Beautiful woman, who wanted to get married

There was this beautiful woman, who wanted to get married, but she wanted a very pious husband, so she said that she’ll marry the man who recites the whole Quran every single day, fasts for the whole year and stays awake and worships Allah all throughout the night.

She was a very beautiful woman, and a lot of suitors wanted to marry her, but they knew they couldn’t fulfil the conditions she set. Until this one man stepped forward and said he could fulfil them. So the Imam got both of them married.

After the first night of the marriage, the wife sees that the husband doesn’t recite the whole of the Quran, nor does he fast, nor does he stay awake in the worship of Allah, she decided to let it roll on for a few weeks to see if there were any changes, there weren’t, so she filed a complaint and asked for a divorce.

They are both taken in front of the judge, and the judge asked, ‘What were the conditions of the marriage?’ the man replied ‘They were for me to recite the whole Quran daily, keep fast for the whole year and to worship Allah all throughout the night.’

The Judge asked, ‘ did you fulfil them? The man calmly answered, ‘…yes.’

The judge answers, ‘you lie, your wife has said that you don’t, that’s why she’s asking for a divorce’.

But the man insisted that he had fulfilled the conditions, so the judge asked, ‘did you recite the full Quran everyday?’ The man answered yes. The Judge, baffled asked, ‘how? How can you do that?’ The man coolly answered, ‘I recite Surah Ikhlas three times a day and according to Prophet Muhammad (saw), reciting Surah Ikhlas three times is equivalent to reciting the whole Quran.’ The Judge was intrigued, so he asked, ‘how did you fast the whole year?’ The man answered, ‘ I fasted for the whole month of Ramadan, then kept another six fasts in the month of Shawwal, according to Prophet Muhammad (saw), keeping all of the fast of Ramadan then keeping six fasts in the month of Shawwal, is as if you have fasted for the whole year.’

The Judge remained silent, he couldn’t give a reply saying the man was wrong, so finally he asked, ‘ how did you stay awake all night and worship Allah, when your wife saw you sleeping?’ The Judge thought the man wouldn’t be able to answer this one, but the man, cool as a cucumber answered, ‘I prayed Salatul Isha with jamaat, then the next day prayed Salatul Fajr with jamaat, according to Prophet Muhammad (saw), the one who prays Salatul Isha and Salatul Fajr with jamaat, it is as if he had stayed up all night worshipping Allah.’

The Judge sat there looking at the man; the final verdict was about to be released…

He said to the man and his wife, ‘…go, just go, there is nothing wrong with this marriage’…

A preacher was once giving a sermon

A preacher was once giving a sermon to a large audience in the Masjid. In the course of it he said: "O People! I tell you the truth. If only you knew the power of the sentence Bismillahirrahmanirrahim (In the name of Allah, the beneficent the merciful), you would say it before every action of yours. Whoever says these words before beginning any act will see wonders. One will even be able to walk on water."

A poor villager, who was sitting close to the pulpit, listened to this sermon attentively. Poor villager was a regular visitor to the Masjid although his journey from his home was a very difficult one because he had to cross a large river on the way. Poor villager did not have a boat and often had to wait until someone appeared who could transport him across. The route around the river was extremely long. However, when the poor villager heard this sermon, he realized that he had found the solution to his problem.

When Poor villager reached the river on his way back, he did not hesitate, but recited 'Bismillahirrahmanirrahim (In the name of Allah, the beneficent the merciful)' and stepped onto the water. By the grace of Allah Subhana Wa Taala he was able to walk on the water and soon reached the other side. This became a regular practice for the poor villager, until one day, as he was crossing the river; it occurred to him that he had not thanked the preacher who had given him the solution to his problem. Poor villager decided to invite him to his house for a meal as a way of showing his gratitude to him.

The preacher accepted the invitation and both of them began walking back to the poor villager's house. On reaching the river, the poor villager recited 'Bismillahirrahmanirrahim (In the name of Allah, the beneficent the merciful)' and stepped out onto the water, as was his normal routine. Poor villager expected the preacher to do the same. But when he looked behind, he found that the preacher was still standing on the bank looking at him in bewilderment. The man told him to recite 'Bismillahirrahmanirrahim (In the name of Allah, the beneficent the merciful)' just as he had preached.

