Love you over and over

A young boy lived in a village with his uncle who was a grumpy old man who never expressed any affection for his nephew. The boy's parents had died when he was a baby and the uncle was his only family. He often felt lonely and would watch with great sadness when walking through the village and seeing a mother who held her child's hand or put her arm around his shoulders or spoke gentle words of love and affection. The boy wished that just once someone would speak to him such words of endearment and affirmation.

One day he walked far from the village and found a place in a valley surrounded by mountains. He watched a bird flying high above him and out of loneliness cried out, "I love you." To his great surprise, he heard "I love you" over and over, and each time it was repeated, it grew fainter and fainter. The boy did not know it was an echo. Then he shouted, "You are so good" and again the echo reverberated the message many times. After that the boy often came to this spot and would call out, just to hear a positive message of love returned to his ear.

Years later he would tell the story to his own son, explaining that he thought at the time that God was speaking to him and providing him with the kind and affectionate words that he so desperately wanted to hear. The lonely sad boy was now a father who held his own child's hand, put his arm around his shoulder, and spoke gentle loving words to him. And he taught his son to always remember that what we give out in goodness comes back to us many times over

Forgiveness: A Lesson From Buddha

The Buddha was sitting under a tree talking to his disciples when a man came and spit on his face. He wiped it off, and he asked the man, “What next? What do you want to say next?” The man was a little puzzled because he himself never expected that when you spit on somebody’s face, he will ask, “What next?” He had no such experience in his past. He had insulted people and they had become angry and they had reacted. Or if they were cowards and weaklings, they had smiled, trying to bribe the man. But Buddha was like neither, he was not angry nor in any way offended, nor in any way cowardly. But just matter-of-factly he said, “What next?” There was no reaction on his part.
Buddha’s disciples became angry, they reacted. His closest disciple, Ananda, said, “This is too much, and we cannot tolerate it. He has to be punished for it. Otherwise everybody will start doing things like this.”
Buddha said, “You keep silent. He has not offended me, but you are offending me. He is new, a stranger. He must have heard from people something about me, that this man is an atheist, a dangerous man who is throwing people off their track, a revolutionary, a corrupter. And he may have formed some idea, a notion of me. He has not spit on me, he has spit on his notion. He has spit on his idea of me because he does not know me at all, so how can he spit on me?
“If you think on it deeply,” Buddha said, “he has spit on his own mind. I am not part of it, and I can see that this poor man must have something else to say because this is a way of saying something. Spitting is a way of saying something. There are moments when you feel that language is impotent: in deep love, in intense anger, in hate, in prayer. There are intense moments when language is impotent. Then you have to do something. When you are angry, intensely angry, you hit the person, you spit on him, you are saying something. I can understand him. He must have something more to say, that’s why I’m asking, “What next?”
The man was even more puzzled! And Buddha said to his disciples, “I am more offended by you because you know me, and you have lived for years with me, and still you react.”
Puzzled, confused, the man returned home. He could not sleep the whole night. When you see a Buddha, it is difficult, impossible to sleep again the way you used to sleep before. Again and again he was haunted by the experience. He could not explain it to himself, what had happened. He was trembling all over and perspiring. He had never come across such a man; he shattered his whole mind and his whole pattern, his whole past.
The next morning he was back there. He threw himself at Buddha’s feet. Buddha asked him again, “What next? This, too, is a way of saying something that cannot be said in language. When you come and touch my feet, you are saying something that cannot be said ordinarily, for which all words are a little narrow; it cannot be contained in them.” Buddha said, “Look, Ananda, this man is again here, he is saying something. This man is a man of deep emotions.”
The man looked at Buddha and said, “Forgive me for what I did yesterday.”
Buddha said, “Forgive? But I am not the same man to whom you did it. The Ganges goes on flowing, it is never the same Ganges again. Every man is a river. The man you spit upon is no longer here. I look just like him, but I am not the same, much has happened in these twenty-four hours! The river has flowed so much. So I cannot forgive you because I have no grudge against you.”
“And you also are new. I can see you are not the same man who came yesterday because that man was angry and he spit, whereas you are bowing at my feet, touching my feet. How can you be the same man? You are not the same man, so let us forget about it. Those two people, the man who spit and the man on whom he spit, both are no more. Come closer. Let us talk of something else.”

The Blind Boy

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: ‘I am blind, please help.’ There were only a few coins in the hat.
A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words.
He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, ‘Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?’
The man said, ‘I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.’
What he had written was: ‘Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.’
Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?
Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind.
Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?
Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have.Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.

The Caliph and the New Clothes – An Eid Story

Two little boys came running to their mother with a request. “Jarir and Mughiz have both got new clothes for Eid. Can we have some new clothes as well?”
Their mother, Fatima bint Abdul Malik, was no ordinary woman. Her father, grandfather and each of her four brothers were at one time or another Caliph and leader of the believers. In fact, her own husband was the present Caliph, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz – who ruled the world’s largest empire that stretched from the Atlantic to the Indian oceans. She promised them that she would check with their father to see if the two princes could have new clothes for Eid.
When Umar ibn Abdul Aziz returned home, his wife related the children’s request to him. The Caliph had a pained look in his eyes. “Fatima, you know how much I value my children, but all the money I have is in front of you”, he said motioning towards the sparsely furnished hut.
Though a Caliph, Umar took care to live honestly and did much to ensure justice. Fatima agreed with her husband, but she said that maybe it would be possible to buy very cheap clothes for the children and they’d just be happy with something new to wear. Finally, the Caliph agreed and wrote a letter to his treasurer requesting that his pay be advanced a month early so that he could buy his children something to wear on Eid.
But the honest and pious Caliph had an equally honest treasurer. The reply he got was this: “Amir Ul-Mumineen, I have great respect for you and I trust and obey you completely. However, if you could guarantee to me that you will live through the next month and do your service to the people (which will entitle you to your pay) then the money can be advanced to you. If you cannot give the assurance of your life, then how can the treasury pay you?”
Caliph Umar ibn Abdul Aziz realised his mistake. Fatima bint Abdul Malik, washed her children’s old tattered clothes for Eid day and sent them out to play. One has to wonder if they were made from the same dust as us.
Once we (Muslims) were kings on this Earth, but it wasn’t because we were large in number that we were respected. It wasn’t because we were powerful that we were victorious. It wasn’t because we were successful that we were admired. It wasn’t because our women were beautiful that they were treated with honour and dignity. It wasn’t because we were intelligent that our example was emulated. It was all due to the faith of Islam. Sometimes, it’s worthwhile reflecting on how far we’ve fallen so we know how high we need to climb.
Eid Mubarak everyone.

