"Before they call for prayer, I will answer all prayers!"

This story was written by a Muslim doctor who worked in Africa.


One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but
in spite of all we could do she died leaving us with a tiny
premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter.
We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no
incubator.
(We had no electricity to run an incubator.) We also had no special
feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were
often chilly with treacherous drafts.

One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the
cotton wool the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up
the fire and fill a hot water bottle.  She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the
bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates.

And it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed.
It is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might
be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not
grow on trees, and there are no
drugstores down forest pathways.

"All right," I said, "put the baby as near the fire as you safely
can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from
drafts. "Your job is to keep the baby warm."
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with
any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me.

I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about
and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about
keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The
baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the
two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.

During the prayer time, one
ten-year-old girl, prayed with the
usual blunt conciseness of our African children. "Please, Allah,"
she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow,
Allah, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon."

While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by
way of a corollary, "And while You are about it, would You please
send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love
her?"

As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I
honestly say, "Ameen?" I just did not believe that Allah could do
this.

Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything. The Holy Quraan says so.
But there are limits, aren't there? The only way Allah could
answer would be for a package to arrive from the homeland.

I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had
never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send
me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the
equator!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses'
training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my
front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but
there, on the verandah, was a large twenty-two pound
parcel.

I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone,
so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we
pulled off the
string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking
care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting.

Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large
cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted
cotton jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were
the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children
looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and
sultanas-

that would make a batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I put my
hand in again, I felt the...could it really be? I grasped it and
pulled it out -- yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle, I cried.
I had not asked Allah to send it; I had not truly believed
that He could.

The ten year old was in the front row of the children. She rushed
forward, crying out, If Allah has sent the bottle, He must have sent
the dolly, too!"

Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small,
beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted.

Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you, Mummy, and
give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Allah
really loves her?"

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by
my former school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed Allah's
prompting to send a hot water
bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a
dolly for an
African child- five months before -- in answer to the believing
prayer of
a ten- year-old to bring it "that afternoon."

"Before they call for prayer, I will answer all prayers!"

Allah wants us to ask of Him.and he will surely answer

LESSONS TO BE LEARNED:

Don't ever underestimate the POWER OF ALLAH-
Allah can do anything Allah desires
Kids are innocent and pure- Their duas[prayers] are easily and
quickly answered by Allah
The Dedication of this Muslim Doctor - spare time was devoted to
Allah to bring others closer to Him- Lets also become inviters to
ALLAH

Don't forget others are in need.You may never know when you would be in
need!

Always contribute to good causes.you never know the little you give
may save some ones life..or in whichever way it will benefit them.

The story of a poor cloth washer and a British officer

“Tak, tak, tak”
The British officer in colonial Indian who was drinking tea asked loudly, “Who is that?”
“Its me sir, your cloth-washer, I came to take the cloths to wash!”
“Ah… good, how are you?”
“I am fine sir, a thousand thanks to Allah!”
“How are your children? How is the sick child now?”
“Their fine sir, alhamdulillah. One has got malaria and has a fever. But he’ll get well, inshaallah! The other child is fine. All praise to Allah, He is looking after us!”
“Hmm… how is your husband? Until now I couldn’t ask about him.”
“Oh…he died sir, it’s been six years since Allah took him back. Allah does everything according to a plan sir.”

That British official said later this conversion was the reason he embraced Islam. A Muslim reader wouldn’t see anything new here. Like many this sensitive British official was trying to understand the purpose of life, thinking of the best way to succeed in life, still not satisfied from it, a little defeated and unhappy, unable to comprehend the reasons for it, was engaged in a struggle. The contentment and thankfulness radiating from that woman’s face was unusual as well as captivating, he had later said.

Her old cloths and smudged face, her sick child and dead husband, her small income and unsure-ness of the future, yet, with all these things she lived a content life. She couldn’t finish a sentence without thanking almighty Allah. She had many things the noble, wealthy, powerful official didn’t have. He found it difficult to even comprehend this.

We all wish for happiness. But that is a rare thing. Failing to attain it man resorts to crimes, suicide and violence. Craving happiness he strives to live in upper classes of the society, ruthlessly pursuing more power, cruelly taking away others rights. Striving with great difficulty for happiness man sometimes forgets what he was searching and gets mesmerized with lust and luxury. He tries to get happiness in mistaken ways with things like money, respect, power, entertainment, beauty etc.

Someone asked a great Abbasid Caliph “who is the happy man?”. Letting out a long breath he said “A happy man…? I don’t know him. He doesn’t know me either.”

What is the secret of happiness? What is it; many in the world cannot understand, did that unnamed woman know? Feeling secure without any insurance, or feeling safe without any danger signs or locks, in short without any of these she lived happily. But she didn’t keep any secrets. It was revealed from every word she expressed. Understanding the worthlessness of creations she turned towards The Creator with the aspiration of becoming a mu’min (i.e. firm believer). Almighty Allah says

“Those who believe, and whose hearts
find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah:
for without doubt in the remembrance
off Allah do hearts find satisfaction.”

