outside the city was a beautiful pool, an oasis. Round the
pool there were many palm trees. And on the palm trees grew
the
dates
which
the
boy
loved
so
much.

Each day the boy slipped away from his friends and went by
himself to the oasis. There he took out a handful of stones
which he had collected during the day. He chose a tree where
he could see the dates hanging, ready to eat.
Selecting a stone with care, the boy took aim and threw it
hard at the tree. With luck he would hit the tree just right, and
a date would fall to the floor, ripe and juicy.
Then he would choose another stone, and another, until lots
of dates lay in the sand around, leaning against the tree and
ate his fear of fresh dates. He never thought about the
damage he had caused to the trees. He never imagined that
the trees might never grow fruit again, at that they might
even
die.
When the people who owned the trees came to check their
fruit, they were very surprised. Each day there were fewer
dates to be seen. Each day the trees looked less and less
healthy. They decided to watch the trees for a whole day, to
see
what
was
happening.
They were curious when the boy arrived to throw his stones
and eat his dates. They were angry when they saw what he
was doing to the beautiful trees. No wonder they did not look
healthy. The owners stepped out of their hiding place and took
hold of the boy. He was surprised, and a little frightened. They

were angry, and a little confused. They did not knew what to
do, "lets take him to Prophet Muhammad," one said "He will
knew
what
is
right."
Standing in front of The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam),
the boy was afraid. He was usually very well behaved and had
never been in serious trouble before. But he did love fresh
dates. And it was easy to knock them out of the branches with
stones.

sand

the

trees

tasted

wonderful.

Key Ideas: Respect for nature, Respect for other people's

wealth and property, correct adab and tarbiyyah.
A Pious Woman at the Time of the Pharaoh

Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) looked at the

boy. He spoke very quietly, because he was not angry.
He could tell that the boy loved dates so much that he did not
think about damaged he had caused to the trees.
"Why do you throw stones at trees? Dont you know it hurts
them?" The boy said he was sorry. He had not thought about
the trees. He only thought about the delicious taste of the
dates.

"Why dont you wait," said Prophet Muhammad, "until the

dates are really ripe, and fall from the trees themselves. They
will
taste
even
better."
The boy smiled. He could still enjoy his dates. The trees would
stay healthy, and grew more dates next year. And sure
enough, the boy found that the dates he picked up from the

This story is on the Prophet Muhammad's (salAllahu alayhi

wassalaam) Night Journey to Jerusalem (The Isra'):
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wassalaam) smelled a very nice
odour. He asked Angel Jibril (alayhis salam) about this
pleasant scent and Angel Jibril (Alayhis salam) informed him
this good smell was coming from the grave of the woman
whose duty used to be to comb Pharaoh's daughter's hair.
This woman was a good, pious believer. One day, as she was
combing Pharaoh's daughter's hair, the comb fell from her
hand.
At
this
she
said,
"Bismillah."
The Pharaoh's daughter asked her, "Do you have a God other

than
my
father?
" The woman said, "Yes. My Lord and the Lord of your father is
Allah."
Pharaoh's daughter told her father what had happened.
Pharaoh demanded this woman blaspheme and leave Islam,
and not be a Muslim anymore, but she refused. At that,
Pharaoh
threatened
to
kill
her
children.
He brought a great pot of water and built a great fire under it.
When the water boiled, Pharaoh brought her children and
started to drop them into that pot one after the other.
Throughout all this, the woman remained steadfast to Islam and refused to leave Islam, even when Pharaoh reached her
youngest child -- a little boy still breast feeding -- but she felt
pity
for
him.
At that, Allah enabled this child to speak. He said to his
mother, "O Mother, be patient. The torture of the Hereafter is
far more severe than the torture of this life, and do not be
reluctant,
because
you
are
right."

Three Tough Questions

There was a young man who went overseas to study for quite
a long time. When he returned, he asked his parents to find
him a religious scholar or any expert who could answer his
Three
Questions.
Finally, his parents were able to find a Muslim scholar.
"Who are you? Can you answer my questions?," asked the
young
man
"I am one of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala)'s slaves and
Insha'Allah (God willing), I will be able to answer your
questions,"
replied
the
Scholar.
"Are you sure? A lot of Professors and experts were not able to
answer
my
questions,"
replied
the
young
boy

At this the woman requested Pharaoh collect her bones and

the bones of her children and bury them in the same grave.
Pharaoh promised her that -- then dropped her into that
boiling
water.
She
died
as
a
martyr.

"I will try my best, with the help of Allah (Subhanahu wa

Ta'ala)"

The good odour the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wassalam)

smelled coming from her grave is an indication of her high
status.

1.

"I

2.

have
Does

3
God
What

questions,"
exist?

If
is

so,

began
show

me

takdir

the

boy

His

shape.
(fate)?

3. If shaitan (Devil) was created from the fire, why at the end
he will be thrown to hell that is also created from fire. It
certainly will not hurt him at all, since Shaitan (Devil) and the
hell were created from fire. Did God not think of it this far?

"I

cannot,"

Suddenly, the Scholar slapped the young man's face very

hard!

"No"

the

young

man

replied

"That is my first answer. All of us feel God's existence without

being able to see His shape... Last night, did you dream that
you will be slapped by me?," the ascholar replied

"Did you ever think that you will get a slap from me, today?,"
the
scholar
continued
The young man, who was shocked and hurt by the slap
became confused, "Why do are you angry at me?" he asked

"No."

"I am not angry," answered the scholar, "The slap is my

answer
to
your
three
questions."

"That is takdir (fate)........" The scholar continued, "My hand

that I used to slap you, what is it created from?"

"I really don't understand," the young man said. He was really
confused.

"It

is

"How
The scholar began to explain, "How did you feel after I
slapped
you?,"
he
asked

"Flesh,

"Of

"How

course,

felt

the

pain.

it

hurt,"

he

replied

"So do you believe that pain exists?" the scholar asked

"In

created
about
as
did

from
your

flesh,"
face,

well"
you

replied

what

replied
feel

after

the

is

it

the
I

young

man

created

from?"

young

man

slapped

you?"

pain."

"Yes."
"Now Show me the shape of the pain!" said the wise Scholar

"Even though Shaitan (satan) and Jahunnum (Hell-fire) were

created from fire, if Allah wants, insha'Allah (God willing), the

Hell-fire will become a very painful place for Shaitan (Devil)"

ended
the
wise
Scholar.

As

The wise Scholar had answered all three of the tough

questions by one slap.

"What was there before Allah?" "In which direction does Allah
face?" "What is Allah engaged in at this moment?"

for

the

questions,

they

were:

A Wise Young Boy

The great assembly of people were silent. (Can you think of
answers
to
these
questions?)
In the midst of these brilliant scholars and students of Islam
was a man looking on with his young son.
Many years ago, during the time of the Tabi'in (the generation
of Muslims after the Sahabah), Baghdad was a great city of
Islam. In fact, it was the capital of the Islamic Empire and,
because of the great number of scholars who lived there, it
was
the
center
of
Islamic
knowledge.
One day, the ruler of Rome at the time sent an envoy to
Baghdad with three challenges for the Muslims. When the
messenger reached the city, he informed the khalifah that he
had three questions which he challenged the Muslims to
answer.

"O my dear father! I will answer him and silence him!" said
the
youth.
So the boy sought the permission of the khalif to give the
answers and he was given the permission to do so.
The Roman came up to the young Muslim and addressed him,
repeating his first question, "What was there before Allah?"
The

boy

asked,

"Do

you

know

how

to

count?"

"Yes," said the man, slightly puzzled as to why he was asking

such
a
strange
question.
The khalifah gathered together all the scholars of the city and
the Roman messenger climbed upon a high platform and said,
"I have come with three questions. If you answer them, then I
will leave with you a great amount of wealth which I have
brought
from
the
king
of
Rome."

"Then

count

down

from

ten!"

So the Roman counted down, thinking that the young Muslim

probably didnt understand. "Ten, nine, eight, ..." until he

reached
"But

what

"one"
comes

and

he

before

'one'?"

stopped
asked

counting.
the

Allah - the Light of the Heavens and the Earth!? Light upon
Light,
Allah
faces
all
directions
at
all
times."

boy.

"There is nothing before one - that is it!" said the man.

"Well then, if there obviously is nothing before the arithmetic
'one', then how do you expect that there should be anything
before the 'One' who is Absolute Truth, All-Eternal, Everlasting
the First, the Last, the Manifest, the Hidden?"
Now the man was surprised by this direct, intelligent answer
which
he
could
not
dispute.
So the Roman thought that he would do better with the
second question. This question would surely not be answered
by this young boy. "Then tell me, in which direction is Allah
facing?"
"Bring a candle and light it," said the boy, "and tell me in
which
direction
the
flame
is
facing."
"But the flame is just light - it spreads in each of the four
directions, North, South, East and West. It does not face any
one direction only," said the man in wonderment.
The boy cried, "Then if this physical light spreads in all four
directions such that you cannot tell me which way it faces,
then what do you expect of the Nur-us-Samawati-wal-'Ard:

The Roman was stupefied and astounded that here was a

young child answering his challenges in such a way that he
could not argue against the proofs! So, he desperately wanted
to try his final question. He didn't want to be defeated by this
young
boy.
But before doing so, the boy said, "Wait! You are the one who
is asking the questions and I am the one who is giving the
answer to these challenges. It is only fair that you should
come down to where I am standing and that I should go up
where you are right now, in order that the answers may be
heard
as
clearly
as
the
questions."
This seemed reasonable to the Roman, so he came down from
where he was standing and the boy ascended the platform.
Then the man repeated his final challenge, "Tell me, what is
Allah
doing
at
this
moment?"
The boy proudly answered, "At this moment, when Allah found
upon this high platform a liar and mocker of Islam, He caused
him to descend and brought him low. And as for the one who
believed in the Oneness of Allah, He raised him up and
established the Truth. Every day He exercises (universal)
power."

The Roman had nothing to say except to leave and return

back
to
his
country,
defeated
and
ashamed.
Meanwhile, this young boy grew up to become one of the
most famous scholars of Islam. Allah, the Exalted, blessed him
with special wisdom and knowledge of the deen. His name
was Abu Hanifah (rahimullah) and he is known today as Imame-A'dham, the Great Imam and scholar of Islam.
Nabil's White Shoes

Nabil looks into the padi field and watches the tadpoles
swimming. It is the planting season and the padi field is
flooded. Farmers are going to remove the seedlings from the
seed beds and transplant them into the flooded fields. The
warm, wet climate in the tropics is ideal for growing padi.
Meantime the tadpoles are having fun swimming in the empty
field.
Nabil is waiting for his father to take him to the masjid. He can
hear his father calling him, "Nabil, where are you?" (Aina anta,
ya Nabil?) Nabil replies, "I am coming, Ayah." He rushes to the
road
to
meet
his
father.
As they start walking they hear a sound, squiissh, squiissh,

squiissh, squiissh. "What is that noise?" asks Nabil. They stop

to listen, but the noise stops as well. As they start walking
again, they hear the noise again, squiissh, squiissh, squiissh,
squiissh. Again they stop to listen. Again the noise stops. They
are very puzzled. " Is someone following us?" asks Nabil, as he
looks back. But there is no one there. What could the noise
be? Is it a bird in the sky or an insect in the padi field? Again
as
they
start
walking
they
hear
the
noise.
Nabil looks down at his shoes and squeals in delight. "Its my
shoes, they are wet and are making this squiisshing sound."
They both laugh gleefully. His father looks at Nabil's shoes and
exclaims, "Nabil, there is a hole in your shoe. We need to buy
you a new pair of shoes. Next week when I get some money,
insha Allah, I will put aside some money for your shoes first."
Nabil is very excited. Shopping for new shoes will be fun.
On Monday after school, Nabil asks his father, "Ayah, can we
go shopping for my shoes?" His father says, "Sabar (be
patient), Nabil." Then Nabil says to his father, "Ayah, today I
saw my friend Azman wearing a nice pair of black shoes." His
father says, "Alhamdulillah, that is what Allah (subhanahu wa
Ta'ala)
has
given
to
him."
On Tuesday after school, Nabil asks his father again, "Ayah,
can we go shopping for my shoes?" His father says the same
thing, " Sabar, Nabil." Then Nabil says to his father, "Ayah,
today I saw Ustaz Marwan wearing a new pair of white shoes."
His father says, "Alhamdulillah, that is what Allah s.w.t has

given

to

him."

On Wednesday after school, Nabil asks his father again,

"Ayah, can we go shopping for my shoes?" His father says,
"Sabar, Nabil." "Nabil, today I saw the postman wearing smart
blue shoes." This time Nabil says, "Alhamdulillah, that is what
Allah (subhanahu wa Ta'ala) has given to him."

Innahu

La

And waste
(excess).

not

At the shoe shop, Nabil sees a nice pair of black shoes. "Ayah,
these shoes look very smart," says Nabil. His father says, "Yes,
they look great, Nabil." His father looks at the price. "Nabil, we
can only spend $25 for your shoes. These shoes cost $55. It
would be a waste to buy these expensive shoes. This is an
extravagance. We would be spending an extra $30. Allah
(subhanahu wa Ta'ala) does not want us to be extravagant,
Nabil. What do you think we can use the $30 for?"
Nabil's

father

Bismillahir
Walaa

then

reads

verse

Rahmanir
Tusri

of

the

Qur'an.
Rahim

[laa

Tusri

fuu]

Musrifeen
by

extravagance

Verily, He (Allah) loves not those who waste by

extravagance
(excess).
Surah

On Sunday again Nabil says, "Ayah, can we go shopping for

my shoes?" His father says, "Yes, today after salatul Zohor,
insha Allah, we will go and buy your shoes." Nabil performs his
salatul Zohor and quickly gets ready to go out shopping.

yuhibbul

Verse

141

"Okay, Ayah," Nabil says. We will not be extravagant." Nabil

always obeys his father, he is a soleh child.
Then Nabil sees a pair of brown shoes that look very nice.
"Ayah, these shoes are $27 only, can I buy them," asks Nabil.
His father looks at the shoes and says, "Yes, Nabil, these
shoes
are
just
right
for
you."
As the salesman looks for the right size of shoes, Nabil
wanders around the shop and soon sees a pair of white shoes
that cost $17 only. He likes the shoelaces on them. There are
little bells dangling at the end of the shoelaces. "Ayah, Ayah,"
Nabil calls as he runs to the other side of the shop in
excitement. "Can I buy these pair of white shoes with the little
bells on them. They are cheaper than the brown shoes; we will
save money too. Do you know how much money we will save
Ayah?"

fuu
"Are you sure you want these shoes Nabil. I don't mind paying

$27 for the brown shoes, if you want them," his father says.
"No, I don't want the expensive brown shoes. I want these
white shoes which are cheaper. Ayah, we must not waste
money. Remember what Allah (subhanahu wa Ta'ala) says,"
Nabil reminds his father by reading the verse from the Qur'an.

On the way back, Nabil's father says, "Nabil you can have the
$10 we saved by buying these white shoes. You can do what
you want with it, but remember to do only those things that
will earn you the pleasure of Allah (swt) When Allah
(subhanahu wa Ta'ala) brings rezeki to us He also waits to see
what we do with it. This $10 comes to you from Allah
(subhanahu
wa
Ta'ala)"

Bismillahir

Nabil's

Rahmanir

Wa
Innahu

laa
La

Rahim
Tusri

yuhibbul

fuu
Musrifeen

And waste not [laa Tusri] by extravagance (excess).

Verily, He (Allah) loves not [ La yuhibbu] those who
waste
by
extravagance
(excess).
Surah

Verse

father

reads

verse

Bismillahir

Rahmanir

Wama

min

bikum

of

ni'matin

the

Qur'an.

Rahim
faminallah

And whatever of blessings [ ni'matin] and good things

you
have,
it
is
from
Allah.
Surah

An-Nahl

16:53

141

His father smiles when Nabil finishes reading the verse. He

says, "Well, Nabil, now you have a new pair of white shoes."
Nabil replies, "Alhamdulillah, this is what Allah (subhanahu wa
Ta'ala)
has
given
to
me."
Nabil is very happy. He keeps looking at his new white shoes,
smiles and keeps saying, "Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah."

The next day Nabil is thinking of what he would like to do with

all that money. It is a lot of money and he has never had so
much before. At first he thinks he would like to spend all the
money on ice cream or chocolates or even buy that toy car he
has seen at the supermarket. Just the thought of it makes him
very excited. But then he asks himself, "Will Allah (subhanahu
wa Ta'ala) be pleased with me if I spend all the money on
myself?"

Next day after school he sits down with his father and starts
writing down his ideas. Nabil decides to use the money in five
different ways. Nabil starts think, "How much money is there
for me to use for each way if I divide $10 into five ways?"
Nabil sees that he has $2 to give his mother, whom he loves
very much. He can spend $2 for himself, he can use $2 to buy
treats for his brothers and sisters, he can save $2 and the last
$2 he can give to the poor family who lives near the masjid.
He says to himself, " Allah (subhanahu wa Ta'ala) will be
pleased with me if I use the money in this way rather than if I
spend
it
all
on
myself."
Next day he goes with his mum to visit the poor family. When
they reach the house they hear some children crying. Nabil
and his mum say, "Assalamu Alaikum, Makcik Meriam."
Makcik comes out and replies, "Wa alaikumus Salam." One
little girl follows makcik and keeps saying, "I am hungry, mak.
I am hungry, mak. Give me some food?" (Ana jaw'an. Ana
jaw'an.
A'tinee
ba'dha
toa'am.)
Nabil's mother gives some old clothes to makcik. Nabil gives
his $2. Makcik is very happy and says, "Alhamdulillah." She
immediately wispers to her son to go and buy a packet of rice
so that she can cook it for his little sister. There is nothing in
the house to eat. Even though she speaks very softly Nabil
and
his
mother
can
hear.
Nabil is very upset and shocked that there is nothing to eat in
Makcik Meriams house. At his house there is always

something to eat. He puts his hand in his pocket and feels the
balance of the money. He realizes that makcik needs the
money to feed the family but he does not need the extra
money. He decides to give all the balance of $8 to Makcik. He
immediately sees her face light up even more as she keeps
repeating, "Alhamdulillah, Masha Allah." She tells her son to
buy
some
more
rice
and
dried
fish.
When they reach home, Nabil starts crying as he remembers
makcik's family who has no food in their house. His mother
consoles him and says, " Allah (subhanahu wa Ta'ala) sends
rezeki to whomever he chooses. Allah (subhanahu wa Ta'ala)
gives more to some and waits to see whether they will spend
it all for themselves or they will share with those who are in
need."
Nabil looks at his new shoes and says, "Alhamdulillah, I am
glad I bought this pair of white shoes and saved $10 and
therefore could give it to makcik's family."

The Poor Man

"No,
O
Messenger
of
Allah."
"Then why did you draw yourself and your clothes away from
him?"

It was a usual meeting. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi

wasalam) was in his place and his companions gathered
around him to hear the words of wisdom and guidance.
Suddenly a poor man in rags appeared, saluted the assembly:

The rich man said: "I admit that was the most undesirable
thing to do. It was an error and I confess. Now to make
amends for it, I will give away half of my wealth to this Muslim
brother
so
that
I
may
be
forgiven.
"

"Assalamun Alaikum" and finding a vacant place, comfortably

sat down. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) had taught
them that all Muslims were brothers and in an assembly one
should sit wherever one finds a place, regardless of any
status.

Just as he said this, the poor man rose and said: "O Prophet of
Allah,
I
do
not
accept
his
offer."

Now, it so happened that this poor man sat next to a very rich
man. The rich man felt disturbed and tried to collect the
edges of his dress around himself, so that the poor man did
not
touch
them.
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) observed this and
addressing
the
rich
man
he
said:

"O Prophet of Allah, I refuse to accept his offer because I fear

that I might then become arrogant and ill treat my Muslim
brothers
the
way
he
did
to
me."

"Perhaps you were afraid that his poverty would affect you?"
"No,
O
Messenger
of
Allah,"
he
said
"Then perhaps you were apprehensive about some of your
wealth
flying
away
to
him?"
"No,
O
Messenger
of
Allah."
"Or you feared that your clothes would become dirty if he
touched
them?"

People present were all taken by surprise. They thought the

poor
man
was
a
fool.
But
he
explained:

Look, you are being called upon to expend in Allah's Way, yet
some of you are being niggardly, whereas the one who is
niggardly is, in fact, being niggardly only to hims elf. Allah is
Self-Sufficient: it is you who are the needy. If you turn away,
Allah will replace you by another people, and they will not be
like
you.
[47:
38]

"Allah does not love the arrogant and the boastful, who are
niggardly and bid others to be niggardly and conceal the
bounty which Allah has bestowed upon them. We have kept in
readiness a humiliating chastisement for such deniers (of
Allah's
bounty)"
[4: 36-37]

cellar.
Qasim thought and thought about a place where he could eat
the sweets without anyone seeing him. He could think of no
such place. Every time he thought about a place, he
remembered that Allah could see him, and he did not eat the
sweets.