For the rulers of today

The Story of Hazrat Abdul Aziz RA and the Pearl
The story is told of the Caliph Hazrat Abdul Aziz RA that he had a pearl of great beauty and value set in a ring.
Shortly after, a severe drought occurred, causing great distress among the people. Moved by compassion, the king ordered the pearl be sold and the money it fetched to be given to the poor.

Someone chided him for doing this, saying, “Never again will such a stone come into thy hands.”

Weeping, the king replied, “Ugly is an ornament upon the person of a king when the hearts of his people are distressed by want. Better for me is a stoneless ring than a sorrowing people.”


Happy is he who sets the ease of others above his own. The virtuous desire not their own pleasure at the expense of others. When kings sleep neglectfully upon their couches, I do not trust that beggars find enviable repose.

The Sun and the Wind

Long ago, the wind and the sun decided to have a challenge to see who was more powerful. So they looked to the earth and saw a man wrapped in a cloak walking along a path and felt that this man would make a good example as to who was the more powerful of the two. They decided to see who could get the man to remove his cloak first.

The wind decided to go first and tried to blow the man's cloak off of him. When it wouldn't come off, he blew harder and harder with all his might and could not get the cloak off the man. In fact, the man only drew the cloak tighter and tighter to his body. When the wind exhausted all of his might, there the man sat with his cloak wrapped tightly around him still.

So the sun took it's turn and just shined on the man with no effort...just a nice warm glow. After time, the man began to loosen his grip on the cloak. Then after a while longer, he began to sweat. And finally after some waiting and some patience from the sun, the man finally removed his cloak thus declaring the sun the winner.

The moral here is that when dealing with people (in dawah or otherwise), approaching them with harshness will only cause them to draw further away from you and make them more tight-lipped. The key is to have sabr and give the charity that all can give whether rich or poor...a smile. Then people will be more open with you and share what is in their hearts, thus causing you to be able to know the real; the only thing worth truly knowing in any of us.

May Allah guide us all.

Self Seeing

In one of his pilgrimages to Mecca there was such a shortage of water that people were dying of thirst. Bayazid came across a place where people were gathered around a well, so thirsty that they were fighting among one another. In the middle of all this commotion he saw a wretched dog that was clearly dying of thirst. The dog looked at Bayazid and somehow conveyed to him that Bayazid’s real mission should be getting water for the dog. He came up with a plan and began announcing, “Does anyone want to buy the merit of a hajj pilgrimage in exchange for some water?” Not receiving any response from people, he began to increase his part of the bargain, raising his hajj journeys to five, six, seven and finally to seventy in exchange for some water. At last, someone said that he was willing, giving Bayazid the water in exchange for the merits of seventy hajj journeys. It is at this point in the story that Bayazid’s ego gets him into trouble. Right after the transaction took place, he began to feel proud of his action and pleased with himself for doing such a noble act of selflessness. Full of himself and proud of his action, Bayazid put the bowl of water in front of the dog, but the dog did not accept the water and turned away. Now a man of Bayazid’s caliber looks for the divine message even from a dog, and Bayazid felt sorely ashamed of himself for his pride. At this point, he heard a message from God, “How long are you going to say I have done this and I have done that? Don’t you see that even a dog does not accept your charitable act?” At once, Bayazid repented of his act of self-seeing.

Adapted from Aflaki 1983, vol. II, p. 671

In one of his pilgrimages to Mecca there was such a shortage of water that people were dying of thirst. Bayazid came across a place where people were gathered around a well, so thirsty that they were fighting among one another. In the middle of all this commotion he saw a wretched dogthat was clearly dying of thirst. The dog looked at Bayazid and somehow conveyed to him that Bayazid’s real mission should be getting water for the dog. He came up with a plan and began announcing, “Does anyone want to buy the merit of a hajj pilgrimage in exchange for some water?” Not receiving any response from people, he began to increase his part of the bargain, raising his hajj journeys to five, six, seven and finally to seventy in exchange for some water. At last, someone said that he was willing, giving Bayazid the water in exchange for the merits of seventy hajj journeys. It is at this point in the story that Bayazid’s ego gets him into trouble. Right after the transaction took place, he began to feel proud of his action and pleased with himself for doing such a noble act of selflessness. Full of himself and proud of his action, Bayazid put the bowl of water in front of the dog, but the dog did not accept the water and turned away. Now a man of Bayazid’s caliber looks for the divine message even from a dog, and Bayazid felt sorely ashamed of himself for his pride. At this point, he heard a message from God, “How long are you going to say I have done this and I have done that? Don’t you see that even a dog does not accept your charitable act?” At once, Bayazid repented of his act of self-seeing.

