The Fasting Thief

Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Shibli. narrates

“Once I was travelling to Syria along with a group of other travellers when on the way we were plundered by a gang of thieves. They took all our possessions and put them in front of their gang leader. Amongst the goods were a bag of sugar and almonds, the thieves began to eat them but their leader did not join them.

I asked him why the rest of his gang was eating but he was not, he replied, “I am fasting”. I asked surprisingly, “How is it that you steal from people and fast at the same time?” He replied, “A man should do something to keep the doors of reconciliation open as well”.


Sometime later I saw the same gang leader in a state of “ihram” performing tawaaf [circulating around] of the blessed ka’ba. His face was resplendent with the light of worship and he had weakened himself through devotional practices. I asked surprisingly, “Are you the same man?” he answered,

“Yes, I am, and let me tell you, that very same fast is what caused my reconciliation with Allah".

(Raud-ur Riyaheen, P163, Maktaba-tul-Maymaniyyah Egypt)

do as much good as you can, maybe Allah (swt)  will guide you through one small good you once did.

Sand and stone…

Two friends Ismail and Ibrahim were walking through the desert, as the sun was beating down on their heads, and they were thirsty for water they began to argue. The argument got more and more heated and eventually Ismail struck Ibrahim across the face. Ibrahim felt hurt inside, but without anything to say, he wrote in the sand:“Today, my best friend slapped me in the face.”
They kept on walking, until eventually they came across an oasis, where they decided to stop and bathe. Ibrahim jumped in and began to wash, while Ismail sat back and relaxed. Suddenly Ibrahim began to scream and shout, he had developed a cramp and was having difficulty keeping his head above water, he was drowning.
Ismail dived in after him, and brought him gently to shore.
When Ibrahim recovered from the shock, he scratched a message on a nearby stone:
“Today, my best friend saved my life”
Ismail who had saved and slapped his best friend Ibrahim, asked him, “Why, after I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now you write on a stone?”
Ibrahim, smiled and replied:
“When a friend hurts us, we should write his deeds in the sand, where the winds of forgiveness can blow it away, and when a friend does something good, we should engrave it in stone, where it shall remain for eternity.”
“Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant (i.e. don’t punish them). If a suggestion from Satan assails your mind, seek refuge with Allah; for He heareth and knoweth (all things)” [surah al-A'raf, 7:199-200]

"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.