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Abi, when will we ever relax? |
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A moving story that Ive heard once and that I always remember and cherish for its meanings. Its the story of one of the great imams of this Ummah, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal.
His son, Abdullah, once asked his father one day, “Abi when will we ever relax?” His father, one of the greatest revivers of the Sunnah, a role model for all Muslims, looked him in the eye and said, “With the first step we take into Jannah.”
Ya Allah, what a beautiful response!
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Dialogue between a traveler and the HOLLY prophet |
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Following is the dialogue between the traveler and the
prophet salalhu alaiyhe wasalam.
Traveler : I do not want azaab to be written in my account.
The Holy Prophet (PBUH): behave well with your parents
Traveler : I want to be known amongst people as an intelligent person.
The Holy Prophet (PBUH): fear Allah always.
Traveler : I want to be counted amongst Allah's favorites.
The Holy Prophet (PBUH): recite quran every morning and evening..............
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*Being a mother*
We are sitting at lunch when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of 'starting a family.'
'We're taking a survey,' she says, half-joking. 'Do you think I should have a baby?'
'It will change your life,' I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral. 'I know,' she says, 'no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations....'
But that is not what I meant at all.
I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her.. I want her to know what
she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical
wounds of child bearing will heal, but that becoming a mother will
leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable. I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper
without asking 'What if that had been MY child?'
That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees
pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse
than watching your child die.............
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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!
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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. |
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