Adapted from Aflaki 1983, vol. II, p. 671

The one you feed

An elderly Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life…He said to them, “A fight is going on inside me, it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil—he is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride,competition, superiority, and ego.

The other is good—he is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too.” They thought about it for a minute, and then one child asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win, Grandfather?”

The Elder simply replied, “The one you feed.”

A Story With A Moral…Being Happy.

On a certain occasion, during an elegant welcoming reception for the new Director of a company, some of the wives of the other directors, who wanted to get acquainted with the new spouse, asked her with some hesitation: “Does your husband make you happy?”

The husband, who at the moment was not at her side, but was sufficiently near to hear the question, paid attention to the conversation, sitting up slightly, feeling secure, even filling his chest lightly in pride, knowing that his spouse would answer affirmatively, since she had always been there for him during their marriage. Nevertheless, to both his and the others’ surprise, she replied simply:

“No, no he doesn’t make me happy…”

The room became uncomfortably silent, as if everyone were listening to the spouse’s response. The husband was petrified. He couldn’t believe what his wife was saying, especially at such an important occasion for him. To the amazement of her husband and of everyone, she simply placed enigmatically on her head an elegant black silk scarf and continued:

“No, he doesn’t make me happy… I AM HAPPY. The fact that I am happy or not doesn’t depend on him, but on me. I am the only person upon which my happiness depends. I make the choice to be happy in each situation and in each moment of my life. If my happiness were to depend on other people, on other things or circumstances on the face of this earth, I would be in serious trouble! Over my life I have learned a couple of things: I decide to be happy and the rest is a matter of ‘experiences or circumstances;’ like helping, and understanding, accepting, listening, consoling; and with my spouse, I have lived and practiced this many times.”

Moral: Happiness will always be found in forgiveness and in loving yourself and others. To truly love is difficult, it is to forgive unconditionally, to live, to take the “experiences or circumstances” as they are, facing them together and being happy with conviction. There are those who say:

• I cannot be happy because I am sick.
• Because I have no money.
• Because it’s too cold.
• because they insulted me.
• Because someone stopped loving me.
• Because someone didn’t appreciate me.

But what you don’t know is that you can be happy even though you are sick, whether it is too hot, whether you have money or not, Whether someone has insulted you, Or someone didn’t love you, or hasn’t valued you.

Being Happy is an attitude about life and each one of us must decide!

Being Happy, depends on you!

Do Not Ever Let Go

Hafiz Sa’di Shirazi (RA) writes regarding his childhood, “The days of childhood were so wonderful.  I still remember this incident from my childhood, when I was with my father and he took me to the ‘Eid fair.  My father had told me to hold on to him and never let go of him.  There were people in large numbers gathered and it was extremely crowded.  It was difficult to see anything due to the crowd.  Suddenly  I realized that I became separated from my father and as a result I began to cry loudly and profusely.  My father was also worried and eventually found me.  He held me by my ear and and scolded me, “O insolent child! Did I not tell you to hold on to me and never let go of me?! You did not care and that is why you got lost.”

This incident of my childhood became a beacon of guidance for me throughout my entire life and taught me a very valuable lesson:

Those who let go of their elders becomes lost forever in the carnival of this world.”

Love and Time

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left, except for Love.

Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,
“Richness, can you take me with you?”Richness answered, “No, I can’t. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you.”

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. “Vanity, please help me!”
“I can’t help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat,” Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked, “Sadness, let me go with you.”
“Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!”

Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

Suddenly, there was a voice, “Come, Love, I will take you.” It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed to the elder, Love asked Knowledge, another elder, “Who Helped me?”
“It was Time,” Knowledge answered.
“Time?” asked Love. “But why did Time help me?”
Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, “Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is.”

A Story With A Moral…The Value Of A Mother….

After having reached at the peak of his career a man felt an urge to repay back to his mother for all that she had done for him. So he asked her, “Mother, what can I give you? What can I do for you? I sincerely want to repay you for all the sacrifices you have made for me and for all the love you have showered upon me.”

Mother looked surprised and said, “Why do you think about it. It was my duty so I did it, you don’t have to repay me. Even if you want to, there is no way a man can ever repay his mother.”

 Despite her continuous refusal to ask for anything, he continued to persist. To put an end to the discussion, she said, “All right. If you must, then tonight you sleep on my bed, with me, just as you used to when you were a baby.” He said, “That’s a strange thing to ask for, but if it pleases you, I will.”

 As soon as he fell asleep, the mother got up and brought a bucket of water. She poured a mug full of water on his side. Feeling disturbed by the wetness under him, in his sleep he moved away to the other side of the bed. As he settled down, his mother poured another mug of water on the other side. In his slumber he tried to find space towards the foot post of the bed. Sometime later he woke up feeling that this part of the bed too was damp. He got up and saw his mother, with the mug in her hand.

He asked angrily, “What are you doing mother? Why don’t you let me sleep? How do you expect me to sleep on a wet bed?”

 Mother said, “I slept with you, when you wetted the bed in the night. I changed your nappy and moved you to the dry part of the bed, while I slept on the wet side. You wanted to repay me. Can you sleep here even for one night with me on a damp bed? If you can, I’ll take it that you have repaid me.”

 Moral: How true it is that of all the debts in the world, the one that can never be repaid is the one you owe to our mother. We can never repay the love, care and time our mother gave to bring us up. We are a part of her flesh and blood, we should don’t forget this, because she never ever forgets it. I know you are thinking of missing your mother at this very moment….Give her a hug and tell her you love her, if you far call her, if she is not with you anymore keep her in your dua’s…

“There is nothing as beautiful as our mother in this world”

The Carpenter

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 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 SWT 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.