Allah Knows Everything

Mr Hasan had three sons: Faruq, Abdullah and Qasim. He

loved them very much. He wanted to see them grow up as
good
Muslims.
Mr Hasan himself was a good Muslim. He did his best to obey
all
commands
of
Allah.
One day, Mr Hasan thought to test his sons. He gave each of
them some sweets and said, "Eat the sweets in such a place
where no one can see you, and when you have done so, come
back
to
me."

Faruq and Abdullah came back and told Mr Hasan about what
they did. Qasim came and returned the sweets to his father
saying, "There is no place which is secret from Allah, and so I
did
not
eat
the
sweets."
Mr Hasan was very pleased with Qasim. he told Faruq and
Abdullah to learn a lesson from their brother Qasim.
Mr Hasan also said, "My dear sons, always keep in mind that
Allah knows everything and He sees everything. He is with us
all the time. So we should not do anything bad, even in secret
- because Allah Knows."
The Boy and the Apple Tree

Faruq took the sweets and went to his room. He shut the door
from the inside and ate the sweets thinking that no one could
see
him
there.
Abdullah went to the cellar of the house and he was sure that
nobody was there. He ate the sweets in the darkness of the

long

time

ago,

there

was

huge

apple

tree.

A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He

climbed to the treetop, ate the apples, took a nap under the
shadowhe loved the tree and the tree loved to play with
him.

Time went bythe little boy had grown up and he no longer

played around the tree every day. One day, the boy came
back
to
the
tree
and
he
looked
sad.
"Come and play with me" the tree asked the boy.
"I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees any more"
the boy replied. "I want toys. I need money to buy them."
"Sorry, but I do not have money but you can pick all my
apples and sell them. So, you will have money."
The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree
and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the
apples.
The
tree
was
sad.
One day, the boy who now turned into a man returned and
the tree was excited "Come and play with me" the tree said.
"I do not have time to play. I have to work for my family. We
need a house for shelter. Can you help me?"
"Sorry, but I do not have any house. But you can chop off my
branches
to
build
your
house."
So the man cut all the branches of the tree and left happily.

The tree was glad to see him happy but the man never came
back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.
One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was
delighted. "Come and play with me!" the tree said.
"I am getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you
give
me
a
boat?"
said
the
man.
"Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be
happy." So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He
went sailing and never showed up for a long time.
Finally, the man returned after many years. "Sorry, my boy.
But I do not have anything for you anymore. No more apples
for
you
"
the
tree
said.
"No problem, I do not have any teeth to bite" the man replied.
"No
more
trunk
for
you
to
climb
on"
"I am too old for that now" the man said.
"I really cannot give you anything... the only thing left is my
dying
roots"
the
tree
said
with
tears.
"I do not need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after
all
these
years"
the
man
replied.
"Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest,
Come, come sit down with me and rest." The man sat down

and

the

tree

was

glad

and

smiled

with

tears

Rab-bir

This is a story of everyone. The tree is like our parents When

we were young, we loved to play with our Mum and Dad...
When we grow up, we leave themonly come to them when
we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter
what, parents will always be there and give everything they
could just to make you happy. You may think the boy is cruel
to the tree, but that is how all of us treat our parents. We take
them for granted we don't appreciate all they do for us, UNTIL
it's
too
late.

Allah

has

said;

"And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him.
And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both
of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of
disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of
honour."
Allah (ta'ala) tells us to be good and kind to our parents. Here
is a du'a that you can learn to make du'a for them:

ham-huma

kama

Rabba-yani

Sagheera

My Lord! Place on them Your Mercy even as they cherished

me
in
childhood
[surah bani Isra'il; 17: 2]
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

A young boy of short stature was grazing a herd of goats on

the mountain trails on the outskirts of Makkah. He saw two
men in the distance coming towards him. As they came closer
they
looked
tired
and
thirsty.
They approached him and asked, "O young boy, can you offer
us some milk from any of your goats to quench our thirst?"
In reply the young boy said, "I am sorry, these goats are not
mine, they belong to Uqaba Ibn Ali Muait, so I will be
dishonest if I give you milk without his permission."
Both men were very impressed with the young boy's honesty.
This young boy was none other than Abdullah Ibn Masud, and

the two men were Prophet Muhammed (salAllahu alayhi

wasalam)
and
Abu
Bakr
(radiAllahu
anhu).

"Abdullah

Ibn

Masud"

replied

the

man.

Then Umar became calm and said, "Woe to you, by Allah I

don't know anyone more qualified to do this".
They had left Makkah that day to escape the persecution of
The Quraysh. This incident shows the keen sense of honesty
Abdullah Ibn Masud had even before he accepted Islam and
relates to the saying of The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi
wasalam) that, "The best of you before he accepting Islam are
the
best
after
accepting
it".

Another time, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam), Umar

and Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhum) passed the mosque while
someone was reciting the Qur'an beautifully in prayer.
The prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said, "Whoever wants
to read the Qur'an as fresh as it was revealed, should read like
Ibn Masud", as he was the person reciting it.

Soon after this incident Abdullah Ibn Masud became very

attached to the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and very
soon he became a Muslim. He gave up herding goats and
instead devoted himself to serving the Blessed Prophet.

Ibn Mas'ud was one of the four people the Prophet (salAllahu
alayhi wasalam) recommended people to learn the Qur'an
from; including Salama Maula Abu Hudayfa, Muadh Ibn Jabal
and
Ubayy
Ibn
Ka'ab
(radiAllahu
anhum).

He used to accompany Prophet Muhammed on his journeys

and tend to his personal needs. He received the unique
training and guidance in the household of Prophet (salAllahu
alayhi wasalam). He is known and recognised as one of the
most knowledgeable companions with knowledge of the
Qur'an.

When the Sahabah (radiAllahu anhum) were very few in

Makkah, weak and oppressed, one day they said, "The
Quraysh have not heard the Qur'an being recited loudly, Who
can
do
it?"

One a man came to Umar Ibn Al Khattab and told him, "I have
just come from Kufah in Iraq where I left a man filling copies of
the
Qur'an
from
memory".
"Who

is

he?"

asked

Umar

angrily

"I
will
do
it"
said
Abdullah
Ibn
Masud.
This was a big task. The Sahabah were afraid for him because
he did not have any tribe to protect him. The Quraysh could
easily attack and harm Abdullah ibn Mas'ud if he started to
read
the
Qur'an
for
everyone
to
hear.
But Ibn Masud said, "Allah will keep me safe from their
mischief".

Ibn Masud went to the Kab'ah where some of the Quraysh

were gathered and started reciting Surah Ar-Rahman of the
Qur'an.
When the Quraysh realised he was reciting the Qur'an, they
came over to him, and started beating him till he bled.
However, although he was very swollen and bruised, he
finished
reciting
the
Surah.
The Sahabah were sorry for Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud when they
saw his condition, but Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said, "By Allah, the
enemies of Allah are more uncomfortable than me, and I
would
go
and
do
it
again."
The

sahabah

said,

"It

is

enough."

Ibn Mas'ud had excellent manners and he loved to make

sacrifices for Allah's sake. He took part in all the major battles
of Islam with Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam).

Once after telling people a hadith, he smiled after it, because

Muhammed (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) also smiled after it. He
knew that he said the hadith correctly, and that the Blessed
Prophet was pleased. This shows us Ibn Mas'ud's truthfulness
and
determination
to
be
correct.
Ibn Masud also never allowed injustice of any kind, no matter
who was doing it. One day Wahid Ibn Aqaba, the governor of
Kufa was late to lead the prayers in congregation, so Abdullah
Ibn
Mas'ud
led
the
prayers.
When Ibn Aqaba came he was very angry and demanded an
explanation
from
Ibn
Mas'ud.
"Allah does not like the prayer delayed for you. Why should
the people wait in the Mosque for prayer whilst you are busy
in
your
work?,"
replied
Ibn
Mas'ud
Wahid

could

not

reply.

In the battle of Badr, he killed Abu Jahl. He also fought in the

battles of Uhud, Khandaq, Khaybar, the conquest of Makkah
and
Hunayn.

Ibn Masud would treat his family with affection and kindness
and made sure he educated them in the Qur'an and about
Islam. He was very hospitable and in Kufah had emptied his
house
for
serving
guests.

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud was also very careful in narrating hadith

from the Blessed Prophet, to make sure he said the exact
words of the Prophet, and didn't make any mistakes.

His speeches very mainly about the Oneness of Allah, prayers,

fearing Allah and the Hereafter. He used to say, "O people, he
who wants this world loses the next, he who wants the
Hereafter
does
not
care
about
this
world".

for I have heard the Prophet saying: "Whoever reads alWaqiah every night shall not be afflicted by poverty ever."
Ibn Masud was brave and pious, though he was short and had
very thin legs. One day he climbed a tree and his legs were
uncovered and some people laughed at them.
But the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said, "On the Day
of Judgement, his legs will have more weight in Allah's sight
than
Mount
Uhud."

That night Ibn Masud passed away, his tongue moist with
remembrance of Allah and recitation of the Qur'an.
RadiAllahu anhu.
Hasan
and
by Sister Asma

Husain

Help

an

Old

Man

Ibn Masud lived up to the time of the Khalifah Uthman

(radiAllahu anhu). On Ibn Masud's deathbed, Uthman came to
visit
him
and
said,
"What
is
your
illness?"
"My

sins,"

"And

what

do

"The

mercy

of

replied
you
my

Ibn

desire?,"
Lord,"

Mas'ud

asked

replied

Uthman

Ibn

Mas'ud

"Should I give you your grant, which you have refused for
years?,"
asked
Uthman
"I

don't

need

it,"

said

Ibn

Mas'ud

"Let it be for your daughters after you," replied Uthman

"Do you fear that my children will become poor, Uthman?
I have commanded them to read Surah al-Waqiah every night,

When the grandsons of Blessed Prophet, Hasan and Hussain

(radiAllahu anhum) were very young, an old bedouin once
came
to
Madinah.
When the time of salat (prayer) came, he began to make
wudu, but he was making his wudu incorrectly.
Hasan and Hussain saw the old man making his wudu wrong,
and wished to correct him, but were not sure how. He was an
old man, and being young children, they didn't want to point
out the old man's mistakes. They might hust or insult his
feelings. It wasn't good manners to point out the mistakes of
their
elders.
What
could
they
do?
Both the brothers thought and thought over the problem, and

at last hit upon an idea. Together they arranged a plan to

teach the man how to make wudu correctly, without insulting
him, advising him in a manner befitting of his age.
They went over to the old man, and asked him if he could help
them. "My brother and I disagree over who amongst us
performs Wudu the best. Would you mind watching us make
wudu, and be the judge to see which one of us indeed
performs Wudu more correctly? Could you please correct us
wherever
we
are
wrong?
The man watched carefully as the two grandsons of the
Blessed Prophet performed Wudu in an explicit manner. Soon
he knew the correct way of making wudu, realising his
mistakes.
After Hasan and Hussain (radi Allahu anhum) had completed
their wudu, the old man thanked them and said, By Allah, I
did not know how to perform wudu before this. You have both
taught
me
how
to
do
it
correctly.
Teaching points: One of the most beautiful examples of
Hikmah (wisdom) in advising others. Respect and treatment of
elders.
King
Jahangir
and
the
baby
Jahangir was one of the Mughal Emperors of India, ruling from
1605-1627.

Jahangir was a wise and fair king. He was well loved by the
people in his kingdom. Everyone knew that Jahangir would
listen to their problems, no matter how small.
Outside his palace there was a special bell, with a great, thick
rope. Anyone who wanted to talk to the king could simply
come to the palace and pull on the rope. Jahangir would hear
the
bell,
and
come
to
listen.
One fine sunny day two women arrived at the palace. They
wanted the kings wise advice, so they pulled on the bell.
Neither woman looked very happy. One of them was carrying
a small child. The other women was crying. Both told King
Jahangir
that
the
baby
belonged
to
them.
The women stood before the king, hoping he would make a
decision. But the king could not make a decision straight
away.
Either woman might be the babys mother. Both of them
looked
very
upset.
King Jahangir thought for a while. Then he sent a servant to
bring a sharp knife. I will settle the problem. I shall cut the
baby into two pieces. Then you can have exactly half each.

One of the women began to cry and sob. She came and knelt
before the king. Please do not cut my baby in half. Give him
to the other woman, only do not harm him.
The King now knew the answer to his problem. He said to the
woman who was kneeling, It is easy to see that you are the
babys mother. Here, take your baby. Keep him safe.
Key Ideas: Love of mothers to their children, wisdom, sacrifice
The
Old
Woman
(salAllahu alayhi wsalam)

and

the

Prophet

More than 1400 years ago in Arabia the people were living
very much in fear. They feared their neighbours. They feared
other tribes. They even feared their idols. For this was the
time
before
Islam.
The Arabs were worshipping idols. In their ignorance they
would bury their newly born daughters alive. As Islam began
to spread among Arabs such cruel practices stopped. For
Islam taught love and peace. It taught kindness and respect.
Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wsalam) himself was a
very kind and loving person. He treated every one, young and
old,
with
kindness
and
respect.

Because Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wsalam) was

spreading the word of God, because he was changing, for
better, the lives of many Arabs and because some Arabs felt
that by the teachings of Muhammad their old idols were losing
power they disliked Muhammad and planned to kill him. Every
time they tried to kill him, they failed. This angered the
enemies of Islam even more. So they began to harass him in
every
way
they
knew.
One old woman made a habit of throwing rubbish on Prophet
Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wsalam) whenever he passed
from her house! Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wsalam) had to
pass that house daily on the way to the mosque.
Even when the old woman threw rubbish on him, he would
pass silently without showing any anger or annoyance. This
was
a
regular,
daily
event.
One day when the Prophet was passing by, the woman was
not there to throw the rubbish. He stopped, and asked the
neighbour about her well-being, and wondering why she
wasn't
dropping
any
rubbish
on
him.
The neighbour informed the Prophet that the woman was sick
on bed. The Prophet politely asked permission to visit the
woman. When allowed he entered the house, the woman
thought that he had come there to take his revenge when she
was unable to defend herself because of sickness.
But the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wsalam) assured her that he
had come to her, not to take any revenge, but to see her and

to look after her needs, as it was the command of Allah that if

any one is sick, a Muslim should visit him and should help him
if
his
help
is
needed.
The old woman was greatly moved
of the Prophet. By the example of
she understood that he was truly
Islam was the true religion. She
Alhamdulilah.

by this kindness and love

greatness of Muhammad,
the Prophet of God and
accepted Islam at once,

Key Points: Rights of Neighbours in Islam, Kindness, Visiting

and caring for the ill, Forgiveness.
The Gossiper

and have it killed. Then on your way home, pluck its feathers
and drop them one by one along the road". Although,
surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told.
The next day the wise man said, "Now go and collect all those
feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me."
The woman followed the same road, but to her dismay, the
wind had blown a11 the feathers away. After searching for
hours, she returned with only three in her hand.
"You see," said the old sage, "its easy to drop them, but its
impossible to get them back. So it is with gossip. It doesnt
take much to spread a rumor, but once you do, you can never
completely
undo
the
wrong."
A Prize for Piety

A woman repeated a bit of gossip about a neighbor. Within a

few days the whole community knew the story. The person it
concerned
was
deeply
hurt
and
offended.
Later the woman responsible for spreading the rumor learned
that it was completely untrue. She was very sorrowful and
went to a wise old sage to find out what she could do to repair
the
damage.
"Go to the marketplace", he said, "and purchase a chicken,

Once long ago, a young man named Salman came to perform

Hajj. He was poor and had no money for good food. So he
stayed at Makkah spending much of his time in the Haram.
During the day, he worked to earn his bread which he ate with
Zam-Zam
water.
One day while in the masjid al-Haram, he saw something

glittering under the sun in the distance. "What could that

be?,"
thought
Salman.
As he came closer, he found that someone had dropped their
purse. When he opened it, he found an expensive necklace
along
with
plenty
of
money.
"I could buy a lot of nice things with all this money," Salman
thought. "I could buy a good house and good food with that
money". But his piety spoke to him: "It is haram - it's not your
property".
Then Shaitan whispered to Salman to be greedy and to keep
the money. Then Salman thought that he could spend some of
the money and give some of the money to charity. He thought
that he was doing the right thing by keeping the money.
Meanwhile, the owner of the purse came searching for it.
Salman saw the owner asking people if they had seen their
purse. "I'm a thief," thought Salman, "I have the purse".
But Shaitan again whispered to him, "Don't be a fool. You
need this money badly". But Salman remembered the du'a to
say to make Shaitan go away from him;
A'udhu

bilAllahi

min

ash-shaitan

ar-rajeem

I ask Allah to protect mee from the rejected Shaitan.

Salman quickly returned the purse to the owner who

jumped with joy. He kissed and embraced Salman and gave
him a lot of money in prize to thank him for his honesty and
kindness.
But Salman returned the money saying that it was his duty as
a good Muslim. The man was stunned of the piety of this
young man. He embraced him again and returned with his
family.
Salman continued his hard life of worship and earning halal.
He collected some money and planned to return home. He
bought some gifts for his parents. He sailed on a boat from
Jeddah to the south. After three days at sea, there was a
heavy storm, the boat hit a huge rock and the passengers had
to
abandon
it.
Fortunately for Salman, he got hold of a plank off the broken
boat and stuck to it. The waves took him to the middle of
nowhere. To survive, he drank sea water and caught small
fishes for food. It was horrifying to see big sharks preying on
the
other
survivors.
Salman was scared, and prayed to Allah to save his life. After
three days, the wind and tide took him near the shore. He
swam until he reached the beach and walked to the nearby
village.

He entered the mosque, thirsty, hungry, injured and tired. The

villagers in the mosque saw the tried looking stranger, and
were
very
kind
and
helpful
to
him.
Salman stayed in the mosque, trying to gather his strength
after the ship-wreck and continued with his worship. Then he
led the people in salat like an Imam and gave them sermons
full of good advice and piety. He also used to help people with
jobs that they needed doing, and was kind and helpful as
much as he could. The people were impressed with this young
pious
man.
There was a rich man in the village who had a beautiful
daughter named Shayma. He wanted to give her in marriage
to the pious young man who would also manage his business.
One night, he came to Salman and said, "You are a very loving
person to me. I want you to marry my daughter."
Salman could not believe what he heard. He knew that the
person was the richest man in the village. Salman kissed his
head and the rich man embraced Salman. After three days, a
simple nikah was arranged in the mosque and the bride came
to live with him. When he entered the room he found a
beautiful lady wrapped in silken clothes. She stood to
welcome
him.
As Salman came closer to greet his new wife, he saw
something glisten under the sun. His sight was caught by the

necklace Shayma was wearing. It was the same necklace

which
he
had
returned
in
the
Haram!
Salman turned his face and fell in prostration to Allah and
said, "Thou Art Great. Truly, Thou never waste the reward of
righteous
ones."
Shayma told the whole story to her father. The next day, the
father came to Salman with a key in his hand saying, "This is
the key of all my businesses and properties." He embraced
Salman.
Piety smiled in Salman's heart and said, "Will you love me
not?"

A leper, A blind man and A bald-headed man

Abu Huraira said that he heard Allah's Apostle saying, "Allah

willed
to test three Israelis who were a leper, a blind man and a
baldheaded
man.
So, he sent them an angel who came to the leper and said,
'What
thing

do you like most?' He replied, "Good color and good skin, for
the
people have a strong aversion to me.' The angel touched him
and
his
illness was cured, and he was given a good color and beautiful
skin.
The angel asked him, 'What kind of property do you like best?'
He
replied, 'Camels (or cows).' (The narrator is in doubt, for either
the leper or the bald-headed man demanded camels and the
other
demanded cows.) So he (i.e. the leper) was given a pregnant
shecamel, and the angel said (to him), 'May Allah bless you in it.'
The angel then went to the bald-headed man and said, 'What
thing
do
you like most?' He said, 'I like good hair and wish to be cured
of
this disease, for the people feel repulsion for me.' The angel
touched him and his illness was cured, and he was given good
hair.
The angel asked (him), 'What kind of property do you like
best?'
He
replied, 'Cows,' The angel gave him a pregnant cow and said,
'May
Allah
bless
you
in
it.'
The angel went to the blind man and asked, 'What thing do
you
like

best?' He said, '(I like) that Allah may restore my eye-sight to

me
so that I may see the people.' The angel touched his eyes and
Allah
gave him back his eye-sight. The angel asked him, 'What kind
of
property do you like best?' He replied, 'Sheep.' The angel gave
him
a
pregnant
sheep.
Afterwards, all the three pregnant animals gave birth to young
ones,
and multiplied and brought forth so much that one of the
(three)
men
had a herd of camels filling a valley, and one had a herd of
cows
filling a valley, and one had a flock of sheep filling a valley.
Then the angel, disguised in the shape and appearance of a
leper,
went to the leper and said, I am a poor man, who has lost all
means
of livelihood while on a journey. So none will satisfy my need
except
Allah and then you. In the Name of Him Who has given you
such
nice
color and beautiful skin, and so much property, I ask you to
give
me
a camel so that I may reach my destination. The man replied,
'I
have

many

obligations

(so

cannot

give

you).'

