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| Several years ago an Imam recounted what happened to him after he had moved to London. He often took the bus from his home to the downtown area. Some weeks after he arrived, he had the occasion to ride the same bus. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a twenty pence ('tuppence') too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, you better give the twenty pence back. It would be wrong to keep it. Then he thought, "Oh, forget it, its only tuppence. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway the bus company already gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a gift from Allah (SWT) and keep quiet," he thought. When his stop came, the Imam paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the twenty pence back to the driver and said, "Here, you gave me too much change". The driver with a smile, replied," Aren't you the new Imam in this area? I have been thinking lately about going to worship at your Masjid. I just wanted to see what you would do, if I gave you too much change." When the Imam stepped off the bus, his knees became weak and soft, he had to grab the nearest light pole and held on for support, and looked up to the heavens and cried, "Oh Allah, I almost sold You and Islam for twenty pence!" --------------------------- Ibrahim bin Adham was the king of a state. The position took the best of him, and he renounced the throne and took up a job as the keeper of an orchard. Sometime later, the owner of the orchard came on a visit. He ordered a pomegranate to be brought for him. Ibrahim plucked out a rosy fruity pomegranate and placed it before him on a platter. But it turned out to be sour. He ordered for a sweet one to be bought. Ibrahim plucked a still better looking fruit. But even this turned out to be bitter. The owner flew into a furious rage. He shouted, "You have been keeping the orchard for so long. Yet you are so unaware of the fruits. Cannot you still recognize which trees that bear fruits sweeter than the others?" Ibrahim replied coolly, "I am appointed to look after the safety of the orchard. It's not my duty to taste the fruit. I carry out my duty." The owner of the orchard was pleased with the reply. He was too impressed with Ibrahim honesty and ordered an increase in the salary. But Ibrahim left the job. He said to the owner, "I was so far being paid for the work I did. Now on, I will be paid for my honesty. I cannot barter my piety for money." Moral: Pious people expect a reward only from Allah. They cannot withstand someone fixing a price for their pious deeds. --------------------------- Imam Malik one day entered the Masjid after Asr. Towards the front of Masjid An-Nabawee he drew closer and sat down. The Prophet (PBUH) had commanded that anyone who enters the Masjid should not sit until he first prays two rakas as a salutation of the Masjid. Imam Malik was of the opinion however that Rasul Allah's forbiddance of praying after Asr took precedence and so he would teach his students to not pray the tahiyyatul Masjid if they entered between the Asr and Maghrib time. At that moment that Imam Malik sat down, a young boy had seen him sit without first praying the 2 raka's of Tahiyyatul Masjid. The young boy scorned him, "Get up and pray 2 rakas!" Imam Malik dutifully stood up once again and began praying the 2 rakas. The students sat stunned: What was going on? Had Imam Malik's opinion changed? After he had completed the salah, his students swarmed around and questioned his actions. Imam Malik said, "My opinion has not changed, nor have I gone back on what I taught you earlier. I merely feared that had I not prayed the two rakas as the young boy commanded, Allah may include me in the Ayah... "And when it is said to them, 'Bow (in prayer)', they do not bow." (Al-Mursalat 77/48). From article "Waste no time debating what a good Muslim should be. Be one!" --------------------------- Nimrod was the ruler who threw Prophet Abraham into the fire. Nimrod's daughter Raghda, was present at that incident. When she saw that the fire did not harm Abraham and that he had escaped safe and sound from it, she asked him who had saved him? Abraham replied that it was Allah the Almighty who saved him. Raghda decided that she too would try and see if faith (in Allah) would save her from the fire like Abraham. She asked Abraham, and he reassured her that if she believed that there is no God but Allah and that Abraham is the friend (i.e. Prophet) of God, then the fire would not harm her either. She fearlessly entered the fire, nothing happened to her. When she left the fire, she testified before everyone, including her father Nimrod, that all of them were liars, atheists, and that what Abraham was preaching (i.e. only one God, Allah) was truth. In response to this, her father subjected her to oppression and torments, but she remained steadfast in her belief. --------------------------- Bishr-al-Hafi saw a piece of paper lying in the mud on the side of the road. His eye fell on the Name Of Allah written in one the sentences. He lifted the paper, cleaned it, bought some scent, perfumed it, and placed it in a cavity of the wall of his house. That night he heard a voice say to him, "Oh Bishr you have made My name fragrant in this world, and I will make your fragrant in this world and the next." --------------------------- Imam Bukhari had heard from someone that a certain person knew of a Hadith of the Prophet (PBUH). To verify this he made a trip of some thirty days to where the person was known to live. Upon reaching the man who