One in a thousand

"It is related that one night Shaykh Bayazid went outside the city and found everything wrapped in deep silence, free from the clamour of men. The moon was shedding her radiance upon the world and by her light made night as brilliant as the day. Stars innumerable shone like jewels in the heavens above, each pursuing its appointed task. For a long time the Shaykh made his way across the open country and found no movement therein, nor saw a single soul.

Deeply moved by this he cried:
"O Lord, my heart is stirred within me by this Thy Court displayed in all its splendour and sublimity, yet none are found here to give Thee the adoring worship which is thy due. Why should this be, O Lord?

Then the hidden voice of God spoke to him:
"O thou who art bewildered in the Way, know that the King does not grant admission to every passer-by. So exalted is the Majesty of His Court that not every beggar can be admitted thereto. When the Splendour of My Glory sheds abroad its radiance from this My sanctuary, the heedless and those who are wrapped in the sleep of indolence are repelled thereby. Those who are worthy of admittance to this Court wait for long years, until one in a thousand of them wins entrance thereto."

No religion would be complete without providing the path for the "one in a thousand". Islam as an integral tradition and the last plenary message of Heaven to the present humanity has preserved to this day the possibility of following the interior life, a life which, although actualized fully only by the few, has cast its light and spread its perfume over all authentic manifestations of the Islamic tradition.

The farmer who followed his dream | a palestinian folk-tale

In the village of Sirees there lived a poor farmer. He lived in a small house with two lemon trees in a garden at the front. The farmer and his seven children worked all year round, but money was short.

One morning, while they were having breakfast, his wife said, "You look worried. What is the matter?"

The farmer replied, "I had a dream last night, and I can't explain it. I dreamt that I had to go to Jerusalem - I don't know why - and had to wait at a certain place by Damascus Gate."

"Wait for what?" asked his wife.

"That's it," said the farmer. "I have no idea what I was waiting for."

He went off to work and by the end of the day forgotten all about his dream. But that night and night after, he had the same dream again.

After having same dream three times and consulting with his wife, he decided to follow the dream's instruction. After three days of walking (being poor he couldn't afford to hire a horse or mule), he reached Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. There he stood and waited. People came and went, bought and sold, went to work and came back. Everyone passed by him and still he waited.

The farmer waited and waited and waited, but nothing happened. Night came, shops closed, people went home, but still he waited. Next day, same thing happened. On the third day he was still there.

On the third night, as the shops were closing, a man approached and said, "I own the leather shop just behind you, and I noticed you have been standing the same spot for the last three days. What is your story?"

The farmer told the shopkeeper about his dream, "... and as you can see, I am still waiting for something to happen."

The shopkeeper laughed and laughed and said, "Thats the craziest thing I've ever heard. You walked for three days and waited here for three days and nights - just because of your dream?"

"Well, yes," now embarrassed farmer said.

The shopkeeper laughed even more and said, "Go home. You have already wasted six working days. If everyone left their jobs to follow their dreams, no work would ever get done. Take me, for example. I had the same dream every night for seven nights, and in the dream I saw treasure buried between two lemon trees in a garden in front of a small house in a village called Sss - see, I can't even remember the name! Do you really think I am crazy enough to close my shop and go to that godforsaken place to look for treasure I saw in dream? I..."

Before the shopkeeper could finish, he saw to his surprise that the farmer had disappeared up the road out of sight

The story of the three old men

A woman came out of her house and saw three
old men with long white beards sitting in
her front yard. She did not recognize them.
She said ‘I don’t think I know you,
but you must be hungry.
Please come in and have something to eat.’

They asked, Is the man of the house in the house?

She replied, no he is out


They replied, Then we cannot come in.

In the evening when her husband came home,
she told him what had happened

he said: ‘ Go tell them I am in
the house and invite them in ‘

The woman went out and invited the men in .

They replied, we don’t go into the house together.

She asked, Why is that?

One of the old men explained :
‘His name is Wealth ,’
he said as pointing to one of his friends,
and said, pointing to another one , ‘He is Success,
and I am Love ‘
Then he added, ‘Now go in and discuss
with your husband which
one of us you want in your home .’


The woman went in and told
her husband what was said.

Her husband was overjoyed
he said, How nice ! since that is the case,
let us invite Wealth
Let him come and fill our home with wealth !

His wife disagreed .
‘ My dear, why don’t we invite Success ?’

Their daughter in law was listening from
the other corner of the house.
She jumped in with her own suggestion
: ‘ Would it not be better to invite Love ?
Our home will then be filled with love .’

‘Let us heed/follow our daughter in law’ s
advice,’ said the husband to his wife !

‘Go out and invite Love to be our guest.’

The woman went out and asked the three
old men , ‘Which one of you is Love ?
Please come in and be our guest .’

Love got up and started walking toward the house.
The other two also got up and followed him.
Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success :
‘I only invited Love ; Why are you coming in?’


The old men replied together : ‘If you had invited
Wealth or Success , the other two of us would’ve
stayed out, but since you invited Love ,
wherever He goes, we go with him.
Wherever there is Love, there is also
Wealth and Success.

This too shall pass

A Sufi village was attacked and captured by a group of warriors. The king of the victorious tribe called the Sufi leader and said that unless they could tell him what would make him “happy when he was sad, and sad when he was happy,” the entire village would be put to death the following morning.