The angel said, 'I think I know you; were you not a leper to
whom
the
people had a strong aversion? Weren't you a poor man, and
then
Allah
gave you (all this property).' He replied, '(This is all wrong), I
got this property through inheritance from my fore-fathers'
The
angel
said, 'If you are telling a lie, then let Allah make you as you
were
before.'
Then the angel, disguised in the shape and appearance of a
bald
man,
went to the bald man and said to him the same as he told the
first
one, and he too answered the same as the first one did. The
angel
said, 'If you are telling a lie, then let Allah make you as you
were
before.'
The angel, disguised in the shape of a blind man, went to the
blind
man and said, 'I am a poor man and a traveler, whose means
of
livelihood have been exhausted while on a journey. I have
nobody
to
help me except Allah, and after Him, you yourself. I ask you in

the
Name of Him Who has given you back your eye-sight to give
me
a
sheep,
so that with its help, I may complete my journey.'
The man said, 'No doubt, I was blind and Allah gave me back
my
eyesight; I was poor and Allah made me rich; so take anything
you
wish
from my property. By Allah, I will not stop you for taking
anything
(you need) of my property which you may take for Allah's
sake.'
The
angel replied, 'Keep your property with you. You (i.e. 3 men)
have
been tested and Allah is pleased with you and is angry with
your
two
companions."
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.670 Narrated by Abu Hurairah
Prophet Hud (alayhis salam)

Many years ago, there lived a very industrious,

hardworking people. They were the people of Aad, and they
built
large
and
beautiful
houses.
On every mountain, they had erected a tower and they were

very

proud

of

their

beautiful

buildings.

Among the people of Aad lived a man called Hud and Hud had
been
chosen
by
Allah
as
His
prophet.
"Allah has sent me to you", Hud (alayhis salam) said to his
people. "Allah has taught you all that you are able to do. He
has also given you children and many animals. Therefore you
should stop worshipping your false gods. Worship only Allah
(subhanahu
wa
Ta'ala)
and
obey
His
commands.
Do good and do not commit wrongs and evil. Listen to what I
say, for if you do not, I fear that a punishment will come upon
you."
But the people of Aad scorned Hud (alayhis salam): "We are
not going to listen to you", they scoffed. "We are not going to
let our gods down, just because you tell us to. Who are you,
anyway? You are nothing but a liar. If you are not a liar, then
prove it: tell Allah to send us the punishment".
Hud (alayhis salam) was very sad and disappointed when he
heard
this.

Him do I trust. I have already warned you before: If you

don't obey Allah, He will choose some other people to
take your place. Allah knows and hears everything".
But despite Hud (alayhis salam)'s warnings, the people of Aad
went
on
worshipping
their
false
gods.
Hud (alayhis salam) was very disappointed. He called his true
companions together and with them, he left the people of
Aad. In this way, as you shall soon see, Allah protected and
preserved
those
who
believed
in
Him.
Shortly afterwards, a huge black cloud appeared in the sky
over the people of Aad. When the unbelievers of Aad saw it,
they said: "This cloud is surely going to bring us some
refreshing
rain."
But they were very much mistaken. The cloud brought a
terrible
wind
which
killed
them
all.
The wind swept everything away. Nothing was left except a
few large stones, which were the remains of the houses and
towers. Therefore, it is of no use to build and make many
things.

"I am not a liar, I am the Prophet of Allah", he said,

"Do you think the houses you have built will last for
ever? Remember that it is Allah Who has given you
your fortunes. He is my Lord and your Lord and only in

If one does not obey Allah, the punishment is sure to come,

and all one has built will become ruins.

Prophet Salih (alayhis salam)

The people of Thamud where the Salih

(alayhis salam) lived had beautiful gardens. Here there
were springs, date palms and trees which had plenty of
fruit. The houses of Thamud were carved into rocks and
mountains.

camel will be a sign for you from Allah. Let her graze on
Allah's meadow and let her drink when she is thirsty.
Think of how good Allah has been to you and all that He
has give to you. You should not do evil and cause
trouble on this earth. If you do, a harsh punishment will
fall
upon
you."
Despite Salih (alayhis salam)'s instructions and
teaching, the proud and powerful people of Thamud still
refused
to
listen
to
him.

"Worship only Allah", Salih (alayhis salam) told his

people. "You have no other god apart from Allah, so you
should
do
good.
I am giving you good advice: You should believe what I
say, for Allah has made me His Prophet."

Instead of leaving the camel in peace to graze in the

meadow, they did a very cruel thing: They cut the
tendons on her legs. Thus they openly broke Allah's
command.

But only those people of Thamud who were not rich and
not strong believed, and did as Prophet Salih (alayhis
salam)
had
said.

Afterwards, they called Salih and said: "Now bring us the

punishment of which you have been warning us, or we
shall not believe that you are the Prophet of Allah." Salih
(alayhis salam)'s promise of disaster came true.
After three days, there was a terrible earthquake and all
the evil-doers perished. Such was their punishment
because they did not obey Allah.

The rich and powerful people of Thamud said to Salih

(alayhis salam): "We don't believe what you say and we
are not going to do as you advise. You are nothing but a
man, just like any of us. If you are speaking the truth,
then
show
us
a
sign."
Salih (alayhis salam) brought a camel and said: "This

Prophet Shu'aib (alayhis salam)

Allah has sent a prophet to every people. Prophet

Shu'aib (alayhis salam) was sent to the people of Madyan.
These people, who were merchants and traders, were also
called forest dwellers because they lived near a thick forest.
Shu'aib (alayhis salam) said to them: "You should pray to Allah
Who has created you. You should not cheat other people who
come
to
buy
from
you."
But the forest dwellers did not listen to Shu'aib (alayhis
salam) . They wanted to earn more money, and they earned
more by cheating their customers. So they went on doing it.

They all died in one day from a terrible earthquake. The large
amounts of money which they had gained and collected could
not
help
them
at
all.
So their cheating was punished and it had done them no good
at all to demand high prices and get rich quickly.
When the town was destroyed, Shu'aib (alayhis salam) and his
companions who believed in Allah were saved.
As the forest dwellers died, Shu'aib (alayhis salam) said to
them: "I have always reminded you to pray to Allah and I have
warned you not to cheat other people. Now Allah has
punished you!"

What was more, they refused to believe what Shu'aib (alayhis

salam)
told
them.
Prophet Ibrahim (alayhis salam)
"Get out of our town or we will throw stones at you", the forest
dwellers
threatened.
"If what you say is true, then we would have been punished
long ago. We don't believe you and we are not going to
worship Allah. We are not afraid of His punishment," they said.
It did not take long for Allah (Subahanahu wa Ta'ala)'s
punishment
to
come
to
them.

Ibrahim (alayhis salam) was a great prophet. When he was

young, he lived among people who refused to worship Allah.
Instead they prayed to other things, among them idols which
they
had
made
themselves.
There were many, many different idols that were worshipped.
Big giant ones, little tiny ones, even one made full of sweets!
People would worship them and give their idols food and
luxaries, expecting their idols to grant them things.

Only

Allah

People at the time of Prophet Ibrahim

(alayhis salam) used to worship Idols

Ibrahim

(alayhis

Once Ibrahim (alayhis salam) said to his

father, "Do you take these idols for gods? If
you do, then you and your people are
wrong."

"O my people, I am free from your guilt of worshipping other

gods apart from Allah. I firmly and truly turn my face to Him
Who created the heavens and the earth, and I shall never
worship any god but Allah. Who is the creator of all these
things. For Allah had created the stars, the sun and the moon.
Allah
is
the
Master
of
the
worlds."

Ibrahim (alayhis salam) knew it was not

right to worship idols, for it was against the
will of Allah. Allah had also taught Ibrahim
(alayhis salam) many other things.
One evening, for instance, Ibrahim (alayhis salam) saw a
bright star in the sky and he said, "That is my God!". But as
the star faded away it became clear to Ibrahim (alayhis
salam)
that
the
star
was
not
God.
On another occasion, Ibrahim (alayhis salam) saw the moon
shining brightly in the night sky, and he again said. "That is
my God!". But as the moon disappeared, Ibrahim (alayhis
salam)
realized
that
the
moon
was
not
God.
Finally, he saw the bright sun rising at dawn and he said,
"That must be my God because it is the biggest thing in the
sky". But when sunset came, Ibrahim (alayhis salam) realized,
once
more,
that
this
was
not
God.

was
salam)

God.
then

said,

Ibrahim (alayhis salam) went among the people and told them
they must worship Allah only. For it is Allah Who created the
stars, the sun, and the moon. Allah also created the plants,
and animals for food. The sun, moon and stars cannot give
anything to eat. Allah has made the earth so that people can
live on it. Therefore people should turn away from their false
gods and worship Allah alone, and always do good.
Ibrahim (alayhis salam) spoke of all these things and also said
to his father and his people: "What are these images to which
you
are
so
devoted?"
"Our

fathers

worshipped

them,"

they

replied.

"You and your fathers, you have clearly been wrong," Ibrahim
(alayhis salam) rejoined. Then he informed them that they
should worship only Allah, who has created everything.

Ibrahim (alayhis salam) also had a plan for dealing with the
idols. When the people were out of the way, Ibrahim (alayhis
salam) went into the building where all the idols were kept
and broke all their idols and images to pieces!. But he left
intact
and
unbroken
the
biggest
idol
of
all.
When the people discovered their idols all smashed and in
pieces,
they
were
very
angry.

had Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala)'s help. Allah made the fire

cool so that Ibrahim (alayhis salam) was not burned at all.
Later, Ibrahim (alayhis salam) left these idolatrous people and
went
to
another
country.

"Who has done this to our gods?", they cried. Then some of
them remembered that they had heard Ibrahim (alayhis
salam)
speaking
against
their
idols.

When he was an old man, he had two sons, Ismail and Ishaq
(alayhis salam). Both of them were good and just men, and
both were prophets of Allah. Ishaq (alayhis salam)'s son Yaqub
(alayhis salam), was also a prophet. So you can see that
Ibrahim and his children were greatly blessed by Allah
(alayhum
salam).

So, they brought Ibrahim (alayhis salam) and asked him, "Are
you the one who did this to our gods, O Ibrahim?" He replied,
"No, it was the biggest one of them who did it", said Ibrahim
(alayhis
salam).
"Why do you not ask them, if they can speak properly?"

But first, Ibrahim (alayhis salam) had to endure a great test.

An angel came to him and said: You have to sacrifice your
only
son.

At this, the idol-worshippers felt ashamed. "You know very

well that they cannot speak," they told Ibrahim (alayhis
salam).

Ibrahim (alayhis salam) became very sad at this, but all the
same, he know that Allah had given him an order and he had
to
obey
it.

"Do you then worship things that can neither be of any good
to you nor do you any harm?", Ibrahim asked.

But first of all, he asked his son if he would agree. The son
was good and pious, and he consoled his father:

At this, the people became angrier than ever. In revenge, they

threw Ibrahim (alayhis salam) into a fire!. Ibrahim (alayhis
salam) might have been badly burned, perhaps killed. But he

"Dear father", he said calmly, "if Allah has ordered it, then you
must obey, so sacrifice me. Do not fear: with the help of Allah,
I
shall
be
brave".

So, full of sorrow, Ibrahim (alayhis salam) prepared to kill his

son. But before he actually did so, he heard a voce:
"You have shown your good intentions", the voice told Ibrahim
(alayhis salam), "this is sufficient. You have already fulfilled
Allah
(Subhanahu
wa
Ta'ala)'s
will."
Thus Ibrahim (alayhis salam)'s son was saved, and Ibrahim
understood that Allah had been testing him. Of course,
Ibrahim (alayhis salam)was overcome with joy that he would
not have to kill his son. They both thanked Allah and sacrificed
instead
an
animal,
as
Allah
had
ordered.
To remember this occasion we Muslims celebrate every year
and like Ibrahim and his son, we sacrifice an animal.
This reminds us that Allah put Ibrahim (alayhis salam) to a
test to see whether he would really obey him. Prophet Ibrahim
(alayhis salam) passed the test and we celebrate in
remembrance
of
this.
Like Prophet Ibrahim (alayhis salam), we also share the meat
of the sacrificed animal with the poor people and our friends.
On this occasion, we also thank Allah for everything that He
has given us and for the lesson He taught us through the
rescue
of
Ibrahim
(alayhis
salam).

Later, Ibrahim and his son Ismail (alayhum salam) built the
Ka'bah in Makkah and then they both prayed:
"O Allah, take this house in Your grace and help us and
the people who come to us to be truly good Muslims."
Allah heard this prayer, and blessed the Ka'bah and the town
of Makkah. To this day, Muslims all over the world turn and
face in the direction of the Ka'bah in Makkah when they are
praying.
Muslims from all over the world come to the Ka'bah during the
pilgrimage season. They come on foot, on camels, by car and
aeroplanes.
The Ka'bah is the oldest prayer house of Allah on earth. It is at
the Ka'bah that all Muslims worship Allah together, and that
includes all those who lived earlier, all those who are living
now and all those who will live in the future.
Prophet Musa (alayhis salam)

In the land of Egypt where the children of Ibrahim (alayhis

salam), Yaqub (alayhis salam) and Yusuf (alayhis salam) once
lived,
there
reigned
an
evil,
wicked
Pharaoh.
One day, this wicked Pharaoh ordered that all boys descended

from Yusuf (alayhis salam) should be killed. He gave this order

because he did not want Yusuf (alayhis salam)s children to
increase and become more powerful than his own people.
It was at this dangerous time that the baby Musa (alayhis
salam) was born. Allah sent a message to his mother, telling
her to place little Musa (alayhis salam) in a small basket and
put the basket on the river. That way, Musa (alayhis salam)
would escape the dreadful fate which Pharaoh had decreed.
The basket with the little child in it was found by the Pharaohs
wife. She was kind and good-hearted and took Musa (alayhis
salaam)
into
the
palace.
Nobody knew who his parents were, but the Pharaohs wife
wanted to keep him, so she looked for a foster mother to
nurse him. Allah then caused Musa (alayhis salam)s own
mother to be brought into the palace so that she could be
chosen as Musa(Alaih Assalaam)s foster mother. So the baby
Musa (alayhis salam)s life was saved, and through the help of
Allah, he was
given back
to his
own mother.

salam) found there two women who also wanted to give their
sheep water to drink. But they could not reach the water
before the shepherds had taken their flocks away from the
well.
Musa (alayhis salam) helped them to give water to their herd
and when the two women returned home, they told their old
father what had happened. He sent one of them back to invite
Musa (alayhis salam) to come to their house.
Later the father offered him one of his daughters to take for
his wife, and Musa (alayhis salam) accepted. Afterwards, Musa
(alayhis salam) led a happy life with his family and the old
father
by
the
well.
Some years later, Musa (alayhis salam) and his family were
traveling in the country, when suddenly, he saw a big fire. He
told his family to stay where they were and went on his own
to
find
out
about
the
fire.
As Musa (alayhis salam) approached, he heard a voice:

Musa (alayhis salam) was brought up in Pharaohs palace and

had the best teachers to educate him. They made a clever
and
capable
man
out
of
him.
As Musa (alayhis salam)grew up to be a man, he had to leave
Pharaohs land on a journey. On the way, he passed by a well
where the shepherds gave water to their sheep. Musa (alayhis

O Musa! the voice said, I am Allah, your Lord. I am going to

make you my Prophet. You must go to the people and tell
them that there is only one God, Allah, Who created them. So
they must be grateful and pray only to Allah and strive to do
good. Take your brother Harun (alayhis salam) with you and
go to the Pharaoh and his people and give them My message.

Musa (alayhis salam) went to Egypt and told Pharaoh: Allah,

Who is the Lord of the worlds, has sent me to you. I am Allahs
messenger and I bring the truth to you. You should set free
the children of Yusuf (alayhis salam), who are being oppressed
in this land, and let them come away with me.

But then Musa (alayhis salam) threw his stick once more onto
the ground, and once more it turned into a snake. This snake
swallowed up all the snakes which the magicians had made.
The magicians were impressed: We believe truly in Allah, Who
has sent Musa(alayhis salam) as His prophet, they said, Allah
is really and truly much more powerful than all or any of us.

When Pharaoh heard this, he became furious and shouted:

You lie! No-one except I, the great Pharaoh of Egypt, is the
lord of the world. I am the most powerful king on earth. You
must be out of your mind to dare to say otherwise. If you
disobey
me,
I
will
throw
you
into
prison!

The Pharaoh was furious. He said: Do you want to believe in

something before I give you permission to believe it? You will
all have your hands and feet chopped off as punishment! he
shouted
at
the
magicians.

But Musa (alayhis salam) was not frightened by Pharaohs

anger or his words. With the help of Allah I shall show you that
Allah is more powerful than all men and also more powerful
than
you,
he
told
the
Pharaoh.

Do you want to take revenge on us just because we believe in

Allahs signs? the magicians replied. Whatever you do to us,
we will still turn to Allah. May Allah have mercy on us and help
us
to
be
patient
and
steadfast.

Musa (alayhis salam) then took his stick and threw it onto the
ground. At once, the stick turned into a long thick curling
snake.

In this way the magicians, who were greedy men, were turned
into
good
and
faithful
servants
of
Allah.

You are obviously a magician, said the Pharaoh when he saw

this. I will call together all the magicians in my land, and then
we will see who can make better magic, they or you.
So, all the magicians were summoned to the Pharaohs palace.
They had many sticks with them, and they turned them into
snakes.

Now Musa (alayhis salam) went to the descendants of Yusuf

who were suffering much oppression under the rule of the evil
Pharaoh. He told them: We shall go away from Egypt. But
after they had departed, Pharaoh and his soldiers went after
them
to
fetch
them
back.
Musa (alayhis salam) and his people sped on their journey
until they finally reached the sea. By this time, though,
Pharaoh and his soldiers were approaching and the people

grew

terribly

afraid.

But Allah came to their rescue. He divided the water into two,
so that Musa (alayhis salam) and his people could walk
through the middle to get across the sea. when Pharaoh and
his soldiers reached the sea, they of course rode after them.
But they could not reach Musa (alayhis salam) and his people
before
they
came
to
the
other
side.
Suddenly, while Pharaoh and his soldiers were still riding
across the sea bed, the waters came flowing back, and all of
them
were
drowned.
Allah had thus saved Musa (alayhis salam) and his people
because they worshipped Him alone. Pharaoh, who refused to
believe in Allah and who was proud and even wanted to throw
Musa (alayhis salam) into prison, was left to drown.

Musa (alayhis salam) came down from the mountain, he saw

the calf and became very angry. He smashed the calf into a
thousand pieces and scolded his people so much that they felt
ashamed of themselves. You must never, ever worship
anything else apart from Allah, Musa (alayhis salam)
instructed
them.
Musa (alayhis salam) had brought a book to his people which
Allah had revealed to him on the mountain. This book is called
the Taurat. In the Taurat, it is stated what men should not do.
They must never worship anything else apart from Allah.
They must never kill a fellow man. They must not take things
which do not belong to them. They must be good to their
parents
and
to
one
another.

After their escape, Musa (alayhis salam) and his people

wandered
in
the
desert
for
many
years.
One day, Musa (alayhis salam) received Allah's order to climb
a
high
mountain.

Musa (alayhis salam)s people understood now that they had

been very ungrateful to Allah, for it was Allah who had saved
them from Pharaoh and his soldiers. They prayed to Allah and
thanked Him for what He had done for them. They asked for
His forgiveness and made a promise that they would strive
hard
to
do
good
deeds.

Musa (alayhis salam) was to stay there for forty days and
nights praying to Allah and listening to what Allah would tell
him and his people. But forty days and nights seemed a log
time and while Musa (alayhis salam) was away, his people
became
impatient.

Allah forgives those who are ashamed for the bad deeds they
have done, and are willing to correct their mistakes and return
to
Allah.

They decided to make a calf out of gold and worship it!. When

Prophet Lut (alayhis salam)

Prophet Lut (alayhis salam) and his family lived among

very evil and disobedient people. These people did many
things
which
Allah
had
forbidden.
So Allah commanded Lut (alayhis salam) to tell them: "You
must stop doing evil and believe in Allah. Allah has sent me to
warn you of a terrible punishment that is going to befall you if
you
do
not
obey
Him."
But people refused to listen to Lut (alayhis salam). They even
laughed at him because he would not join them in doing evil
deeds.
One day, some visitors came to Lut (alayhis salam). The evil
people wanted to capture his visitors and harm them.
Lut (alayhis salam) was very afraid that he would not be able
to
protect
his
guests.
But to Lut (alayhis salam)'s surprise and relief, the visitors
said: "You need not be frightened. Those evil-doers cannot
harm us. For we are messengers of Allah. We have come from
Allah to tell you to take your family and leave this town at
night.
None of you should try to turn and look back or stay behind.