knew the Hadith, he noticed this man trying to get his horse to come to him. He held out his apron to the horse like there was something (edible) in it, and the horse came galloping to him. He then quickly grabbed a rope and put it around the horse's neck. There was never anything in his apron. Imam Bukhari immediately started making his way back home. The man noticed Imam Bukhari leaving and asked him why he had come to him. Imam Bukhari told him that he had come to verify a Hadith he heard that he knew, "yet I cannot trust a man who lies to his horse, neither will I trust him on a Hadith." Such was the character of one of the greatest compiler's of Hadith. --------------------------- The Honest Cadi A ROBBER who had plundered a Merchant of one thousand pieces of gold was taken before the Cadi (Islamic Judge), who asked him if he had anything to say why he should not be decapitated. "You're Honor," said the Robber, "I could do no otherwise than take the money, for Allah made me that way." "Your defense is ingenious and sound," said the Cadi, "and I must acquit you of criminality. Unfortunately, Allah has made me so that I must also take off your head - unless," he added, thoughtfully, "you offer me half of the gold; for He made me weak under temptation." Thereupon the Robber put five hundred pieces of gold into the Cadi's hand. "Good," said the Cadi. "I shall now remove but one half your head. To show my trust in your discretion . I shall leave intact the half you talk with." --------------------------- There was a man who had a son who like to eat a lot of sugar, not having an appetite for anything else. The father fearing the worst for his son, took him to their local Imam, to help and pray for the boy. The Imam, however, told them he couldn't help him today and to comeback the next day. When both father and son came again the next day, the Imam lectured and prayed for the boy, who ultimately stopped consuming a lot of sugar. Later, the man asked his Imam why he didn't what he did the first day he had come to him. The Imam said the day before he too ate too much sugar. --------------------------- Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal was suffering a Fitnah in which he stood firmly against the idea that the Quran was created by man. His followers tried to convince him to change his mind at least in public, so he won't be killed. It was then that he made his famous quote to his followers, "What can my enemy do with me, if they kill me then I am a Martyr, if they jail me then that will be my Khilwa (a time spent alone with God away from this lifely affairs), if they deport me then this is a tourism for me, and if they torture me then this is washing away my sins." --------------------------- A Wise Young Muslim Boy Many years ago, during the time of the Tbbi'nn (the generation of Muslims after the Sahbbah), 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 Khailifah that he had three questions which he challenged the Muslims to answer. The Khailifah 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." As for the questions, they were: "What was there before Allah?" "In which direction does Allah face?" "What is Allah engaged in at this moment?" 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. "O my dear father! I will answer him and silence him!" said the youth. So the boy sought the permission of the Khailifah to give the answers and he was given the permission to do so. The Roman addressed the young Muslim and repeated his first question, "What was there before Allah?" The boy asked, "Do you know how to count?" "Yes," said the man. "Then count down from ten!" So the Roman counted down, "ten, nine, eight, ..." until he reached "one" and he stopped counting "But what comes before 'one'?" asked the 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 answer which he could not dispute. So he asked, "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-Sambwbti-wal-'Ard: Allah - the Light of the Heavens and the Earth!? Light upon Light, Allah faces all directions at all times." 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. 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 (Surah 55 ar-Rahmbn, Verse 29)." The Roman had nothing to say except to leave and return back to his country, defeated. 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 Hannfah (rahmatullbh 'alayhi-Allah have mercy on him) and he is known today as Imam-e-A'dham, the Great Imam and scholar of Islam. --------------------------- Slapping is my answer As the story goes, there was a young man who had gone overseas to study. When he returned, he had an great urge to have some of his questions answered. He put them to a local scholar of Islam: Young man: Who are you? Can you answer my questions? Scholar: I am one of Allah (SubHana Wa Ta`ala )'s slaves and InshaAllah (God willing), I will be able to answer your questions. Young man: Are you sure? A lot of Professors and experts were not able to answer my questions. Scholar: I will try my best, with the help of Allah (SubHana Wa Ta`ala). Young Man: I have 3 questions: Does God exist? If so, show me His shape. What is takdir (faith)? If Satan (Devil) was created from the fire, why at the end he will be thrown to hell that also created from fire. It certainly will not hurt him at all, since Satan (Devil) and the Hell were created from fire. Did God not think of it this far? Suddenly, the Scholar slapped the young man's face very hard. Young Man (feeling pain): Why do you get angry at me? Scholar: I am not angry. The slap is my answer to your three questions. Young Man: I really don't understand. Scholar: How do you feel after I slapped you? Young Man: Of course, I felt the pain. Scholar: So do you believe that pain exists? Young Man: Yes. Scholar: Show me the shape of the pain! Young Man: I cannot. Scholar: 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? Young Man: No. Scholar: Did you ever think that you will get a slap from me, today? Young Man: No. Scholar: That is takdir (fate)........ My hand that I used to slap you, what is it created from? Young Man: It is created from skin. Scholar: How about your face, what is it created from? Young Man: Skin. Scholar: How do you feel after I slapped you? Young Man: In pain. Scholar: Even though Satan (Devil) and also the hell were created from the fire, if Allah wants, Inshallah (God willing), the hell will become a very painful place for Satan (Devil). --------------------------- In 1971 Egypt, one the first women had graduated from University of Cairo with an Engineering degree. Due to her aptitude, she along with nineteen other males had been awarded a summer long scholarship in Russia. "Alone with nineteen other men. No way." But her father was for this idea, and was eventually able to persuade the mother. After the parents had dropped off their daughter at the airport, her mother confided in her father that it was like they had just buried their daughter and were on the way home. The father said to this, "If the nineteen other men are devils are and we have, Inshallah, raised her a good Muslimah then she will Inshallah make the nineteen men into angels." She had never forgotten the level of trust her father had in her and today she a senior Engineer. --------------------------- Your role models come to you from today As her son tells us, a senior women in a Muslim land decided that all the vanity that normally happens in the gatherings of women was not for her. She turned to Salah and praying at night, and in her old age, she found herself calling to her son one night from her prayer room. He son says, "I came in and she was in Sajda (prostration) saying that she was paralyzed!" Her son took her to the doctors and she began a cycle of rehabilitation, but there was little hope. She then commanded her son to take her back home, take her back to her prayer room, and take her back to that Sajdah. As she prayed to Allah (SWT) in her sajdah, the night came when she called to her son. "Astawdi'ukallaah alladhee laa yadee'u wa daa'i'uh (I leave you in the trust of Allah, and whenever something is left in Allah's trust it is never lost)." She passed away in her sajdah. Her muscles froze in that position and couldn't be straightened, and so they had to wash her body as she was in Sajdah. They prayed Janazah for her as her body was in Sajdah. They carried her to the grave yard as her body was in Sajdah. They buried her as she was in Sajdah. And the Prophet said that we shall all be resurrected on what we died on, she shall be resurrected on the day of Judgment in Sajdah to Allah (SWT) ---because that it how she lived and died. --------------------------- The townspeople of nearby city of Mecca had recently converted to Islam and were requesting an Imam for their new Masjid. With all the most knowledgeable population of Mecca already serving as Imams of other newly converted cities, the leader of Mecca sent the most pious among them. The man send though exceptionally dutiful of Islam was nonetheless an uneducated and simple man. The now Muslim community welcomed him warmly and were excited as they had been eagerly anticipating an Imam for their new Masjid. He lead them daily in the five prayers, but since a Friday Khutaba (lecture) shows the true knowledge of a good Imam they keenly awaited for Friday to hear his Khutaba. When Friday arrived, the Azaan was called and the appointed man nervously rose to the pulpit. Standing high above, he was baffled on what he could possibly speak talk to them about. After thinking to himself, he asked the people, "Do you know what I'm going to talk about today?" The people obviously answered in the negative, having as much of clue as he did. He then condescendingly replied to the people, "Well, if you don't know what I'm going to talk about, why did you come?" Thereby, quickly making his way out of the Masjid. The townspeople once again waited for the next Friday to come still anticipating to hear his Khutaba. The Azaan was once again called and the sent man again ascended to the platform, just as bewildered as before on what to say. Again he put the same question to the audience "Do you know what I'm going to talk about today?" The group not wanting him to leave again answered "Yes." Gladly he replied, "Well, if you know what I'm going to talk about why did you come?" And again making a prompt exit from the Masjid. For the third week the citizens arrived at the Friday prayer still optimist on hearing a speech from their leader. The Azaan was called and he came raised to the pulpit now confident he could get by without ever making a address to the town And again he put his question "Do you know what I'm going to talk about today?" The inhabitants of the town had previously met and this time cleverly half responded by half saying "No" and the other half responding "Yes." The man quietly thought to himself for a moment and countered. "This is very simple. Those of you who know what I'm going to talk about should simply tell those that don't know." And again he made his way out. Read a fascinating story of a King converting to Islam at the hands of Muslim "pirates" |
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