The village people constructed a large bonfire, and all night long their wise men and women strove to answer the king’s question: What could make a person happy when he is sad, sad when he is happy? Finally, sunrise came and the king entered the village. Approaching the wise ones he asked, “Have you fulfilled my request?” One of the wise men then reached into a pouch and presented the king with a gold ring. The king was perplexed. “I have no need for gold,” he exclaimed. “How can this ring make me happy when I am sad, and sad when I am happy ?” The the king looked again and saw an inscription. It read “THIS TOO SHALL PASS.”

A story of an Arab Lady

An elderly Arab lady was sitting at the trunk of a tree, on the way to Haj. Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) happened to pass that way. He was also heading for Baitullah, for Hajj, and to the Sacred tomb of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu ?layhi Wasallam). Seeing this lady very disturbed and in a state of despair, (distressed) he spoke to her. The discussion is recorded as follows:

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullah

The lady: “The word from a merciful Lord is Peace” (Surah 36 Aayat 58). She meant that the reply of salaam is from Allah, Most High, Himself.

She said further: “Those whom Allah sendeth astray, there is no guide for them.” (Surah 7 Aayat 186). She meant that she has lost her way.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Where are you coming from?

The lady: “Glorified be He who carried His servant by night from the Musjid-e-Aqsa (invioble place of worship) to the Musjid-e-Haraam” (Far distant place of worship) (Surah17 Aayat1). She meant that she had come from Musjid-e-Aqsa.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): How long are you in this place?

The lady: “For three nights” (Surah 19 Aayat10).

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): What arrangements are made for your food?

The lady: “And who (Allah) feedeth me and watereth me” (Surah 26 Aayat 79). She meant that somehow or the other, her food is provided to her by Allah.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Is there any water for Wudhu?

The lady: “And ye find not water, then go to high clean soil and (make tayammum) rub your faces and hands.” (therewith) (Surah 4 Aayat 43). She meant that she makes tayammum, due to not finding water.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Here is some food. Partake of it.

The lady: “Strictly observe the fast till nightfall” (Surah 2 Aayat 187). She indicated that she is fasting.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): This is not the month of Ramadaan.

The lady: “And he who does good of his own accord (for him) lo! Allah is responsive, aware”. (Surah 2 Aayat158) meaning that I have observed an optional (nafl) fast.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): It is permitted to break the fast when in a journey.

The lady: “And that ye fast is better for you, if you did but know.” (Surah 2 Aayat 184)

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Speak like how I speak.

The lady: “He (man) uttereth no word but there is with him an observer ready” (Surah 50 Aayat 18). She meant that since every word of a person is observed and recorded, she is taking precaution by speaking only in the words of the Holy Quran.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Which clan do you belong to?

The lady: “Follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge, lo! The hearing and the sight and heart of each of these it will be asked” (Surah 17 Aayat36). She meant those things that you have no knowledge of, nor do they concern you, you are wasting your strength (senses) by enquiring about them.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Forgive me. I have certainly made a mistake.

The lady: “Have no fear this day. May Allah forgive you” (Surah 12 Aayat 92)

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Would you like to travel on my camel and meet your caravan?

The lady: “And whatsoever good ye do Allah knoweth it” (Surah 2 Aayat 197). Meaning that if you will do this good deeds towards me, Allah will recompense you for it.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Well, then you may mount it.

Saying this he made the camel to sit down.

The lady: “Tell the believing men (when confronted by women) to lower their gaze”. (Surah 24 Aayat 30).

Hadhrat Abdullah understood and (turned) looked away. While she was mounting, the camel jerked and her clothes got estrangled in the saddle (dorsers) and she proclaimed: “whatever of misfortune striketh you, it is what your hands have earned.” (Surah 42 Aayat 30).

In other words she was drawing Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak’s (RA) attention towards this mishap. Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) understood and he tied the legs of the camel and he straightened the straps of the saddle (or dorser).

She applauded him for his proficiency and capability by saying “And we made Sulaiman to understand” (Surah 21 Aayat 79). When the journey was about to begin, the lady recited the Aayats which are read when undertaking a journey “Glorified be he who hath subdued these unto us, and we were not capable (of subduing them). And lo, unto our Lord we are returning.” (Surah 43 Aayat 13).

Hadhrat Abdullh bin Mubarak (RA) held the bridle (or nose string) of the camel. He began to hum the (Huddi) famous Arabic song for travelling, and he started walking very fast.

The lady: “Be modest in thy bearing and subdue thy voice” (Surah 31 Aayat 19). Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) understood. He began walking slower and he lowered his voice.

The lady: “Recite of the Quran that which is easy for you.” She meant that instead of humming the Huddi, he should rather recite the Holy Quran.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) began reciting the Holy Quran.

The lady became very pleased and said “but none remember (accept advice) except men of understanding” (Surah 2 Aayat 269).

After reciting the Holy Quran for a while, Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) asked (the lady if she had a husband) (if he was alive) “O Aunt, have have you a husband? (meaning is he living)

The lady: “O you who believe, ask not of things which if they were made known unto you, would trouble you” (Surah 5 Aayat 101). She meant that no questions should be asked regarding this matter which indicated that her husband has most probably passed away. Finally they (caught up) met the caravan.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Do you have any son or relative (friend) in this caravan who has connection (contact) with you?

The lady: “Wealth and children are an ornament of life of the world” (Surah 18 Aayat 46). She meant that her sons were with this caravan and he has provisions with him.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): What work are your sons doing for the caravan? (Hadhrat Abdullah’s object for asking was to make it easy for him to recognise her son).

The lady: “And landmarks, and by the star they find a way” (Surah 16 Aayat 16). She meant that he is a guide for the caravan.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Can you tell me their name?