Only those who go without looking back will be saved."

Lut (alayhis salam) knew at once that the visitors were indeed
Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala)'s angels. They had come so that
Lut (alayhis salam) and his family could escape and be safe,
for Allah was going to punish the evil-doers of that town.
Lut (alayhis salam) and his family, however, had believed in
Allah and prayed to Him. Therefore they were to be saved.
At once, Lut (alayhis salam) and his family got ready and left
their house at night when it was dark, so that the evil people
would
not
see
them.
But then, just as they were leaving, Lut (alayhis salam)'s wife
turned back and stayed behind. She refused to believe in
Allah
and
was
also
disobedient.
So she was not saved from punishment and death when Allah
sent down a rain of fire and stones. All the houses in the town
were destroyed and the disobedient people perished in the
rain
of
fire
and
stones.
Only Lut and the rest of his family were rescued, and they
praised and thanked Allah for having saved them.

Prophet Isa (alayhis salam)

The mother of Prophet Isa (alayhis salam)was called

Maryam(sa). Some people also call her Mary (sa). She was a
very pious woman and once, an angel of Allah Allah came to
her
and
said:
Soon you will have a son. But how can I have a son? Maryam
(sa) asked. I have no husband. The angel replied: Allah is
almighty. when He wishes something, then it will happen. You
will have a son, and his name shall be Isa, and he will be a
great
prophet
of
Allah
(subhanahu
wa
Ta'ala).
When Isa (alayhis salam) was born, Maryam (sa) was on her
own. She was very sad and hungry, for she had nothing to
eat. But Allah came to her aid. He made a stream flow and a
tree with nourishing fruits grew in the place where Maryam
lived. Now, she would not have to suffer thirst and hunger.
Later Maryam(sa) returned to her family. They were very
curious about the child and asked: How did you get him?
But Maryam (sa) did not answer. Instead, she just pointed to
the child. Dont be silly, Maryam! the people admonished
her. How can we ask a child, who is still in the cradle?

But just then, to their amazement, they heard the child say: I
am the servant of Allah. He has given me the scripture and
made me His prophet. We, mankind, should worship only Allah
and help the poor and give them some of our money.
Years passed and Isa grew to be a man. Often, he spoke to the
people and told them what Allah had revealed to him. He told
them too of the earlier prophets of Allah. He told them: I am
also a prophet of Allah and I am also a man like all the other
prophets of Allah. You should believe in Allah and worship noone apart from Allah. You should be good to one another and
help
each
other.
Some people have given Isa (alayhis salam) the name Jesus.
They say that Allah is the father of Jesus. We know that this is
not true. Isa (alayhis salam) himself has said that he is only a
prophet of Allah, even though he had no father. Allah has no
sons. Only human beings have sons and daughters.
Isa (alayhis salam) brought a book to mankind. This book is
called Injil, and Allah gave this book to Isa. In it there are
many stories and it is also stated there that mankind should
worship
only
Allah.
Prophet Isa (alayhis salam) had many blessings from Allah. He
was able to perform many miracles with Allahs help. He
could cure the sick so that they would be grateful to Allah and
obey and pray to Allah alone. Isa (alayhis salam) could also

bring the dead back to life so that the people would be happy
and
pray
to
Allah
and
thank
Him.

and did good will be brought to Me. They will receive the best
rewards, because they have been very obedient.

Prophet Isa (alayhis salam)told the people of another prophet

who was going to come later, whose name would be Prophet
Ahmad. It was Allah who had sent Prophet Isa (alayhis salam)
to the people to tell them that Prophet Muhammad would
come.

Thus, Allah helps His prophets when they are in danger, and
He also helps those who follow the prophets and worship only
Allah and do good.
Prophet Yusuf (alayhis salam)

There were many people who listened to Prophet Isa (alayhis

salam) and worshipped Allah, but here were some who
refused to listen and wanted to kill him. Evil people have
always tried to persecute and kill Allahs prophets. We know
that from the stories of Ibrahim (alayhis salam) and Yusuf
(alayhis
salam)
and
many
other
prophets.
But when the evil people were just about to kill Isa (alayhis
salam), Allah came to his rescue, just as He had rescued other
prophets
when
they
were
in
danger.
Some people say that Prophet Isa (alayhis salam) was nailed
onto a cross by his enemies and that he died in this way. But
we know this is not true. Allah protected Prophet Isa (alayhis
salam) so that the people could not carry out their evil
intentions.
Allah
said
to
Isa:
I will let you die in peace and then you will come to Me and be
with Me. Those who had been following you and prayed to Me

Yusuf (alayhis salam) had eleven brothers. Ten were

older than him, and one was younger. Yusuf (alayhis salam)
was a very good and handsome boy and his father Yaqub
(alayhis salam) loved him very much. Unfortunately, this
made his eleven brothers jealous, so they decided to get rid of
Yusuf
(alayhis
salam).
One day, they took Yusuf (alayhis salam) to a deep well and
threw him into it. Then, they took Yusuf (alayhis salam)s
shirt and soaked it in sheeps blood. They showed the shirt
to their father and said to him, "Our brother Yusuf is dead. A
wolf
has
eaten
him."
At this Yaqub (alayhis salam) was overcome with grief, and he
wept bitterly for his beloved son. Years passed, and Yaqub
(alayhis salam) became old and blind. But his trust in Allah
remained
firm
and
unswerving.

Yaqub (alayhis salam) prayed very hard to Allah and never

gave up hope that Yusuf was still alive and that one day they
would
be
together
again.
He
said,
"Allahu

Musta'an

wa

Sabrun

Jameel"

Allah is One who has All Power, and patience is beautiful.

[surah
Yusuf]
Yaqub (alayhis salam) was certain this would be so. Yaqub
(alayhis salam) was right, for when Yusuf (alayhis salam) had
found himself in the well, he, too, had prayed to Allah.
A caravan with merchants came and passed by the well. They
found Yusuf (alayhis salam), pulled him out and took him with
them to Egypt. there he was sold in the market place to a man
and his wife, who had no children of their own.
Sometimes it happens in life that a person is unjustly accused
of a crime he did not commit. This is what happened to Yusuf
(alayhis salam) when he grew up to be a man. He was put into
prison, even though he had not done anything wrong. Only
Allah knows best what is good for man, and He helps those
who
have
faith
in
Him.
Years later, while Yusuf (alayhis salam) was still in prison, the
Pharaoh of Egypt had a dream which caused him much
concern.

"I see seven fate cows who are being eaten by seen thin ones,
and seven green ears of corn and seven dried ones," he told
his courtiers. But none of the courtiers could explain what this
dream
meant.
Then Pharaoh learned that the imprisoned Yusuf (alayhis
salam) knew how to interpret it. So, Pharaoh sent for Yusuf
(alayhis salam) and Yusuf (alayhis salam) explained:
Your dream means that the first seven years to come will be
good years with good harvest, but the next seven years to
follow will be bad years with famine and hunger. Therefore,
you should collect and save as much grain as you can from
the first good years and store it for the time of hunger!
The Pharaoh was very grateful to Yusuf (alayhis salam) and
requested his help in overcoming the famine, for he realized
that Yusuf (alayhis salam) was a wise and capable man. Yusuf
(alayhis salam) agreed, and Pharaoh made him the treasurer
and
inspector
of
Egypts
storage
chambers.
When the famine came and spread over the country, it also
affected the people in Yusuf (alayhis salam)s own land. They
too became hungry and during this time, Yusuf (alayhis
salam)s brothers arrived in Egypt. They wanted to buy grain
from the plentiful supply which Yusuf had told the Egyptians to
store. Allah planned that when they reached Egypt, the
brothers would come before Yusuf(alayhis salam).

At first they did not recognize him, for they thought that he
was long dead. Later on, though, they realized who Yusuf
(alayhis salam) was and felt very ashamed of what they had
done all those years ago. They begged Yusufs pardon and
Yusuf forgave them. Bring our father to me, Yusuf said to his
brothers.

Prophet Sulaiman (alayhis salam) was the son of Dawud

(alayhis salam). As you already know, Sulaiman was very just
even as a young boy, and he became well known and
respected
for
his
wisdom.

When the brothers brought their father to Yusuf (alayhis

salam), the blind old man was full of happiness. He had
always believed that Yusuf (alayhis salam)was still alive and
had never stopped praying to Allah. Father and son embraced
each other. It was a wonderful reunion for them after such a
long
time
apart.

When he became a man, Allah made him His prophet. Allah

also taught him to understand the languages of birds and
animals.

Afterwards, Yusuf (alayhis salam)s father and brothers

remained in Egypt. They grew into a big family and raised
many children. And in the story of Musa, you will learn what
became
of
these
children.

Thus, he always told his people: "Thank Allah for the good He
has given you and for His generosity. Worship Allah and do
good
deeds."

Yusuf (alayhis salam), who was a good, noble man and a

prophet of Allah, had always told the Egyptians: You should
worship only Allah. Allah has created you and protected and
preserved you from hunger. You must be grateful to Allah and
do good deeds.
Prophet Sulaiman (alayhis salam)

Yet in spite of his wisdom and many wealthy possessions,

Sulaiman (alayhis salam) never forgot Allah. He knew that all
goodness
comes
from
Allah.

Once, Sulaiman (alayhis salam) and his soldiers were passing

through
a
valley
inhabited
by
ants.
Sulaiman (alayhis salam) heard one ant say to another:
"Quick, get out of the way and hide! Sulaiman (alayhis salam)
and his soldiers are coming, and they will trample on us and
not
even
know
they
have
done
so!"

Sulaiman (alayhis salam), of course, was able to understand

the ants' language. He laughed and ordered his soldiers to
stay still and wait until all the ants had crawled away to
safety.
Then
he
prayed
to
Allah:
"O Allah, help me in doing the right things so that You will be
contented
with
me."
One day, Sulaiman (alayhis salam) called all the birds to
gather round him, but as he glanced through the flock, he
noticed
that
the
Hoopoe
bird
was
not
there.
Sulaiman (alayhis salam) waited for some time, and just as he
was deciding not to wait any longer, the Hoopoe suddenly
came flying in and sat himself down next to Sulaiman.
"I have come from a far-away city called Saba (Sheba)", the
Hoopoe said. "The people there are very rich and they have a
Queen
who
sits
on
a
magnificent
throne.
These people worship the sun and believe that hey are right
to treat the sun as God. But they are wrong, are they not?
They will never find the right way to Allah if they go on like
that. Allah is the only One Whom all creatures should
worship."
Sulaiman (alayhis salam) then wrote a letter to the Queen of
Saba and sent the Hoopoe to take it to her.

When the Queen of Saba received the letter, she called all the
wise
men
of
the
city
to
her.
"I have received a letter from Sulaiman (alayhis salam)" said
the Queen. "In it, Sulaiman (alayhis salam) writes that we
should believe in Allah and worship only Him. What would you
advise
me
to
do?"
We are very powerful and can make war against Sulaiman
(alayhis salam), but you have to decide yourself what is to be
done,
the
wise
men
answered.
"But a war could cause destruction to our city, and our best
warriors will turn into cruel fighters", the Queen protested.
"Therefore, I would prefer not to make war. Instead, I will send
Sulaiman
(alayhis
salam)
a
present".
When the messengers of the Queen of Saba arrived with the
present, they were very surprised because Sulaiman (alayhis
salam)
became
very
angry.
"Why do you bring me these riches instead of listening to my
advice?"
Sulaiman
(alayhis
salam)
scolded.
"What Allah has given me is much better than all these riches.
Go to your Queen and take her presents with you!"
When she heard the Sulaiman (alayhis salam) had refused her
valuable gifts, the Queen of Saba, in her turn, was surprised.
So, she decided to go to see Sulaiman (alayhis salam) for

herself.

could.

She called her people and made preparations for the journey
to
Sulaiman
(alayhis
salam)'s
city.

Dawud (alayhis salam) was very brave, of course, but

Allah had helped him triumph over the mighty Jalut.

When the Queen arrived, Sulaiman (alayhis salam) explained

to her about Allah and she realized how wrong she had been
to
worship
the
sum.

Allah also gave Dawud (alayhis salam) wisdom, power

and skills. Dawud (alayhis salam) was a very clever
smith and made wonderful things out of iron, like
weapons
and
armour.

"You are right", she told Sulaiman (alayhis salam), "From now
on, I shall worship only Allah. He is our only Lord and we
should obey only Him".
Prophet Dawud (alayhis
salam)

When Dawud (alayhis salam) was young, he

was a shepherd boy. He was also very strong and
courageous.

Once, a troop of fierce warriors came to attack his

people. Among them was Jalut. Everybody had a great
fear of Jalut, and no-one was willing to fight against him
except
for
Dawud
(alayhis
salam).
Dawud (alayhis salam) challenged Jalut to a combat and
killed him. This so frightened the enemies of Dawud
(alayhis salam)'s people that they fled as fast as they

Dawud (alayhis salam) could also sing very well. He

sang to praise and honour Allah. These songs, which
Dawud had learned from the angels, were written down
in
a
book
called
Zabur
(Psalms).
Allah had revealed this book, Zabur, to Dawud (alayhis
salam), just as He had revealed to Musa (alayhis salam)
the
book
which
is
called
Taurat
(Torah).
Allah made Dawud (alayhis salam) His prophet and the
ruler over his people. He was a very just ruler and his
people always came to him when they had quarrels with
each
other.
Once, some sheep had wandered off during the night
into somebody else's field and ate up all the crops.
Dawud (alayhis salam) decided that as punishment, the
sheep must be given to the owner of the field who had

lost

all

his

crops.

When Sulaiman, the son of Dawud (alayhis salam) heard

that, he protested: "But the field is still there. It is only
this year's harvest that is gone. So surely the sheep
should not be completely taken away from their owner.
The owner should have them back as soon as the loss of
harvest
is
recovered."
Dawud (alayhis salam) agreed with the good advice of
his son Sulaiman, and decided to settle the problem as
Sulaiman
had
suggested.
In the next story, you will hear about Sulaiman, (alayhis
salam) who was also chosen by Allah to be His prophet.
Dawud (alayhis salam), who was Allah (Subhanahu wa
Ta'ala)'s prophet, always said to his people:
You should believe in Allah and worship Him alone and
do good.
Prophet Adam (alayhis salam)

Adam (alayhis salam) was the first man

created by Allah. He was created to live on earth.
However, Iblis did not like this. Although Iblis was made

of fire, he lived with the angels. He thought he was

better than Adam, so he became Adams enemy and
decided to make Adam (alayhis salam) disobey Allah.
Adam (alayhis salam) and his wife used to live in
paradise, where they were put by Allah. Paradise was
the most beautiful place you can imagine. It was neither
hot nor cold. Adam (alayhis salam) and his wife were
never
hungry
or
thirsty.
This was another thing which Iblis did not like. So Iblis
came to Adam (alayhis salam) and his wife and told
them to eat from a certain tree. Now, Adam (alayhis
salam) and his wife knew very well that Allah had told
them they must not even go near that tree.
So they did not listen to Iblis, but Iblis kept on and on at
them. He tempted them by saying that they could live
for ever if they ate from that tree and would become
like
angels.
At last, worn down by the nagging of Iblis, Adam
(alayhis salam) and his wife gave in. They came to
believe what Iblis was telling them, and they ate from
the tree, against Allahs command. But they soon came
to regret very much their disobedience and their
weakness
in
listening
to
Iblis.
Adam and his wife were very sad and asked Allah for His

forgiveness. Allah forgave them, for He is very forgiving.

Allah then told Adam and his wife that they must now
go down to earth and live there for some time. But He
promised that they would be allowed to return to
paradise as long as they and their children were
obedient
to
Him
in
future.
Allah also told Adam (alayhis salam) that he would be
Allahs
first
prophet.
Many prophets would be sent to mankind, and if man
listens to the prophets words, he will come into paradise
when he dies. But if he does not listen, then he will go
to hell and remain there with the evil Iblis.
So, Adam (alayhis salam) and his wife cam down to
earth. On earth, they raised their children, and their
children in their turn raised their children. In this way
succeeding generations of mankind lived on earth and
Allah sent His prophets to all of them.
These prophets said: Worship only Allah. Allah has
created you. Allah has made for you the plants and the
animals so that you can eat them. Be grateful to Allah
and
always
do
good.
This is what Adam (alayhis salam), the first prophet of
Allah, told his children. After him there came many
other prophets, and Muhammad is the last of the
Prophets.

Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam)

Nuh (alayhis salam) was a prophet who lived

many years after Adam (alayhis salam). The people with
whom Nuh (alayhis salam) lived refused to listen to him.
When he said that they should worship only Allah
(Ta'ala) and do good, they paid no attention.

Nuh (alayhis salam) told them they would be severely

punished for ignoring him and the message he brought
from Allah. Even so, the people did not believe what
Nuh
(alayhis
salam)
told
them.
They laughed at him and said, "You are only a man like
us. Only poor, weak people believe you. If you are
telling truth, then show us the punishment you threaten.
You
are
nothing
but
a
liar!"
"I do not want anything from you," Nuh (alayhis salam)
answered, "and I shall never send away the poor or the
weak. As far as the punishment is concerned, Allah will
bring it upon you whenever he pleases. Dont imagine

you

can

stop

Allahs

plans!"

Nuh (alayhis salam) was both sad and angry that people
would not heed his message. But Allah informed Nuh
(alayhis salam) that he should not feel this way. There
was much more important work to do. Nuh (alayhis
salam)
must
build
a
big
ship.

when they were passing made fun of him and his ship.
But Nuh (alayhis salam) had a warning for them. "You
are making fun of us now," he said, "but soon we will
know who has to suffer the severe punishment!"
When the ship was completed, it started to rain without
ceasing and the waters on earth began to rise. Allah
(subhanahu wa Ta'ala) told Nuh (alayhis salam) to go
into the ship, together with his family and all his friends
who believed. Nuh(alayhis salam) should also take one
male and female from each kind of animal on earth.
Nuh (alayhis salam) did as he was told and then he said,
"In the name of Allah, we shall now sail away, and when
the time is right, we shall return again to the land."

Prophet Nuh (alayhis salam) was commanded to build a

big
ship/Ark

The waters rose higher and higher and higher until all
the
valleys
were
flooded.
Nuh (alayhis salam) saw one of his sons who had not yet
boarded the ship and anxiously called out to him, "O my
son, climb on board with us so that you will not belong
to
the
unbelievers."
But
his
son
refused.
Instead, he told Nuh: "I shall go up to the high
mountain. The water cannot reach me there."

In obedience to Allahs instructions, Nuh (alayhis salam)

began to build the ship on land. The people who saw it

Nuh (alayhis salam) became even more anxious. "Only

those who listen to Allah can find protection!" he cried

out to his son. But just then a huge wave came and
many people were drowned. Nuh (alayhis salam)s son
was
among
them.
It continued to rain for a long, long time. The water rose
so high that it covered all the mountains. But at last the
rain stopped falling and the floods went down.
Now, Nuh (alayhis salam)s ship landed safely at the side
of a mountain and all the people and animals who had
been
on
the
ship
came
out.
Nuh(alayhis salam) and his family and his friends
thanked Allah with all their hearts, because they had
been saved by Him.

wrapped that waist sheet and sent it to him. The people said
to that man, 'You haven't done well by asking him for it when
you know that he never turns down anybody's request.' The
man replied, 'By Allah, I have not asked him for it except to
use it as my shroud when I die." Sahl added; "Later it (i.e. that
sheet)
was
his
shroud."
Source:

Sahih

Al

Bukhari

(Volume

3,

Hadith#

306)

The person wanted to have the sheet for his shroud because
he hoped that Allah will show mercy towards him after death
as he is covered in a sheet that was worn by the Prophet. We
can also hope for the same by dressing ourselves with the
lifestyle of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as his simple
lifestyle is the most beloved to Allah.
Story of a Wrestler

A Sheet for the Prophet

Narrated Abu Hazim: I heard Sahl bin Saad saying, "A
woman brought a Burda (i.e. a square piece of cloth having
edging). I asked, 'Do you know what a Burda is?' They replied
in the affirmative and said, "It is a cloth sheet with woven
margins." Sahl went on, "She addressed the
Prophet and said, 'I have woven it with my
hands for you to wear.' The Prophet took it as
he was in need of it, and came to us wearing it as a waist
sheet. One of us said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Give it to me to
wear.' The Prophet agreed to give it to him. The Prophet sat
with the people for a while and then returned (home),

Junaid Baghdadi earned his livelihood as a professional

wrestler. As was the norm, the Leader of Baghdad announced
one day, "Today, Junaid Baghdadi will demonstrate his skills as
a wrestler, is there anyone to challenge him." An elderly man
shakily stood up with his neck quivering and
said, "I will enter the contest with him."
Whoever was witness to this scene could not
contain themselves, they burst out howling with laughter,
clapping their hands. The King was bound by the law. He could
not stop someone who of his own free will entered the bout.
The elderly man was given the permission to enter the ring.