The Price of Imaan

Several years ago an Imaam 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 on the same bus, with the same driver. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him twenty pence 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, it's only twenty pence. 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 Almighty Allah and keep quiet".

When his stop came, the Imaam 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 replied with a smile,
"Aren't you the new Imaam in this area? I have been thinking lately about going to worship at your mosque. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change."

When the Imaam stepped off the bus, his knees became weak and soft. He had to grab the nearest light pole and held it for support, and looked up to the heavens and cried,
"Oh Allah, I almost sold Islam for twenty pence!" ))

Remember, we may never see the impact our actions have on people.

Sometimes we are the only knowledge of Al-Quran someone will read, or the only Islam a non-Muslim will see.

What we need to provide, Insha Allah is an example for others to see. Be careful and be honest everyday, because you never know who is watching your actions and judging you as a Muslim.

And always remember, Syaitaan will NEVER ever leave us alone. Their whispers are so soft yet so powerful. They plant ideas which seem sweet, when actually those ideas are the most sour of all.

So Muslims, fight and fight all the way. You might fall. You might trip. But get up and stand strong right after.

I am trying. Still trying. Still fighting. Help me, Dear Allah.

Quite a big lesson in this little story

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. "What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it." The mouse turned to the lamb and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The lamb sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers." The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose." So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the lamb. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them. The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another. REMEMBER: EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY; OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON. One of the best things to hold onto in this world, beside God is a friend.

The Venerable Usama Learns How to Weep

One day the blessed Prophet was counselling his Companions. As they listened to his sweet words, some of them wept from fear of Allah and some from love of Him. The venerable Usama was the only one not weeping. He lamented his state to the blessed Messenger of Allah, who placed his blessed hands upon his breast and said: ‘ukhruj ya iblis (Out, O Satan!)’ Now at last Usama began to weep. The blessed Messenger turned to his Companions saying: ‘The inability to weep is caused by hardness of heart, hardness of heart is caused by multiplicity of sin, multiplicity of sin is caused by forgetfulness of death, forgetfulness of death is caused by ambitious expectations, ambitious expectations are caused by excessive love of the life in this world.’ The religion of Islam and the Noble Qur’an are censorious of this world. What is this world? It is not wealth, property, status, money, rank, clothes and children. Whatever keeps you from your Lord, that is this world. For instance, a person who owns all this world has to offer, yet does not forget his Lord and serves Him with perfect devotion, that person is no worldly materialist but Allah’s beloved servant, a member of our Prophet’s Community. A poor person, on the other hand, may deserve to be called materialistic if he becomes a beggar and lets his begging prevent him from worshipping his Lord. He is not acceptable in the sight of Allah and His Messenger. In short, while your hands are about their work your heart should be with the beloved. Let the whole world belong to you while you belong to Allah. You should work for this world as if you were immortal, while preparing for the Hereafter as if you would die tomorrow. Treat everyone well. Have compassion for every creature. Be just, loyal, honest, hardworking and upright. That is how you must be, for that is how believers are.

-Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi

A Story of a King

This is a story about a king
Who lived in a marvelous castle,
Full of intricate passage ways,
Rooms and halls.

This castle had five gates
And each day upon awakening,
Feeling alone,
The king would send forth his ministers
Out into the world through these five gates,
Searching for the king’s beloved lost queen.

And each night he would await their return.

Yet never did they come

Then one day,
After shutting the five gates,
He heard a cry--
One he had heard before
But had chosen to ignore.

Sometimes it was a wail,
At other times a wimple,
And sometimes just a sigh.

However, this time he followed,
And down he went
Past all the chandeliered halls.

Down

Down

Down

into  the darkness,
Until he could smell
The stench of the dungeons.

And behind a locked cell
A boy he saw.

And the boy looked at him
And said:
Free me, father.
I want to come home.

And the king opened the cell.
With the boy in hand
They ascended to the king’s throne.

And the king said:
Sit upon the throne;
For only suffering
Have I caused this court.

And the boy did.

The boy called forth new ministers
And told them to go into the world,
And through the five gates they went.

And the king and the boy awaited their return.

To the king’s amazement they returned,
Their eyes wide with joy.

And walking behind them
She walked--
The king’s beloved queen.

And the three ruled together as One.

Janaka was such a king.
And each morning
Sight would fly from his eyes
Smell would grab from his nose
Taste would drip from his mouth
Hearing await in his ears
And feeling would reach through his skin.

And nothing he learned of the world.

Until he shut down the senses
And journeyed past the glittering of the mind,

Following the sorrow,
The longing,

Down past the stench of the guilt of wrong doings.

Until he found the Innocent One
Awaiting patiently in the darkness.

And when the Innocent One
Returned to consciousness,
Janaka truly saw
truly heard
truly smelled
truly tasted
and truly felt.

And truly learned of the world.

For he found his Beloved within it all!