The lady: “Allah chose Ibrahim as (for) a friend” (Surah 4 Aayat 125). And Allah spoke directly unto Moosa” (Surah 19 Aayat 12). By reciting these Aayats the lady informed him that her sons names were Yahya, Ibrahim and Moosa.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) called out these names in the caravan and immediately three young people came forward.

The lady: (addressing her children) “Now send one of you with this your silver coin unto the city. And let him see what food is purest there and bring you a supply thereof” (Sura 18 Aayat 19) In other words she instructed them to feed Hadhrat Abdullah (RA).

When the food was brought, she told Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): “Eat and drink at ease for that which ye sent on before you in the past days.” (Surah 69 Aayat 24), and with this Aayat she recited another Aayat, the object of which was to convey (show) her gratefulness to him for his good conduct and courtesy. The Aayat was: “Is the reward of goodness aught save goodness?” (Surah 55 Aayat 60).

Their conversation terminated on this Aayat. The lady’s son informed Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) that his mother has been speaking in this manner, i.e. using only the Aayats of the Holy Quran in her speech, for the last forty years.

“Unlearned or illiterate”

There are various points in life that are deep thought provoking to a man. He gets speechless by not only the “Listener” but also he gets completely unaware of the environment around him. He cannot hear to the voices around him…!! Then slightly he starts feeling that there is still a sound….that is the heart-b...eat..!!
I was always fond of doing tough tasks..! even in my exams I used to attempt the toughest question..!! I don,t know why but the toughest thing seems easy to me..!! I could work on any of the computer programming language and also I read every book related to programming language and by the grace of Allah (God) I never faced any difficulty..!! but one day somebody asked me like this “Have u ever read Quran??”

And I replied Quran is really tough…I cant understand it…not only Arabic but I cant even understand its urdu translation..and so Quran is hard to understand and read…in response to this that I said the enquirer asked me just this:
“what is the benefit of all these certificates that u are achieving? Have u ever tried to have a certificate from Allah? And He (Allah) grants the certificate through only a book (Quran).. After death when u will be realive infront of Him(Allah) so what wud u show to Him then..?do u have any certificate from Him? Will u tell Allah that His book is tough or that u never tried to study Allah’s book(Quran).

A Story With A Moral… The Pencil And The Eraser.

Pencil: “I’m sorry.”

Eraser: “For what? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Pencil: “I’m sorry because you get hurt because of me. Whenever I made a mistake, you’re always there to erase it. But as you make my mistakes vanish, you lose a part of yourself. You get smaller and smaller each time.”

Eraser: “That’s true. But I don’t really mind. You see, I was made to do this. I was made to help you whenever you do something wrong. Even though one day, I know I’ll be gone and you’ll replace me with a new one, I’m actually happy with my job. So please, stop worrying. I hate seeing you sad.”

Moral: I found this conversation between the pencil and the eraser very inspirational. Parents are like the eraser whereas their children are the pencil. They’re always there for their children, cleaning up their mistakes. Sometimes along the way, they get hurt, and become smaller / older, and eventually pass on. Though their children will eventually find someone new (spouse), but parents are still happy with what they do for their children, and will always hate seeing their precious ones worrying, or sad. All my life, I’ve been the pencil. And it pains me to see the eraser that is my parents getting smaller and smaller each day. For I know that one day, all that I’m left with would be eraser shavings and memories of what I used to have.

Ranking of a Person Who Repents

Bakr ibn Abdullah al-Muzani is the narrator of this story:

There was once a butcher who fell in love with the daughter of his neighbors. One day, the girl's parents sent her on an errand to the neighboring town. Seeing that she was alone, the butcher follwed her until she reached a seculeded place, where he made his presence known to her. When he tried to seduce her, the girl said, "Do not do so! Indeed, I love you even more than you love me, but I fear Allah."



The butcher's jaws dropped and he said in self-reproach, "You fear Allah and I don't!" He left her alone and repented for his intentions.



On his way back, he became extremely thirsty. He soon came across a Prophet from the Prophets of the Children of Israel. Noticing the expression on the butcher's face, the Prophet asked, "What is the matter with you?"



"Extreme thirst," said the butcher.



"Let us go supplicate to Allah for rain."



"I have no good deed that makes my supplication worthy of being answered," said the butcher.



"Then let me invoke Allah while you say 'Ameen' to my invocations," said the Prophet.



He then began to supplicate, and the butcher said, 'Ameen,' after each of the supplications.



Suddenly, a cloud appeared, rain fell from it into the nearby town, after which it approached the two men. Wherever the butcher walked, the cloud followed after him, instead of hovering over the Prophet.



"You claim that you have no good deeds," said the Prophet. "Yet despite the fact that it was I who suplicated while you said 'ameen' the cloud shaded the city and then it followed you. What is your story?"



The butcher the told him what happened with his neighbor's daughter.



"One who repents to Allah has a ranking that no other person can achieve," said the Prophet

Story of a Wrestler Hazrat Sheikh Junaid-e-Baghdadi

Hazrat Sheikh Junaid-e-Baghdadi (Radi Allahu anhu) 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 Hazrat Sheikh Junaid-e-Baghdadi (Radi Allahu anhu) 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)?"
Hazrat Sheikh Junaid-e-Baghdadi (Radi Allahu anhu)thought to himself, "Today, I have an excellent opportunity."In a display of fervour Hazrat Sheikh Junaid-e-Baghdadi (Radi Allahu anhu) 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, Hazrat Sheikh Junaid-e-Baghdadi (Radi Allahu anhu) 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.

Testing the water

Once a Shaikh was traveling with a few of his followers. While they were passing a lake, Shaikh told one of his disciples, "I am thirsty. Do get me some water from the lake."