He was about sixty-five years old. When Junaid Baghdadi

entered the ring, he was dumbfounded as was the King and all
the spectators of the Kingdom who were present. The single
thought that occupied their minds was, "How will this old man
be
able
to
fight?"
The old man addressed Junaid with these words, "Lend me
your ears." He then whispered, "I know it is not possible for
me to win this bout against you, but I am a Sayyid, a
descendant of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). My
children are starving at home. Are you prepared to sacrifice
your name, your honour and position for the love of Allah's
Prophet and lose this bout to me? If you do this I will be able
to collect the prize money and thereby have the means to
feed my children and myself for an entire year. I will be able to
settle all my debts and above all, the master of both the
worlds will be pleased with you. Are you, Oh Junaid, not willing
to sacrifice your honour for the sake of the children of
Rasulullah
(peace
be
upon
him)?"
Junaid Baghdadi thought to himself, "Today, I have an
excellent
opportunity."
In a display of fervour Junaid Baghdadi executed a couple of
maneuvers, demonstrating his finesse so that the King does
not suspect any conspiracy. Junaid with a great display of
antics did not use his strength and allowed himself to be
dropped. The elderly man mounted his chest thus entitling
him
to
the
prize.

That night, Junaid Baghdadi had a dream of Prophet

Muhammad (peace be upon him) who said, "Oh Junaid, you
have sacrificed your honour, your nationally acclaimed fame,
your name and position which was heralded throughout
Baghdad in the expression of your love for my children who
were starving. As of today, your name is recorded in the
register
of
the
Auliya
(friends
of
Allah)."
Thereafter, this great wrestler learnt to defeat his nafs
(desires) and became one of the most eminent Auliya of his
time!
Source: From the book "Tajalliat-e-Jazb" by Shaikh Hakim
Muhammad Akhtar.
Story of Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great is known as the most powerful
military leader and conqueror of the ancient world. Before he
turned 30 years old he conquered an empire stretching over
3,000 miles from Greece to India. He was born in 356 BC in
Macedonia,
known
today
as
northern
Greece.
On his sickbed and during his last hour alive, Alexander the
Great told his generals "After my death, when you put my
body in the casket, let my arms hang over the edges with my
palms wide open, so the public can see my empty hands while
I am leaving the world." After he died, many dignitaries came
to view the royal funeral and were very surprised to see his

arms hanging over the edge of the casket with his palms wide
open. They asked questions about this unique scene. A wise
man told them O People, Alexander the Great is telling us
that when he ruled the world, great treasures of gold, silver
and wealth came to be under his possession. Yet, indeed he is
leaving
the
world
empty
handed."
Source: Partially extracted from the writtings of JC Pinkerton.
Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, reported:
Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Three
things follow the bier of a dead man, two of them come back
and one is left with him: the members of his family, wealth
and his good deeds. The members of his family and wealth
come back while his deeds alone are left with him. (Sahih
Muslim)
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Only for Allah

There was a pious man among the Banu Israel who
always remained busy in the worship of Allah. A group of
people came to him and told him that a tribe living nearby
worshipped a tree. The news upset him, and with an axe on
his shoulder he went to cut down that tree. On the way, Satan
met him in the form of an old man and asked him where he
was going. He said he was going to cut a particular tree.
Satan said, "You have nothing to be concerned with this tree,
you better mind your worship and do not give it up for the
sake of something that does not concern you." "This is also
worship," retorted the worshipper. Then Satan
tried to prevent him from cutting the tree, and
there followed a fight between the two, in
which the worshipper overpowered the Satan.
Finding himself completely helpless, Satan begged to be
excused, and when the worshipper released him, he again
said, "Allah has not made the cutting of this tree obligatory on
you. You do not lose anything if you do not cut it. If its cutting
were necessary, Allah could have got it done through one of
his many Prophets." The worshipper insisted on cutting the
tree. There was again a fight between the two and again the
worshipper overpowered the Satan. "Well listen," said Satan,
"I propose a settlement that will be to your advantage." The
worshipper agreed, and Satan said, "You are a poor man, a

mere burden on this earth. If you stay away from this act, I
will pay you three gold coins everyday. You will daily find them
lying under your pillow. By this money you can fulfil your own
needs, can oblige your relative, help the needy, and do so
many other virtuous things. Cutting the tree will be only one
virtue, which will ultimately be of no use because the people
will grow another tree." This proposal appealed to the
worshipper, and he accepted it. He found the money on two
successive days, but on the third day there was nothing. He
got enraged, picked up his axe and went to cut the tree. Satan
as an old man again met him on the way and asked him
where he was going. "To cut the tree," shouted the
worshipper. "I will not let you do it," said Satan. A fight took
place between the two again but this time Satan had the
upper hand and overpowered the worshipper. The latter was
surprised at his own defeat, and asked the former the cause
of his success. Satan replied, "At first, your anger was purely
for earning the pleasure of Allah, and therefore Almighty Allah
helped you to overpower me, but now it has been partly for
the sake of the gold coins and therefore you lost."
Source: From the book "Ihyaa-ul Uloom Ud Deen" by Imam
Ghazzali (ra).
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Owners of the Garden

68

The following story is mentioned in Surah Qalam, Chapter

of
the
Holy
Quran.

Once there was a wealthy and pious man. He had a big garden
full of green trees laden with fruits. After the fruits were picked,
this rightful man used to distribute some fruits among the poor
who would gather at the garden every season to take their share.
Allah liked this act of the man. By the grace of Allah the garden
used to give rich harvest every season. Truly, one who spends for
the sake of Allah gets the reward in the hereafter as well as in
this
life.
This man had many sons who were not so pious as him. When
their father died, they discussed a plan and said to each other
that their father was not a wise man. He did not know how it was
difficult to earn livelihood. They did not like the habit of
distributing some of the fruits among the poor. They felt as if all
their efforts would go to vain if the poor had some share.
One of the sons had a concern. What will they tell the poor
people when they gather to take their fruits next time? They
thought over its implications, as they were worried about losing

their prestige. However, they were not afraid of Allah's wrath.

One of them suggested removing all the fruits in the night and
thus clearing the garden before dawn so that nobody could come
and ask for his share. Everyone agreed to this suggestion. Since
they were not even afraid of Allah, they forgot to say 'InshaAllah', which means if Allah Wills, "they swore to pluck the
fruits of the (garden) in the morning, without saying Insha-Allah
('if Allah Wills')" (Verses 17-18). If a Muslim does not say InshaAllah before doing something Allah may not fulfill his wish. But
those who have no faith in Allah fail to remember this and get
stuck
up
in
their
act.
Allah is all Powerful. He knows no bounds in His Governance. All
the brothers went to sleep with a view to getting up early in the
morning and gather the ripe fruits. In the meantime, with the Will
of Allah "there passed by on the (garden) a visitation (fire) from
your Lord at night and burnt it while they were asleep." (Verse
19)
In the early morning, all of them got up and hurried up and "
called out one to another as soon as the morning broke, Saying:
'Go to your tilth in the morning, if you would pluck the fruits.' So
they departed, conversing in secret low tones (saying), No Miskin
(poor man) shall enter upon you into it today." (Verses 21-24)
As they were proceeding towards the garden, they were quite
unaware that Allah had willed otherwise. Because the garden had
become "black by the morning, like a pitch dark night (in
complete ruins)" (Verse 20). So when they reached the garden,

they said this was not their garden, and that they had strayed
away from the right path to the garden. But when they saw there
was no other way around, they were wonder struck! Soon they
realized the situation and yelled: "Verily, we have gone astray,"
"Nay! Indeed we are deprived of (the fruits)!" The best among
them said: "Did I not say to you 'Why not glorify (Allah)'?" (Verses
26-28). He had been advising them earlier against this act, for he
had said it is only Allah who would enhance their fruits if they
continued to give away some of them in charity.

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The Patched Robe

All of them felt regretful over their misdeed. They turned, to one
another, in reproach and said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have
been doing wrong. Alas for us! We have indeed transgressed!" All
of them, then, sought Allah's pardon and said: "We hope that our
Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this. Truly,
we turn to our Lord (wishing for good that He may forgive our
sins, and reward us in the Hereafter)." (Verses 31-32)

There was a Jew of Damascus who was reading a holy book

one day when he came across the name of the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) written in it. Not liking this, he
removed the name. But the next day he found it there again.
Again he took out the name; but on the third day it had appeared
again. He thought: "Perhaps this is a sign that a true Emissary
has
come.
I
will
journey
southwards
to
Madinah."

It is very beloved to Allah that we share with the less fortunate

whatever we have. While some of us only feel hungry during the
month of Ramadan, there are many who are hungry everyday. Let
us be more generous with our wealth and help all those who are
in need. We will not lose anything by giving away some of our
wealth, we will only gain.

And he forthwith started out, not tarrying until he reached the

city of the Prophet. When he arrived there, knowing nobody, he
was near the Mosque of the Prophet when the Sahabi Anas (ra)
arrived. He said to Anas: "Friend, take me to the Prophet."

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Anas (ra) led him into the mosque, which was full of people in
anguish. Abu Bakr (ra) the successor was sitting there at the
head of the assembly. The old man went up to him, thinking he
must be Muhammad, and said: "O Chosen Envoy of God, a
strayed old man has come to offer you peace." Hearing the title
of the Prophet used, everyone present burst into a flood of tears.
The stranger was uncertain as to what to do. He said: "I am a

foreigner and a Jew, and I am unaware of the rites of the Faith of

Submission to the Will of Allah. Have I said something untoward?
Should I have remained silent? Or is this a ritual observance?
Why do you cry? If it is a ceremony, I have never heard of it."

Source: From the book "Ilahi-Nama" by Shaikh Farid Al-Din Attar.

Omar (ra) said to him: "We do not weep because of anything

which you have done. But you must hear, unfortunate one, that it
is a but a week since the Prophet left the earth. When we heard
his name, grief took possession of our hearts anew."
As soon as he heard this, the ancient tore his clothes in anguish.
When he had recovered a little, he said: "Do me one favour. Let
me have at least a robe of the Prophet. If I cannot see him, at
least
let
me
have
this."
Omar (ra) answered: "Only Fatima (ra) could give us one of his
robes." Ali (ra) said: "But she will not allow anyone to go near
her." But they went to her door and knocked, and explained what
they
wanted.
Fatima (ra) answered: "Verily, the Prophet spoke truly when he
said, shortly before he died: 'A wayfarer, who has love towards
me and who is a good man, will come to the house. He will not
see me. Give him, therefore, this patchwork robe as if from me,
and for me treat him gently, offering salutations.'"
The Jew put the robe on himself and, professing Islam, asked to
be taken to the Prophet's grave. It was at this place that he
breathed
his
last.

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The King and the Poor Man

There was a king who decided to take a tour of his country.
As he passed by different places, everyone rushed to see him.
However, while passing by a certain place, he noticed a poor old
man who did not pay any attention to the king's arrival and
remained engaged in his own activities. The king went up to this
poor man and asked why he did not join the people to see him.
The poor man replied, "Before you, there was another king who
once passed by this place. Everyone gathered to see him as well.
But, few days later he died and was buried in a place nearby. A
poor man also died during that time and was buried near the
king's grave. After some time, a strong flood passed through that
area causing those graves to overturn. As a result, the bones of

A Young Man's Fear of Allah

the poor man became mixed up with those of the king's. We
could not differentiate between them any longer. After seeing
this, it does not matter to me anymore as to who is a king and
who is a beggar. In the end, our home is the same.
Narrated by brother Ayyub from Toronto, Canada during one of
his lectures.

One day, Malik bin Dinar (rahimaullah) was passing by a

place when he noticed a young man wearing old clothes and
crying by the roadside. His name was Uthbah. Sweat was
dripping down his body even though the temperature was
very cold at that time. Malik bin Dinar became very surprised
at this scene and asked Uthbah, "Oh young man, why are you
crying? And why are you sweating during this cold
temperature?"
Uthbah replied, "Once, I committed a sin at
this place. Today, as I was passing by this
place,
I
remembered
that

sin."

Source: Obtained from the book "Tambihul Ghafileen" by

Shaikh
Abul
Laith
Samarkandi.
Look how pious were the early Muslims. Today, we are
committing thousands of sins, yet, we are walking around with
happiness and joy as if we have nothing to worry about.
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be

be
Importance of Saying Insha-Allah

happen, not for those things that had already

happened. He never forgot his "Insha Allah"
again.

During a Jumah Khutbah in a small town, an Imam talked

about the significance of saying "Insha Allah" (which means if
Allah wills) when planning to do something in the future. After a
few days, a man who had also attended the Khutbah was going
to buy a cow from the market. On the way, he met a friend who
asked him where he was going. He told him about buying the cow
but did not say Insha Allah in the end. His friend reminded him
about the Khutbah and told him to say Insha Allah. However, this
individual said that he had the money he needs and the energy
to go to the market, thus, there is no point of saying Insha Allah
as he will certainly buy the cow. He thought that saying Insha
Allah
will
not
make
any
difference.

This incident was narrated by Shaikh Wahidullah from Toronto,

Canada.

When he reached the market, he found a cow that met his

expectations. He burgained with the seller and came to a
reasonable price. Finally, he decided to pay for the cow but was
dumbfounded when he discovered that his money was missing. A
thief had stolen the money while he was walking through the
busy market. The cow seller asked him whether he was going to
buy the cow or not. "Insha Allah, I will buy it next week," he said.
When he reached home, his wife inquired about the cow. He told
her about how he forgot to say Insha Allah, and also added,
"Insha Allah, I wanted to buy the cow. But Insha Allah, my money
was stolen. Insha Allah, I will buy it next week." His wife clarified
to him that we should say Insha Allah for things that are yet to

But, almost as soon as he had stopped amassing money the

Angel of Death appeared before him, to take
his
life
away.

The Miser and the Angel of Death

A miser had accumulated, by effort, trade and lending,
three hunderd thousand dinars. He had lands and buildings,
and all kinds of wealth. He then decided that he would spend
a year in enjoyment, living comfortably, and then decide as
what
his
future
should
be.

The miser tried, by every argument which he

could muster, to dissuade the Angel, who seemed, however,
adament. Then the man said: "Grant me but three more days
and I will give you one-third of my possessions."
The angel refused, and pulled again at the miser's life,
tugging
to
take
it
away.

Then

the

man

said:

"If you only allow me two more days on earth, I will give you
two
hundred
thousand
dinars
from
my
store."
But the Angel would not listen to him. And the Angel even
refused to give the man a solitary extra day for all his three
hundred
thousand
pieces.
The

the

miser

said:

"Please, then, give me just time enough to write one little

thing
down."
This time the Angel allowed him this single concession, and
the
man
wrote,
with
his
own
blood:
"Man, make use of your life. I could not buy one hour for three
hundred thousand dinars. Make sure that you realize the value
of
your
time."
Source: Obtained from the book "The Way of the Sufi" by
Idries Shah.
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500 Years of Worship

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Angel Jibrail (as) told Rasulullah (peace be upon him) the

follwing incident about a man in the past who worshipped Allah
Ta'ala continuously for 500 years. He was granted a shelter on
top of a mountain that was surrounded by salty water. However,
Allah caused a stream of sweet water to flow through the
mountain for that individual. The man would drink from this water
and use it to make ablution. Allah Ta'ala also raised a
pomegranate tree from which the man would eat one fruit every
day.
One day, this person supplicated to Allah that, "Oh Allah, bring
my death while I am in the state of prostration." Allah accepted
this dua of his. Whenever Jibrail (as) came down to the Earth, he
found this man prostrating to Allah. Jibrail (as) said that on the
day of Judgement, Allah will tell the angels to take this individual
to Paradise through His mercy. However, this man will insist that
he should enter paradise through the good deeds that he had
performed.
Then, Allah will tell the angels to compare his good deeds with
the blessings that were given to him in the world. It will be seen
that 500 years of his worship does not even equal to the gift of
eye sight that was given to him by Allah. The angels will be asked
to take him towards the hell fire. Then the man will plead, "Oh
Allah! Enter me into Paradise only through Your mercy." At that
point, the following discussion will take place between Allah and
that
man.

The

worshipper:

Oh

Allah,

You

have

created

me.

Allah: Were you created because of the good deeds you have
done
or
because
of
My
mercy?
The

worshipper:

Because

of

Your

mercy.

Allah: Who granted you the ability to worship for 500 years?
The worshipper: Oh the Almighty! You have granted me that
ability.
Allah: Who placed you on the mountain surrounded by the
ocean? Who caused a stream of sweet water to flow in between
the salty water? Who caused a pomegranate tree to grow for
you? Who granted you death while in the state of prostration?
The worshipper: Oh the Sustainer of the Worlds! You have done
all
of
these.
Then Allah will say, "All these have happened due to My mercy
and you too will enter Paradise only through My Mercy."
Source: Obtained from the book "Tambihul Ghafileen" by Shaikh
Abul
Laith
Samarkandi.
We can never thank Allah for the blessings that He has given us.

Allah:

Oh

my

servant,

who

created

you?

Let us use these blessings to recognize Allah before our death.

The

Khurasaani

said:

How

much

does

he

want?

The old man said: He wants one-tenth of the money (a

hundred
dinars).
The Beautiful Story of Abu Ghayth
From the signs of truthfulness is fear of Allah and
asceticism in life; for the truthful with conviction fears
consuming from what is impermissible and bears poverty and
hardship for the sake of Islam. If he commits sin then he does
not sleep until he returns to his Lord and repents, in order to
free
himself
from
the
sin,
and
its
burden.
Ibn Jarir at-Tabari: I was in Makkah during the season of Hajj
and I saw a man from Khurasaan calling out to the people:
Oh pilgrims, oh people of Makkah from those who are
present and those far off, I have lost a pouch
that contains a thousand dinars. So whoever
returns the pouch, Allah will reward them with
good, save them from the hell fire, and His bounty and favors
will be acquired on the Day of Accounting (Day of Judgment).
An old man from the people of Makkah approached him and
said: Oh Khurasaani, our city is in a very tough condition, and
the days of hajj are few, and its season is appointed, and the
doors of profit-making are closed. This money might fall in the
hands of a believer who is poor and old in age. Maybe he
plans to give it if you make a promise that you will give him a
little bit of money that is halal (permissible) for him to use.

The Khurasaani said: "No. I will not grant him the money and
instead I will take my case to Allah, and complain to Him on
the day we meet Him, and Allah is sufficient for us and the
best
one
to
trust
in.
Ibn Jarir at-Tabari said: I realized that it was the old man is
poor, and he was the one who took the pouch of dinars and
wishes to have a little portion of it. So I followed him until he
returned to his home. My assumptions were confirmed. I
heard him calling onto his wife:Oh Lubabah.
She

said:

am

at

your

service,

Abu

Ghayth.

The old man said: I found the owner of the dinars calling for it,
and he does not intend to give any reward to the person who
finds it. I said to him Give us a hundred dinars and he refused
and said he would take his case to Allah. What should I do O
Lubabah? I must return it, for I fear my Lord, and I fear that
my
sin
is
multiplied.
His wife said to him: Oh Man! We have been struggling and
suffering from poverty with you for the last 50 years, and you
have 4 daughters, 2 sisters, my mother and I, and you are the
ninth. Keep all the money and feed us for we are hungry, and

clothe us for you know better our situation. Perhaps Allah, the
All-Mighty, will make you rich afterwards and you might be
able to give the money back after you fed your children, or
Allah will pay the amount you owe on the day when the
kingdom
will
belong
to
the
King
(Allah).

the

He said to her: Will I consume haram after 86 years of my life,

and burn my organs with fire after I have been patient with
my poverty, and become worthy of Allah anger, even though I
am close to my grave?! No, By Allah, I will not do so!

O people of Makkah, O pilgrims, who ever of you find a pouch

containing a thousand dinars, let him return it and they shall
surely
find
great
reward
with
Allah."

Ibn Jarir at-Tabari said: I left with amazement concerning his

condition and that of his wife. At a later point during the day, I
heard
the
owner
of
the
pouch
calling
out...
Saying: O people of Makkah, O pilgrims, who ever of you find
a pouch containing a thousand dinars, let him return it and
they shall surely find great reward with Allah."
The old man said: Oh Khurasaani, I have addressed you the
other day and advised you that our land is low on cultivation,
so reward the person who found the pouch so that he is not
tempted to break the laws of Allah. I have advised you to pay
the person who finds it a hundred dinars but you refused. If
your money falls into hands of a person who fears Allah the
All-Mighty, will you give him 10 dinars at least, instead of a
100?
The Khurasaani said: I will not do so, and I will complain to
Allah on the day I meet him, and Allah is sufficient for us and

best

one

to

trust

in.

Ibn Jarir at-Tabari said: The people dispersed and left. Later on
during the hours of the day, once again, the Khurasaani made
the
same
call,
saying:

The old man came again and said: O Khurasaani, I said to you
the day before yesterday to reward the finder a hundred
dinars and you refused. Then I advised you to give him ten
dinars and you refused, so will you give only one dinar so that
he can buy with half of it things he needs and with the other
half, sheep milk, so that he can give to the people and feed
his
children?
The Khurasaani said: I will not do so, and I will complain to
Allah on the day I meet him, and Allah is sufficient for us and
the
best
one
to
trust
in.