"My dear villager, I lack the faith/trust that you have," replied the preacher.

Moral of the Story: Teaching and acting on the words taught with trust is not the same. Also we must inculcate the habit of reciting 'Bismillahirrahmanirrahim (In the name of Allah, the beneficent the merciful)' before everything that we say or do in this life. Imam Jafar Sadiq Aleh Salam has said, "Do not forsake Bismillah even if you write one line of poem."

The Fast of Summer

Once, during the journey of Hajj, Hajaj bin Yusuf stopped at a place between Makka-tul-Mukarrama and Madina-tul-Munawwara and had the lunch prepared. He then instructed his guard to bring a guest. When the guard left the tent, he spotted a Bedouin lying down. He woke him up and said, come, Hajaj bin Yusuf is calling you. When the Bedouin came, Hajaj bin Yusuf said, accept my invitation, wash your hands and sit down with me to eat. The Bedouin replied, please forgive me, prior to your invitation I have already accepted the invitation of someone else that is more generous and gracious than you. Hajaj bin Yusuf asked, whose invitation ? The Bedouin replied, The invitation of Allah ta'ala who has invited me to keep a fast and hence I have had fast. Hajaj asked, you have fast in such scorching heat ? The Bedouin replied, yes, inorder to save myself from the blazing heat of Judgment Day. Hajaj said, please eat now and make up for the fast tomorrow. The Bedouin immediately replied, can you guarantee me that I will be alive till tomorrow ? Hajaj replied, I m afraid I can’t. The pious Bedouin said I m afraid I can’t eat, and then he went away. 

(Rauz ur Riyaheen P::212)

Scars of Love

Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house.

In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.

His mother, in the house, was looking out the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother.

It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two.

The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go.

A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator. Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived.

His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother’s fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs; and then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mom wouldn’t let go.”

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too.

No, not from an alligator, or anything quite so dramatic. But, the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go.

In the midst of your struggle, He’s been there holding on to you.

This teaches us that God loves us. But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril -and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That’s when the tug-o-war begins - and if you have the scars of His love on your arms, be very, very grateful. He did not - and will not - let you go.

Don't we all

I was parked in front of the mall wiping off my car. I had just come from the car wash and was waiting for my wife to get out of work.

Coming my way from across the parking lot was what society would consider a beggar. From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money. There are times when you feel generous but there are other times that you just don't want to be bothered. This was one of those "don't want to be bothered times."

"I hope he doesn't ask me for any money," I thought. He didn't. He came and sat on the curb in front of the bus stop but he didn't look like he could have enough money to even ride the bus. After a few minutes he spoke. "That's a very pretty car," he said. He was ragged but he had an air of dignity around him. His scraggly blond beard kept more than his face warm. I said, "thanks," and continued wiping off my car.

He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected plea for money but it never came. As the silence between us widened something inside said, "ask him if he needs any help." I was sure that he would say "yes" but I held true to the inner voice. "Do you need any help?" I asked. He answered in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget.

We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from those of higher learning and accomplishments. I expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand. He spoke the three words that shook me. "Don't we all?" he said.

I was feeling high and mighty, successful and important, above a beggar in the street, until those three words hit me like a twelve gauge Don't we all? I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I needed help. I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus fare, but enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day. Those three little words still ring true.

No matter how much you have, no matter how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you have, no matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or a place to sleep, you can give help. Even if it's just a compliment, you can give that. You never know when you may see someone that appears to have it all.They are waiting on you to give them what they don't have. A different perspective on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from daily chaos, that only you through a torn world can see. Maybe the man was just a homeless stranger wandering the streets. Maybe he was more than that. Maybe he was sent by a power that is great and wise, to minister to a soul too comfortable in themselves. Maybe God looked down, called an Angel, dressed him like a beggar, then said, "go minister to that man cleaning the car, that man needs help." Don't we all?