The disciple walked up to the lake. At that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy and turbid.
The disciple thought, "How can I give this muddy water to Shaykh to drink?"

So he came back and told Shaikh , "The water in there is v

ery muddy. I don't think it is fit to drink."

After about half an hour, again Shaikh asked the same disciple to go back to the lake.

The disciple went back, and found that the water was still muddy. He returned and informed Shaikh about the same.

After sometime, again Shaikh asked the same disciple to go back.

This time, the disciple found the mud had settled down, and the water was clean and clear. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Shaikh.

Shaikh looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said,

" See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be, and the mud settled down on its own -- and you have clear water."

Your mind is like that too ! When it is disturbed, just let it be.
Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own.
You don't have to put in any effort to calm it down.
It will happen. It is effortless."

A pious young man by the name of Thabit

“One day, a young pious man by the name of Thabit had no food to eat. As he was walking, he came across a garden with an abundance of apple trees. Although the garden was fenced, the trees were so mature that their apples were hanging over the fence. Innocently, he took an apple and started to eat from it. After he finished that apple, he felt an extreme sense of shame and guilt as he did not take permission from the owner of that garden.

The guilt drove him to go and apologize to the owner and ask him what he could do to pay for the apple. To his surprise, the owner said, ‘The only way you can pay me back is by marrying my daughter.’ On the surface, it seemed like a pretty good deal. Then the owner said, ‘But you must know that my daughter is deaf, dumb (unable to speak), and blind.’

Thabit pondered upon this but not too long as he sensed that he had committed a great crime by eating the apple that didn’t belong to him. So he agreed to marry the man’s daughter to absolve himself of the sin. As he entered upon her, to his surprise the woman was beautiful and returned his salaam.

He looked at her and said, ‘But your father said that you are deaf, dumb, and blind!’

She smiled and responded, ‘I am deaf to all forms of backbiting, gossip, and lying, dumb to any thoughts that are displeasing to Allah, and blind to that which Allah has not permitted me to look at.’ It had become clear that Allah SWT had rewarded Thabit for his sincerity, good character, and honesty with a pious woman. Through that woman, Allah would bestow upon Thabit a son by the name of Nouman, otherwise known as Imam Abu Hanifa (RAA).”

Source: The Message International

The Story of the Young Man, the Priest and the Magician

In this story is an admonition for whoever has a heart or lends an ear while he is a witness. Let us therefore reflect and contemplate over this true story while seeking out whatever meanings and shades of ikhlaas are contained within it.

Suhayb (radiallaahu ‘anhu) reports that Allah’s Messenger (salallahu ‘alaiyhi wasallam) said: ‘Amongst the people who were before you was a king who had a magician in his service. When the magician grew old, he said to the king: “I am getting old so appoint a young man to whom I can teach magic.” The king sent him a young man to be taught the art of magic. In the youth’s way to the magician there was a monk to whom he used to stop by and listen. He was so pleased with the speech of the monk that every time he set off to see the magician he would stop by the monk on the way. This would make him late and so the monk told him: “When you are afraid of the magician say: ‘My family kept me’ and when you are afraid of your family say: ‘The magician kept me.’” This matter continued for a while. Once, on his way he came across a beast which had blocked the passage of the people. The young man said to himself: “Now I can see whether the magician is better or the monk.” So he picked up a stone and said: “O Allah! If the conduct of the monk is more pleasing to You than that of the magician then bring about the death of this beast so that the people may pass.” Then he hit the beast with the stone and killed it, enabling the people to pass.

The youth told the monk of this incident and the monk said to him: “My son this day you have taken over me and I perceive that you will be put to trial. If you are put to trial then do not direct the people to me.”

The young man began curing people suffering from blindness at birth, leprosy and all other diseases. This news reached a courier of the king who had became blind and so he went to the young man with many presents and said: “All this will be yours if you cure me.” The young man said to him: “I do not cure anyone, it is Allah alone who cures. If you declare your faith in Allah, I will pray for you and He will grant you your health.” The man declared his faith in Allah and Allah the Exalted cured him. He then went to the royal court and sat there. The king questioned him: “Who has restored your sight?” He said: “My Lord!” The king said to him: “Do you have a Lord besides me?” The courtier replied: “My Lord and your Lord is Allah.” The king ordered the man to be arrested and tortured until he disclosed the name of the young man. The young man was brought before the king who said to him: “My son, you have reached such skill in your magic that you can cure people with blindness, leprosy and whatever else.” The young man replied: “It is not me who heals but it is Allah the Exalted who heals.” He was then taken and tortured until he disclosed the whereabouts of the monk. Then the monk was brought in front of the king and ordered to revoke his religion, but he refused. The king sent for a saw which was place in the middle of the monk’s head and he was sawn in half. Then the king’s courtier and called for and he also was asked to recant from his religion. He too refused and the saw was placed in the middle of his head and he was sawn in half.