The old man angrily said: Come you, and take your money so
that I can sleep at night, for I have not had a good mood ever
since
I
found
this
money.
Ibn Jarir said: So the old man went with the owner of the
money and I followed them until the old man entered his
house, dug a hole and pulled out the money and said: Take
your money and ask Allah to forgive me and bless me from

His

bounty.

The Khurasaani took the money and intended to leave, but

when he reached the door he said: O old man, my father died,
May Allah have mercy on him, and left behind three thousand
dinars and said to me: Take out a third of this money and give
it to a person from the people who is most deserving of it.
Therefore I tied it in a pouch so that I may spend it on
someone who is worthy of it. By Allah, I have not seen a
person, since I left Khurasaan until now, who is more worthy
of it then you. So take it, May Allahs blessing be upon you,
and May He reward for the trust you kept, and your patience
during poverty. The Khurasaani man left without the money.
The old man wept and prayed to Allah, saying: May Allah bless
the owner of the money in his grave, and May Allah bless his
son.
Ibn Jarir said: I left after the Khurasaani but Abu Ghayth (the
old man) followed me and brought me back. He asked me to
sit down, and said: I have seen you following me since the
first day; you have come to know of our situation yesterday
and today. I have heard that the Prophet said: "If you are
gifted from the provision of Allah, without begging or asking,
then accept it and do not reject it." So this is a gift from Allah
to
all
those
attending.
The old man called: O Lubabah, O so and so, O so and so. He
called on his daughters and his sisters and wife and her
mother, and sat down and made me sit down. We were 10. He

opened the bag, and said spread your clothing over your laps.
So I (Ibn Jarir) did, but the girls did not have proper clothing
that would enable them to do that, so they extended their
hands. The old man gave dinar by dinar in order until he
reached me (Ibn Jarir) and said: "Here is a dinar." The process
continued until the bag was empty and I received a hundred
dinars.
Ibn Jarir at-Tabari said: So joy filled my heart because of the
provision they received more then the joy I had because I
received
a
hundred
dinars.
When I was leaving the old man said: O young man. You are
blessed; keep this money with you for it is halal. And know
that I use to wake up for Fajr prayer with this wet shirt. After I
was done I would take it off, and give it so that my daughters
can pray - one by one. Then I would go to work between
Dhuhr prayer and Asr prayer and then I would come back at
the end of the day with what Allah has given me from dates
and dry pieces of bread. Then I would take off my clothes for
my daughters and they would pray Dhuhr prayer and Asr
prayer, and the same would happen for the Maghrib and Isha
prayers. And we did not ever expect to see this kind of money.
So may Allah make us make good use of them, and may Allah
bless the person in his grave and multiply the reward for him.
Ibn Jarir said: So I greeted him goodbye, and took the hundred
dinars and used them to write knowledge for two years! I used

it to buy paper and pay rent and after sixteen years I returned
to Makkah and inquired about the old man. I was told that he
died a few months after the incident that occurred between
us. His wife died, along with her mother, and his 2 sisters. The
only ones that remained were the daughters whom, when I
asked about, found that they were married to kings and
Princes. I dropped by and they honored me as a guest and
treated me kindly until they died also. So May Allah bless
them
in
their
graves.
{That will be an admonition given to him who believes in Allh
and the Last Day. And whosoever fears Allh and keeps his
duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from
every
difficulty).
And He will provide him from (sources) he never could
imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allh, then He will
suffice him. Verily, Allh will accomplish his purpose. Indeed
Allh has set a measure for all things. (At-Talaq 65: 2-3)
Source: Originally obtained from Islamway.com. Translated
from Arabic to English by Ibrahim Hindy.

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The Story of Alqamah

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At the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), there was

a young man named Alqamah. He was very diligent in obeying
Allah by engaging in prayer and fasting and spending in charity.
Then he fell ill and his illness became serious. His wife went to
the Prophet and said, My husband, Alqamah, is on his deathbed.
I therefore came to tell you, Messenger of Allah, about his
condition. The Prophet (then) sent for Ammar or Suhaib and
Bilal, and told them to go to him (Alqamah) and have him repeat
the Shahadah. Thereupon they went to him and found him in the
agony of death. They asked him to say, La illaha illa Allah, but
his tongue was unable to pronounce it. At that, they came and
told the Messenger of Allah that he was unable to repeat the
Shahadah.
The Prophet asked, Is either of his parents alive? He was told,
Messenger of Allah, his mother is, but she is very old. The
Prophet sent her a message that if it was convenient for her (that
is, is she was able to go out), she should come to him; otherwise
she should stay in her house and the Prophet would come to her.
The Prophet's messenger came to her and informed her of the
Prophet's message. She said, May my life be a ransom for him, it
is my pleasure to go to him! She then stood up, leaning on her
walking stick, and came to the Prophet and greeted him. The
Prophet returned her greeting and said to her, Umm Alqamah,
tell me the truth, for otherwise Allah Most High will reveal the
truth to me! What is the situation concerning your son,
Alqamah? She replied, Messenger of Allah, he prays much,
fasts a great deal, and spends a great amount in charity. The

Prophet said, And what about yourself? She said, Messenger of

Allah, I am angry with him. He said, Why? She replied,
Messenger of Allah, he has preferred his wife to me and has
disobeyed me. Then Allah's Messenger said, Umm Alqamah,
surely your anger has prevented Alqamah's tongue from
pronouncing
the
Shahadah.
He then turned to Bilal and said, Bilal, go out and collect a
quantity of firewood. She said, Messenger of Allah, what do you
plan to do? He replied, I will burn him in front of your eyes.
She said, Messenger of Allah, he is my son! My heart cannot
bear your burning him in front of me! He said, Umm Alqamah,
Allah's punishment is more severe and more lasting! Therefore, if
you want Allah to forgive him, be reconciled to him. By the One in
Whose Hand is my soul, the prayer, fasting, and spending in
charity (which he has done) are of no benefit to Alqamah as long
as you are angry with him! Thereupon she said, Messenger of
Allah, I call upon Allah Most High and His angels and the Muslims
who are present to be my witnesses that I am pleased with my
son Alqamah. Allah's Messenger said, Bilal, go to him and see
whether he is now able to say, La illaha illa Allah or not. It may
be that Umm Alqamah is saying something for my sake which is
not
in
her
heart.
Thereupon Bilal went, and while entering the door he heard
Alqamah saying, La illaha illa Allah. (Concerning this), Bilal
remarked, It is surely true that while Alqamah's mother was
angry with him his tongue was tied, and now that she is pleased
with him his tongue is freed. Alqamah died the same day. The

Prophet came to him and gave the order for his washing and
shrouding, and then prayed the funeral prayer for him and buried
him. He then stood by the side of his grave and said, You
company of Muhajireen and Helpers, if anyone favors his wife
over his mother, Allah and His angels and all the people curse
him! Allah does not accept his spending (in charity) and his
uprightness unless he repents toward Allah, the Glorious and
Majestic, and reconciles with her and attains her pleasure,
because Allah's pleasure consists in her pleasure and Allah's
anger
consists
in
her
anger.
Source:

Reported

in

Tabarani

and

Ahmed.

We must always be respectful and obedient to our parents.

However, we are not to obey them if they order us to disobey
Allah and His Prophet. Other than this, they deserve our utmost
attention and respect.
affiliate program

forgetfulness caused him to lose interest. One of his uncles,

however, reminded him of his plan, praising what he intended
to
do.
In the pursuit of his evil design against
Thumamah met and killed a group of
companions. The Prophet thereupon declared
man
who
could
lawfully
be
killed
Enemy Becomes a Friend
In the sixth year after the hijrah, the Prophet, peace be
upon him, decided to expand the scope of his mission. He
sent eight letters to rulers in the Arabian peninsula and
surrounding areas inviting them to Islam. One of these rulers
was
Thumamah
ibn
Uthal.
Thumamah was one of the most powerful Arab rulers in preQur'anic times. This is not surprising since he was a chieftain
of the Banu Hanifah and one of the rulers of alYamamah whose word no one dared to
challenge
or
disobey.
When Thumamah received the Prophet's letter, he was
consumed by anger and rejected it. He refused to listen to the
invitation of Truth and goodness. More than that, he felt a
strong desire to go and kill the Prophet and bury his mission
with
him.
Thumamah waited and waited for a convenient time to carry
out his design against the Prophet until eventually

the Prophet,
the Prophet's
him a wanted
on
sight.

Not long afterwards, Thumamah decided to perform umrah.

He wanted to perform tawaf around the Ka'bah and sacrifice
to the idols there (The people of Makkah, before becoming
Muslims, placed hundreds of idols in the Holy Ka'bah. These
idols were later destroyed by the Prophet). So he left alYamamah for Makkah. As he was passing near Madinah, an
incident took place which he had not anticipated.
Groups of Muslims were patrolling the districts of Madinah and
outlying areas on the lookout for any strangers or anyone
intent on causing trouble. One of these groups came upon
Thumamah and apprehended him but they did not know who
he was. They took him to Madinah and tied him to one of the
columns in the mosque. They waited for the Prophet himself
to question the man and decide what should be done with
him.
When the Prophet was about to enter the mosque, he saw
Thumamah and asked his companions, "Do you know whom
you
have
taken?"

"No,

messenger

of

God,"

they

replied.

"This is Thumamah ibn Uthal al-Hanafi," he said. "You have

done
well
in
capturing
him."
The Prophet then returned home to his family and said, "Get
what food you can and send it to Thumamah ibn Uthal." He
then ordered his camel to be milked for him. All this was done
before he met Thumamah or had spoken to him.
The Prophet then approached Thumamah hoping to
encourage him to become a Muslim. "What do you have to
say
for
yourself"
he
asked.
"If you want to kill in reprisal," Thumamah replied, "you can
have someone of noble blood to kill. If, out of your bounty,
you want to forgive, I shall be grateful. If you want money in
compensation, I shall give you whatever amount you ask."
The Prophet then left him for two days, but still personally
sent him food and drink and milk from his camel. The Prophet
went back to him and asked, "What do you have to say for
yourself" Thumamah repeated what he had said the day
before. The Prophet then left and came back to him the
following day. "What do you have to say for yourself?" he
asked again and Thumamah repeated what he had said once
more. Then the Prophet turned to his companions and said,
"Set
him
free."
Thumamah left the mosque of the Prophet and rode until he

came to a palm grove on the outskirts of Madinah near alBaqi' (a place of luxuriant vegetation which later became a
cemetery for many of the Prophet's companions). He watered
his camel and washed himself well. Then he turned back and
made his way to the Prophet's mosque. There, he stood
before
a
congregation
of
Muslims
and
said:
"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and I bear
witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger."
He then went to the Prophet, upon whom be peace, and said:
"O Muhammad, by God, there was never on this earth a face
more detestable than yours. Now, yours is the dearest face of
all
to
me."
"I have killed some of your men," he continued, "I am at your
mercy.
What
will
you
have
done
to
me?"
"There is now no blame on you, Thumamah," replied the
Prophet. "Becoming a Muslim obliterates past actions and
marks
a
new
beginning."
Source: "Companions of The Prophet", Vol.1, By: Abdul Wahid
Hamid.

An Interview with Muhammad Ali

with

The following incident took place during an interview

the
world
famous
boxer,
Muhammad
Ali.

It all started with an innocent question: You have beaten some

of the toughest men in the world in the ring. What scares you
the
most?

Malik Mujahid: "The Mumin lives between hope and fear."

laughter]

Where as the toughest man in the world is wondering about

his place in Jannah, what do you think about yourslef. Will you
go to Jannah? Its a question which everyone must ask himself
and herself. A good answer may help us focus on the
everlasting
life.

Lonnie Ali: Come on, Muhammad, joking aside, tell them what
really
scares
you.

We pray to Allah for the best of both worlds. If we want Allah

to give us the best, we will have to strive for it.

Ali:

Source: Extracted from the article "Will Muhammad Ali go to

Jannah?" by Soundvision.com

Ali:

[Points

to

his

wife,

to

much

Nothing.

Lonnie Ali: Nothing on this earth maybe, but ...

tell
them
Muhammad.
[There
is
a
long
pause]
Ali:
Not
going
to
heaven.
[Everyone present became silent. Sister Lonnie Ali had tears
flowing down her cheeks. Others present were also shaken
and silent. A few wiping their eyes. Br. Malik Mujahid broke the
silence,
patting
Muhammad
Ali
on
his
arm.]
Malik Mujahid: "No, Insha Allah, you will enter Jannah because
you
have
helped
so
many
people."
Ali: [Muhammad Ali turned his face towards Br. Malik Mujahid,
looking at him as though asking: Are you sure? Are you sure
about
yourself?]

Should We Really Laugh?

Hasan al-Basri (rahimaullah) was an eminent scholar
and pious individual of his time. He would rarely laugh due to
his remembrance of death and the punishment of hell. One
day he was going somewhere when he saw a young man
indugled in laughter. Hasan al-Basri asked the youth, "Young
man, have you already crossed the bridge of
Sirath? Have you already found out whether
you are going to paradise or hell?" The young
man replied, "No." Hasan al-Basri told him, "Then why are you
laughing so much?" After that, no one saw this young man
laughing again as he came to know the reality of this life.
Source: Story extracted from the book "Tambihul Ghafileen"

by

Shaikh

Abul

Laith

Samarkandi.

Many hours or probably days have passed away from our lives
in laughter and jokes. It is a sign that we have forgotten the
life of the hereafter. The sahabah used to do good deeds all
day but still cry during the night to Allah. On the other hand,
we do sins all day and still have no concerns! It is permissible
to laugh at amazing things and smile while being in company
of others.
A Lesson from Disabled People
Once, a visitor was being shown around a leper colony
in India. The colony was built to provide a shelter for those
people who were poor and had various physical disabilities. At
noon a gong (a metal disk that produces a sound when hit
with a hammer) sounded to gather the inhabitants for the
midday meal. People came from all parts of the compound to
the dining hall. Suddenly, everyone started laughing at seeing
two young men, one riding on the other's
back, pretending to be a horse and a rider.
They were having lots of fun. As the visitor
watched, he was told that the man who carried his friend was
blind, and the man being carried was lame (who couldn't
walk). The one who couldn't see used his feet; the one who
couldn't walk used his eyes. Together they helped each other
and
reached
their
destination.
Let us use each other's strengths to make up for the
weaknesses of others. Our strength is in unity, not in division.

The Ability to Eat

Last Friday (April 9, 2004), we had the opportunity to
visit a sick brother in a Hospital in East York, Canada. This
brother had an infection in his stomach which caused it to
explode. As a result, the doctors had to remove half of his
stomach through an operation. For seven days, he is unable to
eat or drink anything. Nutrients are being provided to him by
using specialized methods. During our visit, we told him to be
patient and pray to Allah for quick recovery. At
one point, the brother made a very important
statement. He said, "Now I have understood
that if Allah doesn't want, we cannot eat even one grain of
rice."
Being able to eat and drink is a great blessing of Allah. How
costly and difficult it is to digest one meal without having a
stomach! We should thank Allah again and again for letting us
digest many meals without having to go through these
difficulties.
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Abul Laith Samarkandi.

The Story of Jazan
Once Abdullah ibn Masud (ra) was passing by an area in the
city of Qufa. There, a group of wrong doing people have gathered
to have a party. They were engrossed in drinking wine. A singer
called Jazan was entertaining them with songs. Jazan had a very
beautiful voice. When Abdullah ibn Masud heard his voice while
passing by, he said in amazement, "So beautiful is his voice. How
wonderful it would be if he had used that voice to recite the
Quran!" After saying this, Abdullah covered his head with a cloth
and left that place. When Jazan noticed Abdullah ibn Masud
leaving, he asked, "Who is that man and what was he saying?"
The people in the gathering told him, "He is Abdullah ibn Masud,
a companion of Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him). He said that your voice is very
beautiful. How wonderful it would be if you had
used your voice to recite the Quran!"
Jazan was struck by his comments. He threw away his musical
instrument and ran to Abdullah ibn Masud. The two of them
embraced each other and shed tears profusely. Abdullah ibn
Masud said to him, "Why should I not love the one who loves
Allah?" Thereafter, Jazan repented to Allah and stayed in the
company of Abdullah ibn Masud to learn the Quran and other
teachings of Islam. He learned to such an extent that he became
one
of
the
great
scholars
of
his
time.
Source: Obtained from the book "Tambihul Ghafileen" by Shaikh

A Gift After Hardships

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
dispatched towards the sea-shore an expedition of three
hundred men, under the command of Abu
Ubaidah (ra) in 8 A.H. He gave them a bag full
of dates for their rations. They had been
hardly out for fifteen days when they ran short of rations. In
order to provide the contingent with food, Qais (ra) began

buying three camels daily from his own men, to feed the
Mujahideen, with a promise to pay on return to Madinah. The
Amir seeing that the slaugther of camels would deprive the
party of their only means of transport, prohibited him to do so.
He collected the dates that had been left with each person
and stored them in a bag. He would issue one date to each
man as his daily ration. When Jabir (ra) later on narrated this
story to the people, one of his audience inquired:
"How did you manage to live upon one date only for the whole
day?" He replied: "We longed even for that one date, when
the whole stock was exhausted. We were on the verge of
starvation. We moistened the dry tree-leaves with water and
ate
them."
When they reached this stage, Allah had mercy on them for
He always brings ease after every hardship, provided it is
endured patiently. A big fish known as "Ambar" was thrown
out of the sea for them. The fish was so big that they lived on
it for eighteen days altogether. They also filled their satchels
with the remaining portion, which lasted them right up to
Madinah. When the episode was narrated to the Prophet
(peace be upon him), he said: "The fish was a provision
arranged
for
you
by
Allah."
Source: From the book "Stories of the Sahabah" by Shaikh
Muhammad
Zakariyya
Kandhalvi.
We are Muslims today because of such sacrifices by the
companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). We

should remember these events as a source of comfort

whenever we too are faced with difficulties regarding
practising Islam.
A True Muslim Leader
Once Hadhrat Umar (Radhiyallaho Anho), during his
caliphate, was going on his usual rounds towards Harrah (a
suburb of Madinah) with his slave Aslam, when he saw a
distant fire in the desert. He said, "There seems to be a camp.
Perhaps, it is a caravan that could not enter the town due to
night fall. Let's go and look after them and arrange for their
protection
during
the
night."
When he reached there, he found a woman and some
children. The children were crying. The woman had a pan of
water
over
the
fire.
Hadhrat
Umar
(Radhiyallaho Anho) greeted her with salaam
and, with her permission, went near her. (The
woman didn't recognize that it was Umar).
Umar,
The
Umar,

"Why
Woman,
"What

are

these

"Because
is

children
they

in

are
the

crying?"
hungry."
pan?"

The Woman, "Only water to soothe the children, so that they

may go to sleep in the belief that food is being prepared for
them. Ah! Allah will judge between Umar (Radhiyallaho Anho)

and me, on the Day of Judgment, for neglecting me in my

distress."
Umar (weeping), "May Allah have mercy on you! How can
Umar
know
of
your
distress?"
The Woman, "When he is our Amir, he must keep himself
informed
about
us."
Hadhrat Umar (Radhiyallaho Anho) returned to the town and
straight away went to the Baitul Mal (House of Charity) to fill a
sack with flour, dates, fat, and clothes, and also drew some
money. When the sack was ready, he said to Aslam, "Now put
this
sack
on
my
back,
Aslam."
Aslam, "No please, Amir-ul-Momineen! I shall carry this sack."
Umar refused to listen to Aslam, even on his persistent
requests to allow him to carry the sack, and remarked, "What!
Will you carry my load on the Day of Judgment? I must carry
this bag, for it is I who would be questioned (in the Hereafter)
about
this
woman."
Aslam most reluctantly placed the bag on Umar's
(Radhiyallaho Anho) back, who carried it with a swift pace
right to the woman's tent. Aslam followed at his heels. He put
a little flour and some dates and fat in the pan and began to
stir. He blew (with his mouth) into the fire to kindle it.
Aslam says, "I saw the smoke passing through his thick

beard."
After some time, the pottage was ready. He himself served it
to the family. When they had eaten to their fill, he made over
to them the little that was left for their next meal. The
children were very happy after their meal and began to play
about
merrily.
The woman felt very grateful and remarked, "May Allah
reward you for your kindness! In fact you deserve to take the
place
of
Khalifah
instead
of
Umar."
Umar consoled her and said, "When you come to see the
Khalifah,
you
will
find
me
there."
He sat for a while at a place close by and kept on watching
the children. He then returned to Madinah. On his way back,
he said to Aslam, "Do you know why I sat there, Aslam? I had
seen them weeping in distress. I liked to see them laughing
and
happy
for
some
time."
Source: From the book "Stories of the Sahaba" by Shaikh
Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhalvi.
Story of a Brilliant Student
The following story was narrated by
Professor Anwar, who teaches in the Ryerson
University located in Toronto, Canada. He said
that during his student life, he was studying at

an university in Bangladesh. There, he had a good friend who

was very intelligent. This friend was the only child of his
family. Everyone used to look upto his great future. And they
were right, he graduated with the highest mark in his field.
Immediately, calls came for him from big companies. One
day, Dr. Anwar was requested by his friend to accompany him
to one such companies for an interview. They were going by
riding on a motor cycle. On the way, a speeding truck couldn't
manage itself and hit their motor cycle from the back. At that
collision, Dr. Anwar flew off the motor cycle and fell on the
side of the street. But his friend got hit from another vehicle
that was coming from the opposite side and died instantly.

day,

but

one

incident

was

different.

Here was a person who was at the peek of material success in

this world but little did he know that his death was just around
the corner. We have spent much of our time preparing for the
life before death, but how much time have we spent preparing
for the everlasting life after death?

Quickly we returned to assist the owner of the second car. He

was dead. Back we went to the two young men lying side by
side
on
the
pavement.

My partner and I had parked on the shoulder of the highway

and began to chat. In a random second, the scene shattered
to the hideous sound of metal bodies becoming one. We threw
our heads back to see what had happened: a head-on
collision, the result of a vehicle slipping into the lane of the
oncoming
traffic.
You couldnt describe the carnage. Two young men sprawled
in the first car, both in critical condition. We carried them
gently away from the car and rested them on the ground.

My partner began dictating the Shahadah to them. Say: La

iIaha illAllah (there is no god but Allah), La iIaha illAllah

Story From a Police Officer

Extracted from a lecture by Muhammad AlShareef,
obtained
from
Khutbah.com.
A police officer in a Muslim country wrote the
following letter to a Shaykh describing the
events that led to his return to Allah. He
recalls:
Seeing accidents and crash victims was a normal part of my

... their tongues wouldnt acknowledge. They started

humming the hypnotic lyrics of some song. I was terrified. My
partner had experience however and he kept repeating his
instruction.
I stood watching, no movement, eyes locked. Never in my life
had I seen anything similar to what was going on before me.
In fact, Ive never actually seen someone die, and never in
such
a
satanic
way.

My partner continued to instruct them to say the Shahadah

but there was no use. The hum of their song came to a slow
silence, slowly. The first one stopped and then the other. Not a
stir.
Dead.
We carried them to our patrol car, my partner made no effort
to speak. Not a whisper between us two as we carried the
corpses
to
the
nearest
hospital.
"Has not the Time arrived for the Believers that their hearts in
all humility should engage in the remembrance of Allah and of
the Truth which has been revealed (to them), and that they
should not become like those to whom was given Revelation
aforetime, but long ages passed over them and their hearts
grew hard? For many among them are rebellious
transgressors." Al Quran 57:16
Anything for Allah
Khabaab (Radiallaho Anho) is one of those fortunate
persons who offered themselves for sacrifice and suffering for
the cause of Allah (Subhanahu wa Taala). He was the sixth or
seventh person to embrace Islam and therefore, he suffered
long. He was made to put on steel armor and
lie in the sun to sweat. Very often he was
made to lie flat on burning sand, which caused
the flesh on his back to dissolve. He was the slave of a
woman. When she came to know that he was visiting
Rasulullah (Sallallaho Alaihi Wassallam), she used to brand his
head with a hot iron rod. Umar (Radiallaho Anho) during his

Caliph once asked him about the details of his suffering after
embracing
Islam.
He showed him his back, seeing which Umar (Radiallaho
Anho) said, "I have never seen such a back before."
He said, "My body was dragged over heaps of burning coal
and the blood and fat coming out of my back put out the fire."
When Islam spread and the Muslims conquered all the
surrounding territory, he used to weep and say, "Allah
(Subhanahu wa Taala) seems to be compensating us in this
world for all our sufferings and perhaps nothing would be left
for
us
as
reward
in
the
Akhirah".
Source: From the Book "Stories of the Sahabah" by Shaikh
Muhammad
Zakariyya
Kandhalvi.
Such were the followers of the Prophet (peace be upon him)
who were ready to give anything but their faith in Allah. On
the other hand, we Muslims today are ready to sell our iman
for little material gains!
The Power of Prostration
The following story was mentioned by
brother Firoz who is originally from Guyana
and now living in Scarborough, Canada.
Brother Firoz lived in the USA before moving to

Canada. He can easily be identified as a Muslim as he wears a

Muslim hat and has white beard. In USA, one day he was
going to the market to buy some things when he was
approached by a white American man who asked him whether
he knew of any Halal Muslim restaurant. Brother Firoz knew of
one but was unable to give him the proper direction. He
figured that the American was a new Muslim in this area. So,
brother Firoz invited him to his house to have some food.
There were also some other Muslim brothers living with Firoz
at that time. When they reached home, everyone in the house
welcomed the special guest. They were also curious to know
about
the
reason
why
he
accepted
Islam.
The new brother told them that he was taking a world
religions course in the University. His teacher happened to be
Jewish. When they came to the topic about Islam, the Jewish
teacher at one point started showing the class how Muslims
pray. "The moment I saw the teacher doing prostration
(sajdah), I knew that I belonged to this religion," said the new
brother. This is what led him to Islam, a simple demonstration
of
sajdah.
Just one act of Islam was enough to make this individual a
Muslim. Imagine, how many people will be convinced when all
the Muslims start practising Islam completely!
Splitting of the Moon, an Amazing Story
Thanks to izziddin@shahadah.net and
islamisthetruth@care2.com for the story.

In a TV interview with the Egyptian Geologist Dr. Zaghloul

Annajar, the anchor asked him about the verse:
"The Hour has drawn near,and the moon has been cleft
asunder (the people of Makkah requested Prophet Muhammad
[PBUH] to show them a miracle, so he showed them the
splitting of the moon)." (Quran 54:1) whether it contains any
Quranic
scientific
astounding
facts?
Dr. Zaghloul answered saying that he has a story to tell about
this
verse.
He started explaining that at a time he delivered a lecture at
Cardiff University in the West of Britain. The attendees
included both Muslims and non-Muslims. A vital dialogue was
taking place around scientific facts included in the Noble
Quran. During the course of the lecture, a Muslim young man
stood asking me, Sir Do you see in the Saying of Al Haq
Tabarak wa Ta`ala (Allah the Truth) may He be Exalted - and
he referred to the above mentioned verse - any indication to
the scientific facts included in the Quran? Dr. Najjar answered:
No because scientific astounding discoveries are interpreted
through science whereas a miracle is something supernatural,
which may not be interpreted through the usual. The splitting
of the moon is a miracle, which happened to Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) in order to prove his prophecy. Tangible
miracles are only a testimony of truth for those who witnessed
it. It is only that the incident was mentioned in Quran and
Prophet's Sunnah that made us believe other wise we Muslims

of this era would have never believed in it. In addition that we

know for sure that Allah is most capable of anything. At that
point Dr. Zaghloul narrated the story of moon splitting as
included
in
Sunnah
books.
He said, Sunnah books tell that five years before the
immigration of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from Mecca to
Medina, a group of people from the tribe of Quraish came
challenging him saying: Oh Muhammad if you were really a
Prophet and a Messenger bring to us a miracle to establish
this fact. So he asked them what do you want? They said in an
effort to complicate matters for him: split the moon for us.
The Messenger of ALLAH (PBUH) stood supplicating to Allah to
support him and grant him victory in this hard situation. Allah
may He be Exalted inspired him to sign towards the moon
with his finger. Immediately, the moon cleft into two parts
standing far from each other for several hours then cling back
together. The pagans started claiming: Oh Muhammad (PBUH)
practiced
witchcraft
on
us.
At this point some of the wise men explained that magic
would only affect the attendees whereas it can not maintain
influence on everybody in general. They waited for travelers
who were coming back from their journeys. The pagans
harried up to the borders of Mecca in anticipation to meet the
travelers. When the first arrivals appeared, they asked them
did you see anything extraordinary happened to the moon?
The travelers answered yes on the night (X) we saw the moon
splitting into two parts which remained asunder for sometime
then reattached. Upon this statement, a number of the group

believed while the rest remained pagans. Therefore, the verse

explains "The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been
cleft asunder (the people of Makkah requested Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) to show them a miracle, so he showed
them the splitting of the moon). * And if they see a sign, they
turn away, and say: This is continuous magic. *They belied the
Verses of Allah - this Quran), and followed their own lusts. And
every matter will be settled according to the kind of deeds:
good deeds will take their doers to Paradise and similarly evil
deeds will take their doers to Hell." (Quran 54:1-3) until the
end of the verses which were revealed in this regard.
Dr. Najjar continued that at this point a British Muslim young
man introduced himself as Daoud Moussa Peetcock head of
the British Islamic Party. He carried on saying sir if you allow
me I would like to add on this issue? I said please do. He
explained saying: At the time when I was searching in
religions (before he embraced Islam), a Muslim student gave
me as a present the translation of the meaning of Quran. I
thanked him and took it home. The first Surat I came across
when I opened the book, it was Chapter of the Moon I read
"has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder". I said
to myself, is this statement logical? Is it possible for the moon
to split and then reattach what kind of power may cause this?
The man explained that this verse made me reluctant to
continue reading. I became busy with my life,yet ALLAH of
course Knows how sincere I was about finding the truth.
So,one day ALLAH made me sit to watch TV. It was a talk show
between a British commentator and three American

astronautics specialists. The show host was blaming the

scientists for spending thriftily over space trips at a time when
earth is suffering hunger,poverty, diseases and backwardness.
He was telling them, it would have been more feasible to
allocate this kind of money for reconstruction of earth. To this
argument, the three men answered defending their position
that such technology is widely applied in many wakes of life
such as medicine, industry and agriculture. They added that
the money is never wasted but it rather supported the
development
of
highly
advanced
technology.
During their dialogue, they mentioned the trip in which a man
landed on the moon surface as it consumes the the largest
cost which comes to more than US $100.000.000.000. The
British TV anchor screamed saying what kind of thrift is this? A
hundred thousand million dollars just to plant the American
flag on the moon surface? They answered no; the objective
was not to plant the American flag but rather to study the
interior composition of the moon. We actually came to a
finding that would cost us double folds of this amount for
people to believe and yet they will never believe. The show
host inquired what is this fact? They replied: One day this
moon was split and then reattached. The show host again
probed: how did you realize that? The scientists responded
about finding a belt of transformed rocks cutting the moon
from its surface to core and then to the surface again. The
stated saying: we consulted with earth scientists and
geologists who explained that such phenomenon would never
occur unless this moon one day split and then reattached.

The British Muslim man said: I jumped out of my chair saying

ALLAH (SWT) forced the Americans to spend more than a
hundred billion dollars to prove to Muslims a a miracle that
took place 1400 years ago for Mohamed (PBUH)? This religion
must be the truth. He added: I went back to the Quran and
recited Surat Al Qamar, which was my gate for accepting
Islam.
A Youth Realizes the Truth
Many Muslims from the Arab regions migrated to
various parts of South America in the last few hundred years.
After few generations have passed, the Muslims there slowly
started going away from Islam due to the lack of an Islamic
environment. To remind these people to be steadfast in Islam,
a group of brothers from Toronto, Canada were sent to
Venezuela in 2002. Due to their strong effort, some amazing
changes took place in the lives of Muslims in Venezuela who
were in the verge of leaving Islam. One such incidents is
mentioned
below.
As the brothers were looking for Muslims one day, they
noticed a young boy of about 16 years of age who looked like
an Arab. So they approached him and asked what his name
was and if he was a Muslim. The youth replied that he is
Muslim and his name is Darwin. Islam was so much out of
their lives that their names became the names of famous
atheists! The brothers gave him dawah and asked if he could
join them for some time. The youth took his mother's
permission and joined them for few days. Within 3 days,

Darwin learned Surah Fatiha and started feeling the

sweetness of iman. Then he asked his mother if he could join
them for some more time and the permission was granted.
Within two weeks, Darwin started getting up for Tahajjud on
his own. Then one day after Maghrib prayer, he went to the
front and mentioned that he had something to say. He told the
worshippers that, "From today, I am not Darwin any more, I
am Abdullah (the meaning of this name is Servant of Allah)."
These are the results that come forth by the effort of those
who give their time and energy for the sake of Islam. The
brothers have gone back to South America last month to
cover more areas. May Allah make them successful.
affiliate program

Empty Hands of a Rich Man

An Arabian brother from Montreal, Canada narrated the
following heart softening story about his friend's father who
was very rich. He owned many buildings and lot's of
properties. When he attained old age, he became very sick
and was counting his last days. Few days before his death, the
old man kept on saying Ana faqir, Ana faqir which means, I
am poor, I am poor. When his visiting children saw this, they
took him around and showed him all his properties to assure
him that he wasnt poor at all. But the old man kept on saying,
I am poor, I am poor. His children became confused and
brought a local Muslim Scholar to see their
father. After spending some time with the old
man, the Scholar understood that the man is
saying he is poor not regarding his wealth but
regarding his good amal (deeds). This is because most of his
life was spent only in acquiring wealth and now that he was
on his death bed, he realized that he shouldve given more
time to Allah. When that person was dieing, he was still saying
Ana
faqir.
So much time has gone from our lives in useless matters.
From now on, we should not even waste one minute without
remembering Allah as every remembrance of Allah will
increase our position in the hereafter. So, why not be rich in
the everlasting life?

A Quality to Avoid
Abu Hurairah (RA) narrates that Rasulullah (peace be
upon him) happened to pass by a heap of grain and inserted
his hand into it; his fingers were moistened by the wet grain.
At this, he asked the owner of the grain: What is this? The
man replied: O Rasulullah! It is due to rain. Rasulullah (peace
be upon him) said: Why didn't you put the damp (wet) grain
on top of the heap, so people could see it? He
who deceives people does not belong to me
(my
Ummah).
Source:

Sahih

Muslim.

We should always remember that deception is one of the

qualities of Shaitan. Others may not see us when we are
deceiving them but Allah is there watching us. A true believer
knowing that he has to stand in front of Allah will avoid such
activities.
An Orphan's Eid
It was the day of celebration and a day of rejoicing.
There was an air of festivity in the streets of Madinah. All the
people, both young and old were dressed in
their best clothes, especially for this special
day
of
Eid.
As it was time for early morning Eid prayers everyone made
their way to an open piece of land on the outskirts of the city.

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) arrived and led the prayers.

After they had finished they all greeted each other and
everyone was walking back home. The children running and
playing in excitement, smiling and laughing, without a care in
the world. As the Prophet (pbuh) walked back home, he
suddenly became aware of a little boy (Zuhair Bin Saghir)
sitting by himself on the side of the path. The little boy was
crying and looked very sad. The Prophet (pbuh) bent down
and patted him on the shoulders and asked 'why are you
crying?' 'Please leave me alone' sobbed the little boy. The boy
didn't even see who was talking to him. The Prophet (pbuh)
ran his fingers through the boy's hair and very gently and
kindly asked him again why he was crying. This time the boy
said, 'My father was martyred fighting, and now my mother
has married again and my stepfather does not want me to live
at home any more. Today is Eid and everyone is happy. All the
children have new clothes and nice things to eat, but I don't
have any clothes except what I am wearing. I have no food
and
I
don't
even
have
a
place
to
live.'
The Prophet (pbuh) said to him, 'I know how you feel, I lost
both my mother and father when I was a little boy.' The boy
was surprised to hear that it was an orphan who was
comforting him, and when he looked up to his great surprise it
was the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and he immediately
jumped up to his feet out of love and respect.
The Prophet (pbuh) said to him 'If I were to become your new
father and Ayesha you new mother, and Fatima your new
sister, would that make you feel better?' 'Oh yes, that would

be the best thing in the world!' The boy started smiling. The
Prophet took him home and gave him new clothes and good
food on this beautiful day of Eid. The boy indeed had a
wonderful
Eid
that
day.
We should think of others that are less fortunate than
ourselves on this beautiful day of Eid. Not everyone has such
a wonderful day. It is a day of celebration, but take a moment
to stop and think of those who are less fortunate than
ourselves.
The One who did Sajdah to Allah
The following incident was mentioned by brother Aslam
Nakhuda during a lecture that he gave on 24/1/2004. Brother
Aslam is an Imam of Jame Masjid Brampton in Canada.
He said that three years back a group of eight brothers,
including him, set out to Texas, USA for dawah. They spent
sometime there to remind the residents about the reality of
this life. On their way back, they stopped by a
service station beside a highway to perform
the Magrib prayer. One of the brothers gave
the Adhan (Call to prayer). Two Non Muslim men were passing
by when the Adhan was being called. Being curious, they
came to the brothers and asked them who they were, where
do they come from and what they were doing. The brothers
told them that they are Muslims who are coming from Toronto,
Canada with the glad tidings of Islam. A scholar, who was with
them, discussed about Islam with the non-Muslim men for 2 or

3 minutes. Then the brothers prepared to offer the salah. The

non Muslims who were standing by asked what they should be
doing now. The brothers told them to join the prayer and just
follow along. The two men decided to join the prayer. The
imam recited Surah Fatiha and another surah after it. Then he
went to Ruku' and both the Non Muslims did the same. When
time for sajdah (prostration on the ground) came, the Non
Muslims started hesitating and didn't know whether they
should also prostrate on the ground as they never did this
before. One of them decided not to do so and he left the
prayer. However, the other one just went to sajdah. After the
prayer, this person who agreed to prostrate to Allah was
blessed with iman. He accepted Islam from the brothers.
Dear readers, this is what we have to do. We have to submit
to the will of Allah and in return He will bless us with iman. On
the other hand, a person who is arrogant and decide not to
submit to the will of Allah may just be deprived of iman.
The Wooden Bowl
A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-inlaw, and four-year-old grandson. The old man's hands
trembled,his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The
family ate together at the table. But the
elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing
sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his
spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled
on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became
irritated with the mess. We must do something about

Grandfather," said the son. I've had enough of his spilled milk,
noisy eating, and food on the floor. So the husband and wife
set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone
while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather
had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden
bowl.
When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction,
sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the
only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions
when
he
dropped
a
fork
or
spilled
food.
The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before
supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on
the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?"
Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little
bowl for you and Mama to eat your food when I grow up." The
four-year-old
smiled
and
went
back
to
work.
The words so struck the parents that they were speechless.
Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no
word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That
evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led
him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he
ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither
husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was
dropped,
milk
spilled,
or
the
tablecloth
soiled.
Allah

mentions

in

Surah

Al

Isra

17:23-24

And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him.
And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both
of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of
disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of
honour.
And lower unto them the wing of submission and humility
through mercy, and say: "My Lord! Bestow on them Your
Mercy as they did bring me up when I was small."
Be the First to Help
Ibne Abbas (RA) narrates: Rasulullah (Peace be upon
him) sent Abdullah ibne Rawaha (RA) with a Jamaat
(expedition) on a Friday. His companions set off in the
morning, but he decided to stay behind and catch up with
them after offering Salat-ul-Jumah (Friday Prayers) with
Rasulullah (Peace be upon him). When he did so, he was
spotted by Rasulullah (Peace be upon him), who inquired:
What prevented you from going out in the
morning with your companions. He replied: I
wanted to offer Salat-ul-Jumah with you and
then join them. He said: If you spend all that is present in the
world, you will still not be able to attain the reward and
virtues
of
those
who
left
in
the
morning.
Source:

Hadith

from

Tirmidhi.

Whenever the opportunity comes to help Islam, we should not

delay and immediately take part in helping. Allah has

promised great rewards and forgiveness for those who are

always the first to sacrifice for Islam.

not a Muslim and would not be able to save herself if she dies
in this state. The mother immediately recognized the beauty
of Islam and became a Muslim.