Then the young man was brought forward and was asked to denounce his religion. He refused to do so. The king entrusted the young man to his men and told them: “Take him to such and such a mountain. When you reach the top and he still refuses to turn back from his religion, throw him off it.” They took him to the top of the mountain and the young man supplicated: “O Allah! Suffice me against them in whatever you way You will.” The mountain began to shake and the men fell off it. The young man came walking to the king who said to him: “What have your companions done?” He said: “Allah delivered me from them.” He was then given to another group of companions who were ordered to take him in a small boat to the sea and if he refused to return from his religion, to throw him into the sea. They took him along with them and he supplicated: O Allah! Suffice me against them in whatever way You will.” The boat sank and the young man again walked back to the king and said to him: “You will not be able to kill me until you do what I command you.” The king enquired: “What is that?” The young man answered: “Assemble the people in an open space and hang me from the trunk of a palm tree. Then take an arrow from my quiver and place it in the middle of the bow and say: ‘In the name of Allah, the Lord of this young man’, and shoot the arrow at me. If you do this you will be able to kill me.”
The people were made to assemble accordingly and the young man was hung from the trunk of a palm tree. The king took an arrow from his quiver and placing it in the middle of the bow said: “In the name of Allah, the Lord of this young man” and shot it. The arrow struck the boy in the temple who raised his hand to his temple and then died. Seeing this the people said: “We believe in the Lord of this young man.” The king was told: “Look! What you apprehanded has happened. The people declared their faith in the Lord of this young man.”

The king ordered trenches to be dug on both sides of the road and when they were ready, fire was lit in them. It was then announced that any person refusing to denounce his faith would be thrown into the trenches. This took place and a woman came forward accompanied by her baby boy. Se hesitated to be thrown into the fire and the boy said to her: “O Mother! Be firm and show patience as you are indeed upon the truth.”‘38
Look at how Allah responded to the sincere supplications and how the rules and laws of the creation were replaced and altered on account of ikhlaas to Allah, the Exalted. The young man fell into great danger when they took him to the top of the mountain in order to throw him off it. He then called upon Allah with extreme sincerity: ‘O Allah! Suffice me against them in whatever way you will.’ So the mountain shook, his captors fell off it and he came back walking to the king. Ikhlaas has been the cause of his safety from death and he was capable, by the grace of Allah the Sublime, to kill the enemies of Allah by his ikhlaas. Then they took him out to sea in a boat to rid themselves of this sincere (servant) – as they saw ikhlaas to be the secret of his strength – by throwing him into the sea. He again called upon Allah with the sincerity of a servant to his Lord: ‘O Allah! Suffice me against them in whatever way you will.’ The boat capsized with them and they were drowned. He again came back to the king, walking.
This is the ikhlaas by which Allah granted safety to this young man from great danger and by this ikhlaas the end of the enemies of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted was decided.
Then look at how this boy’s ikhlaas grew stronger when he sold his soul for Allah to become a martyr. He sacrificed himself so that the word of ikhlaas would be uttered and expressed all over the earth, that actions may be performed by it and that people may say: ‘We believe in the Lord of the young man.’
He had already said to the king: ‘You will not be able to kill me until you do what I command you.’ The king enquired: ‘What is that?’ The young man answered: ‘Assemble the people in an open space and hang me from the trunk of a palm tree. Then take an arrow from my quiver and place it in the middle of the bow and said: “In the name of Allah, the Lord of this young man” and shoot the arrow at me. If you do this, you will be able to kill me.’ And what was the result of this ikhlaas? The people’s faith in the Lord of the young man. No sooner had this young man died, the people began to say: ‘We believe in the Lord of the young man.’

This is the fruit of the young man’s ikhlaas. A complete mountain of faith by which they remained firm and steadfast in the face of being burnt. What Allah caused the baby boy to say when his mother was hesitant to jump into the fire was also from the fruits of ikhlaas: ‘O Mother! Be firm and show patience as you are indeed upon the truth.’
This baby boy spoke yesterday and yet the mouths of mankind today are closed, not mumbling anything – except upon whom Allah has shown mercy – and how few they are.
‘So is there one who will take admonition?’
_
Footnotes:
38. Reported by Muslim.
39. Suraah al-Qamar (54):32
*The Book of Sincerity by Hussayn al-’Awa’ishah

Bones of Kings

It is stated that once a king went hunting but was left behind by his companions.  While looking for his companions, the king spotted a weak and unhappy young man who was examining some human bones.  The king asked, “How did you become like this and what are you doing in this deserted and frightening place all alone?”  The young man replied, “I'm in such a state because I have a long journey ahead of me.  Two Angels which have been appointed over me (in the form of day & night) are after me and are scaring me and are making me run forward.  Meaning that whatever days and nights pass, they are taking me closer to death.

 Ahead of me I see a dark grave full of pain.  Ah!  Soon I will be left in it to rot and burn.  It will be full of discomfort and worries.  There I will become food for insects, my bones and their joints will be taken apart.  This isn't the end though, after this there is also the Day of Judgement which will be more ferocious.  After all this I don't even know whether I will be sent to Heaven or Allah (az'zawajal) forbid into Hell.  You tell me, how can somebody who knows all this live so happily and safely?”  After hearing this, the king was gripped by sadness and grief.  The king got off from his horse and sat in front of the young man and said, “Oh young man, your words have snatched all my comfort and have taken my heart in their control.  I want to know more.”

The young man said, “These bones that you see collected in front of me are the bones of such kings who fell into the trap of this world.  They themselves conquered people, whilst arrogance conquered their hearts.  These people stayed ignorant of the Hereafter.  All their desires are left unfulfilled and their blessings stopped.  In the graves, their skins have burnt and rotted away whilst their bones have been left unneeded and separated from each other.  Soon, their bones will gain life and will again be covered with flesh and they will receive according to their deeds either a house of blessing (Heaven) or a house of torment (Hell).  After saying this, the young man disappeared and the king couldn't find him anywhere.  When the servants found the King they saw his facial expression of emptiness and big tears flowing down his cheeks.  When the night came, the King took off his luxurious clothes and wrapped himself in two blankets and went into the jungle to do the worship of Allah (az'zawajal).  After this time nobody heard from that King ever again (rahmatullahi ta'ala alaihima).