The Position of Mother

The following is a touching story about a new Muslim
and his mother. Before he was a Muslim, he lived with his
mother until he was about 18 years old. Then he moved out of
his home and lived in a different place on his own. During
those days, he met some Muslims and became a very close
friend of them. Eventually he himself became a Muslim after
learning about the beautiful religion of Islam from them. He
made an effort every day to learn more and more about Islam.
One day, he came to learn about the benefits of being good to
one's parents. He learned that a person who looks at his
parents with the eyes of obedience gets the reward of one
accepted Hajj! (The reward is mentioned in an
authentic hadith of Sahih Muslim). After
knowing this, he decided to visit his mother
whom he did not visit for many years. He bought some
flowers and fruits for her on his way. His mother was very
pleased to see him after so long. He started spending lots of
time with his mother on a regular basis. During his visits, he
would stare at his mother and tears would roll down from his
eyes. The mother noticed this happening many times and
asked him one day the reason why he visits her so much all of
a sudden and why he cries. He told her about how he became
a Muslim and that the position of a mother in Islam is very
high. He also told her about the reward he gets for looking at
her. But while looking at her, he cries because the mother is

A Sign from Allah

The following incident has been narrated by Colonel
Amir Uddin who originally heard it from his wife. Colonel Amir
Uddin is a well known caller to Islam through whose effort
over 6,000 people have accepted Islam all over the world. He
is 86 years old and have been to over 56 countries to call
people
towards
Allah.
During one such journeys to invite people to Islam, his wife
met a woman who was a new Muslim. While travelling, they
came to know how she became a Muslim. The
woman said that she was originally a Christian
but her husband was a Muslim. Her husband
used to tell her about the oneness of God
everyday. One day while she was in the Church, she asked the
Priest whether the Muslims' cocept of oneness of God was
correct or the Christians' concept of Trinity was correct. The
Priest told her that the Muslims are correct and he also
advised her to keep this matter secret. She became very
confused after hearing this. At night when she went home,
she prayed to God to show her which path was the truth. She
started reading the Bible thoroughly to search for answers.
One night after she prayed to God to show her the truth, she

opened the Bible and to her amazement, the entire Bible

appeared to her as Arabic text! She mentioned this to an
Imam who told her that this was a sign from Allah to accept
the Quran as her guidance instead of the Bible. She became
Muslim
there
and
then.
Dear readers, such incidents are nothing new. These incidents
happen on a daily basis to those who are searching for the
truth. We did not come to this world with our own will. We will
not leave this world with our own will. Then why live this life
according to our own will? A Muslim is that person who
submits to the will of Allah. Let us all submit to Allah, Who is
the Lord of everything in and out of this universe. "And
whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be
accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the
losers." (Al Quran, 3:85)

How Kind is Allah!

There lived an idolator in the past who made an idol out
of stone and would worship it everyday. He would call it upon
it by saying "Ya Sanam." For seventy years, he worshipped
this idol. One day by mistake he uttered "Ya
Samad" instead of Ya Sanam. Samad is a
name of Allah which means The Self Sufficient
Master. Allah Ta'ala immediately replied back to this idolator
by saying "I am present oh My slave." The angels asked Allah
why He replied to him since he didn't even call upon Him

intentionally. Allah told the angels that for seventy years I

have been waiting for this servant of mine to turn towards Me!
If a mother has only one child then how much would she love
him? He would be the coolness of her eyes and the comfort of
her heart. But if this son calls her saying "Mommy" more than
four or five times, she would get irritated eventhough she
loves him more than her ownself. On the other hand, when we
call Allah once, He replies back to us 70 times by saying
"Labbaik Ya Abdi (I am here oh My slave)." How unfortunate
we are that we have not recognized our Allah who is so Kind,
Merciful
and
Forgiving.
Source: Extracted from the lecture by Shaikh Tariq Jameel.
The Cure for Everything
Imam Bukhari, who was one of the greatest compilers of
ahadith, became blind at a young age. He had recourse to
many famous and skilled doctors of his time but their
treatments made no difference. His mother was a pious
worshipper and a righteous woman. She cried out for help in
the court of Allah the Almighty, for her child
and begged for the restoration of his eyesight.
At last, "the river of mercy flowed over her,"
and Almighty Allah accepted her invocation. One night, she
visited Ibrahim alayhis-salam in a dream and was told, "Allah
has restored the sight of your son because of your intense and
beautiful invocations." In the morning, as Imam Bukhari got
up from his bed, glimmers of light reached out into his eyes.

That

is,

his

eyesight

was

fully

restored.

Source: From the biography of Imam Bukhari (ra) located in

the beginning of Sahih Al Bukhari 9 Volume English
Translation. Additional details were provided by Shaykh alHadith
Allama
Ghulam
Rasul
Sa`idi.
Make use of salah and dua to solve any problem that even the
best experts of this world cannot solve. Unfortunately, the
Muslims are turning away from these deeds today when they
need them the most. We pray for Allah to give us the true
understading of Islam.
Tragic Death of Two Friends
Here is a true incident of two Muslim friends who died in
an accident. The incident took place in 2001 in Toronto,
Canada. One of the brothers who died was our neighbour. His
name was Samanthar. He was a teenager and had great
dreams for the future. We would visit him sometimes to talk
about the purpose of life. Due to the pressure from friends, he
would always say "Insha-Allah" and hope to
start doing things in the near future. Then one
day, it all came to an end. Brother Samanthar
along with another brother was driving a car at night around
9:00 p.m. At one place, they stopped the car as the traffic
light turned red. Far behind them was a police car that was
chasing a stolen van. The van came really fast and hit
Samanthar's car from the back. Instantly, the two brothers
passed away. May Allah forgive them and cover them with His

mercy.
Everyone, mainly the youth, should take a lesson from this
incident that death is unpredictable. No one should delay
practising Islam for a later time as that time may never come.
Let's make a strong commitment to start today. May Allah
make it easy.
Punishment of a Liar
Narrated Anas: There was a Christian who embraced
Islam and read Surat-al-Baqara and Al-Imran, and he used to
write (the revelations) for the Prophet. Later on he returned to
Christianity again and he used to say: "Muhammad knows
nothing but what I have written for him." Then Allah caused
him to die, and the people buried him, but in the morning they
saw that the earth had thrown his body out. They said, "This is
the act of Muhammad and his companions. They dug the
grave of our companion and took his body out
of it because he had run away from them."
They again dug the grave deeply for him, but
in the morning they again saw that the earth had thrown his
body out. They said, "This is an act of Muhammad and his
companions. They dug the grave of our companion and threw
his body outside it, for he had run away from them." They dug
the grave for him as deep as they could, but in the morning
they again saw that the earth had thrown his body out. So
they believed that what had befallen him was not done by
human beings and had to leave him thrown (on the ground).

labour too, while you cannot because your suit alone costs
two hundred rupees, so, you might fear losing your job."
He Cannot Catch Up
Not Afraid of Losing the Job
When Mufti Muhammad Shafee' (rahmatullahi alayh)
came to Pakistan (from India), he was appointed as a member
of the Islamic Education Board by the Government. This Board
was one of the sections of the Government. Once the
Government decided to take an action, which was contrary to
Islamic Laws. Mufti Shafee' was prompt to oppose it and
explained that due to it's being against the teachings of
Islaam, it should not be adopted. His remarks, however,
prompted a debate between the Government officers, many
of whom began to criticise the respected Mufti for having said
what he did, as he was a member of the Board
and
part
of
the
Government.
Seeing this, Mufti Shafee' bluntly addressed the gathering and
said that he had agreed to become a Member of the Board
only for the sake of Islaam, and therefore, it was his duty to
object to what was unislamic, regardless of whether his
objection was in agreement with the line of the Government
or not. He clarified that he was not a Government servant and
unlike them was not worried about losing his job. He said, "I
have my resignation letter in my pocket and my expenses do
not exceed a few rupees, so I am not dependent on salary and
allowances like you. I can earn that much money by hard

Ubaidullah bin Umar Qawariri said," I never missed the

evening congregational prayer (prayer with Jamath). But once
a guest came to my house and I remained in his company
until late. I went out, looking for any mosque in Basra at which
I could catch the evening prayer, but to no avail. The people
had all prayed and gone home. I returned to my house,saying
to myself,'It is reported in tradition that congregational prayer
is twenty-seven times more excellent than individual prayer.'
So I prayed the evening prayer twenty-seven times over and
slept. I saw in a dream that I was with a group
of people who were racing on horses, and I
was also racing with them on my horse but my
horse was falling behind. I kicked my horse to catch up with
them but I could not. One of the riders turned to me and
said,"Do not urge your horse, for you will not be able to catch
up with us." I said,"Why not?" He replied,"We prayed evening
in congregation and you prayed it alone!" Therefore, I learned
a
lesson
and
was
deeply
grieved."
Source: The Major Sins Al-Kaba'r By Muhammad bin 'Uthman
Adh-Dhahabi, rendered into English by Mohammad Moinuddin
Siddiqui.
Removing the Obstacle

A qualified medical worker from India emigrated to

Canada to live a better life. This Muslim brother had a beard.
He applied to many different places for a job and was called
for interviews. Though he was highly qualified for the jobs, the
interviewers hesitated to hire him because of his beard. One
by one, he was rejected from all the companies. One
interviewer actually mentioned to him indirectly that his beard
was an obstacle to getting the job. Trully, it was a big test for
him from Allah. Hopeless and exhausted, the brother decided
to remove the obstacle, which was to shave off his beard.
Then he returned to that company and requested for another
interview. When the interviewer saw him without a beard this
time, he refused to give him the job again. The brother
became confused and asked to know the
reason. The interviewer said "If you are not
faithful to your God, how will you be faithful to
us?"
This true incident was narrated to us by a friend who
personally knows this brother, however, his identity will
remain private. In reality, obeying the commandments of
Allah does not bring failure. In the beginning, we may face
various problems, but the end results will be very sweet.
Prophet of Allah (SAW) also faced many problems in the
beginning, but in the end, he saw how hundreds and
thousands of people turned towards Allah for his
steadfastness. Ibn 'Umar, may God be pleased with him, said:
"The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and give him
peace, ordered us to trim closely the mustache and leave the

beard as it is (that is grow the beard)." (Reported in Sahih alBukhari and Sahih Muslim.)
First Words of a Little Girl
The following incident was mentioned by a Shaikh from
Toronto, Canada. The incident is about his 18 months old
daughter. The shaikh also has a son who is about 3 years old.
The shaikh has already started teaching the young son about
Quran and ahadith without wasting any time. Mashallah, the
boy has already memorized surah Fatiha and various other
surahs. One day, his young daughter who is only 18 months
old was sitting beside the son while he was asked to recite
surah Fatiha by the shaikh. This little girl is pronouncing her
first words clearly in these days. Now, when
the son recited the 5th verse of surah Fatiha
untill "Ihdina Sirat...", the small girl suddenly
said "Al Mustaqim" and completed the verse.
Subhanallah! How blessed is this child whose first words are
among the words of the Holy Quran, which she learned
through her father when he was teaching her brother.
It is very important to teach Islam to our children in their early
childhood. We can easily bend trees in any direction when
they are still small. But when the trees become big and tall,
10 people pushing together is unable to bend them. Similarly,
teaching the children when they are young is necessary so
that they go towards the right direction.
10 Things about Uthman (RA)

Thaur

Before the martyrdom of Uthman (RA.), he spoke to Abu

al-Fahmi
(RA.)
thus:

I entertain great hopes in my Lord with Whom I have placed

ten
things
as
trust:
1.
I
am
the
fourth
person
to
accept
Islam.
2. The HOly Prophet (SAW) gave his daughter in marriage to
me.
3. On her death, he gave me his second daughter in marriage.
4.
I
have
never
sung
a
song.
5. I have never even thought of wickedness.
6. Ever since I took the oath of allegiance to
the Holy Prophet (SAW) with my right hand, I have never
touched
the
genitals
therewith.
7. Ever since I became a Muslim, I have set free a slave on
every
Friday.
8. I have never committed adultery during the Days of
Ignorance
or
after
embracing
Islam.
9. I have never stolen anything during the Dyas of Ignorance
or
after
embracing
Islam.
10. I committed the Holy Quran to memory during the life
time of the Holy Prophet (SAW).
Sunnah is like Medicine
Shaikh Khidir from Toronto, Canada once
gave a very beautiful example on the
importance of following the ways (sunnah) of
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He

said that sunnah is like medicine. Usually, when we visit the

doctors for treatment, they write on the prescriptions the
medicines we need. We take these prescriptions to
pharmacists who then sell the medicines to us. Sometimes
these medicines are bitter and hard to swallow, but we still
consume them as we know that the cure is in them. Similarly,
each and every sunnah has physical and spiritual cure for us
in this world and in the hereafter. Even if some of sunnah are
hard to follow, we should still follow them as the cure is in
them.
"...So take what the Messenger gives you, and refrain from
what he prohibits you..." Al Quran 59:7
Hinduism to Christianity to Islam
The following story is about a brother from Guyana who
became a Muslim from being a Hindu and Christian Priest for
10
years.
His current name is Ahmed Tabarani. He was born in a poor
Hindu family in Guyana. However, he used to
dislike
worshipping
statues
since
his
childhood. As he grew up, he became
connected with the local Church because they
worshipped three divine beings (God, Jesus and Holy Spirit)
rather than worshipping hundreds of idols. Eventually, he
became a Christian and studied for many years to become a
Christian priest. The Church hired him and paid for all his
travelling and living expenses. His family became very

pleased to see that because he became a Christian, their

poverty was removed. As a result, the whole family became
Christians. During the 10 years of serving as a Priest, he
always used to wake up at night and meditate. He used to ask
God to show him whether he was following the truth. In one
such nights, he had a vision. He saw that three people
dressed in white long throbes, wearing turban and beard are
walking towards him and these people are to show him the
true religion. After seeing this vision, many years passed by
but he didn't see such a thing happening. But one day, a
group of Muslims (part of Tabligh Jamah) visited a Masjid near
his place to call people towards Allah. That afternoon, as he
was going to the Church, he saw three of these Muslims are
coming towards him. Immediately, he remembered his vision.
These three Muslims resembled exactly what he saw in the
vision. Then he approached them and asked what religion
they follow. The Muslims told him about Islam and he became
a Muslim on the spot and quit being a priest. Poverty again
took over his family as he quit his job. All his family members,
especially his mother, became angry at him for becoming a
Muslim. But he said the following words to his mother, "Dear
mother, I could give you a new pair of shoes, but they will
become worn out. I could give you a new dress, but that too
will become old and ripped. But I can give you something that
will never finish. My mother, say 'There is no god but Allah
and Muhammad is His Messenger.'" The mother was really
touched by this statement and became a Muslim. Following
her, everyone else in the family also became Muslims. For 15
years, Ahmed Tabarani is a practising Muslim serving Islam
with his total energy. He is currently living in Canada.

Don't Complain, be Patient

Khabbaab ibn al-Aratt (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: "We complained to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he was reclining on his
cloak in the shade of the Ka'bah. We said to him: "Why do you
not ask Allaah to help us (grant us victory)? Why do you not
pray to Allaah for us?" He said, "A man from the people before
you would be placed in a hole dug for him, then they would
bring a saw and cut his head in two, yet that would not make
him renounce his faith. They would use an iron
comb to drag the flesh and nerves from his
bones, yet that would not make him renounce
his faith. By Allaah, this matter will be
completed (i.e. Islam will be perfected and will prevail) until a
rider travelling from Sana' to Hadramawt will fear nobody but
Allaah or the attack of a wolf on his sheep, but you are too
impatient."
Source:
Sahih
Bukhari.
The conditions of Muslims may go up and down but Islam will
always remain on top. We should never lose hope even during
the most difficult times as Allah is always in control. Surely,
Allah helps those who are patient.
Taraweeh Changed His Life
The following story is about how
Taraweeh salah changed the life of a person
during
the
month
of
Ramadan.

About 20 years ago, brother Khawaja used to live with his

family in an apartment building in Toronto, Canada. During the
month of Ramadan, the local Muslims would get together and
arrange a small room in that building to offer Taraweeh
prayers. Brother Khawaja states, "I wasn't that particular
about offering prayers so I didn't show much interest in going
to Taraweeh which was Sunnah and not even Fardh." His wife
would constantly tell him to go but that didn't change his
mind. However, she would prepare her two small sons and
send them to the prayer. One day, his sons returned back
from Taraweeh with tears in their eyes. Brother Khawaja
became concerned and asked why they were crying. They
replied, "Everyone's father goes to Taraweeh but our father
doesn't go." This really touched his heart and he promised his
sons that he will go with them to Taraweeh the next day. It so
happened that there was a speech on that day after listening
to which Brother Khawaja decided to change his life. Since
then, he has been actively participating in many Islamic
activities and have built and supported various Masjids.
Many days of Ramadan has already passed by. Let us spend
our time properly to obtain as much as we can from this
Ramadan. Be generous in this month and increase your acts
of worship.
Sincerity of a Six Years Old
There was a little girl (six years old) who
was fasting in Ramadhan, even though it is not
obligatory on people below the age of puberty.

She was in school, and at lunch time, when all the other
children went out to eat and have lunch, she sat in the
classroom, because she was fasting. Her (non-muslim)
teacher thought that she was too young to fast, and so said
that it was not necessary, and she could eat a little. The girl
still didn't eat. Then the teacher said: "Your parents are not
here, it doesn't matter if you eat a little". The girl replied: "I
am not fasting for my parents, I am fasting for Allah". This
simple statement had such a profound effect on the teacher,
that
later
she
accepted
Islam.
Submitted by an anonymous visitor to the Islamcan Forum.

The Boy and the Dog

Once Abdullah Bin Jafar (ra) was passing through a
forest when he went by an orchard where an Abyssinian
(Ethiopian) slave was working. Someone brought him his food
and, at the same time a stray dog came into the garden, and
stood by the slave, who threw a loaf of bread to the dog,
which ate it but did not go away. The slave-boy threw it a
second loaf and a third one, thus letting it eat the whole of his
daily provision of food, keeping nothing back for himself.
Abdullah bin Jafar, who had been watching this, said to the
boy, "How much bread do you get as your daily ration of
food?" The boy said, "I get three loaves everyday, as you have
just seen." Ibn Jafar asked, "Then, why did you prefer a dog to
yourself and feed it all the three loaves?" The boy said, "There

are no dogs living round here. The poor creature must have
travelled a long distance to reach here and it must be feeling
very hungry. So, I felt ashamed to send it away, without
serving it any food." Ibn Jafar said, "What will you have for
food today?" The boy said, "I shall go without food for a day,
which I don't mind." Ibn Jafar said to himself, "People criticise
you for spending too liberally, but this slave-boy is far more
generous than you." After this he came back to the town and,
after purchasing the slave-boy, the garden and all the other
effects therein from the owner, he set free the slave-boy and
gave
him
the
garden
as
a
gift.
Source: It-haaf; also found in Virtues of Charity Part II,
translated
by
Abdul
Karim.
Islam is the religion of mercy towards the creations and
obedience towards the Creator. Let us practise it fully.
affiliate program

Sudden Death of a Brother

During giving a lecture to the youths in March 2002,
brother Nakuda (an Imam of Makki Masjid located in
Brampton, Canada), mentioned the following story: A Muslim
brother bought a house in the neighbouring city and moved in
it with his family. All day they were busy in placing things here
and there. In fact, they bought the house with much effort and
now they could finally enjoy it. But, they had no idea what
was to come on the next day. In the following morning, the
brother and his wife were going to work with their car. On
their way, they got into a terrible car accident.
The husband died and the wife survived.
Death took over the husband and not the wife
even though they were seating side by side. Brother Nakuda
did his Janaza on the day he had to give the lecture to the
youths.
We are all aware of our birth dates but we do not know when
our death dates will be. Rather than thinking back and
enjoying the day we were born, we should realize that the day
to leave this world is coming nearer. How strange is a human
being that the hereafter comes closer and closer to him yet he
moves further and further from the obedience of Allah!
How a Person Could Change!

The following story was narrated to us by brother

Mahmud from Preston, England. Once, he along with a group
of Muslims were visiting a city for inviting others to Allah.
They happened to pass by a group of youths who were
Muslims by birth but became gang members. The brothers
didn't give those gang members the negative attitude that
others give while passing by them. Rather, they went and
hand-shook with them out of brotherhood. With love and
affection, the brothers invited the youths to come to the
Masjid. Not being familiar with such kindness, the gang
members were surprised and decided to come to the Masjid
for once. These youths were so much away from Islam that
they were smoking in the Masjid and doing a lot of other
disrespectful acts. However, brother Mahmud
and others were discussing with them about
the Greatness of Allah with patience and
endurance. A time came when the brothers
had to return to their homes and before leaving they advised
the
gang
members
to
turn
towards
Allah.
After several years, brother Mahmud was attending a large
gathering of Muslims when suddenly someone called him from
the back. There were few people dressed in sunnah standing
behind him. They asked brother Mahmud if he recognizes
them. They told him, We are those gang members whom you
visited few years back. We decided to go out and learn more
about
Islam
and
eventually
changed
our
lives.
Dear readers, we should never underestimate certain people
because of the way they are as every individual has the

capacity to become a friend of Allah. It is only Allah who

guides; we can only try with kindness to reach out to their
hearts.
Simple Acts of Charity
Qasim Rahimahullah narrates: A man passed by Abu
Darda (RA) in Damascus when he was planting a tree and said
to Abu Darda (RA): Are you also doing a (worldly) work,
though you are a Sahabi (companion) of Rasulullah (peace
and blessings be upon him)? He said: Don't hasten to blame
me; I heard Rasulullah saying: Never did a man plant a sapling
(a young tree), and then a man, or any other
creation of Allah Glory to Him, ate (or
benefited) from it, except that it becomes a
Sadaqah
(charity)
for
the
planter.
Source:

Sahih

Muslim.

Islam considers the slightest acts of helping others as charity!

Even smiling at others to make them happy is counted as
charity. It is due to our selfishness that mankind suffers. Let us
give more and take less.