One day a pregnant woman was hungry, and she wanted only rare things to eat . Then she went knocking at the door of a Muslim family, but they had nothing to give her. In front of the Muslim family lived a prostitute who was watching the scene by her window , and she saw the pregnant woman leaving all sad... and had heart ache for her. She came down, opened her door and drew her attention then she said to her : " I have nothing to offer you my sister, but if you want, I can give you jewelry, you just have to go sell them and you can buy what you want." She gave her, her jewels, and the pregnant woman moved quickly to go sell them to buy the food that she wanted to absolutely eat. Subsequently, and as the years passed... And the prostitute died... People did not want to wash her because she was dead without repentance so they left her in the house for 3-4 days. At the end of the 4th days, the Imam intervened and told the women, they should have washed her and not let her remain so! But the women bluntly refused! The Imam insisted, and some women finally agreed. When they returned in the room they were shocked at the scene... The body of the woman was in a white shroud , her face lit up a dazzling light and she was wearing a flamboyant smile! The women were shocked and they called the imam. When he arrived he asked: " What does this woman do for a living when she was alive?" They told him that this woman was a prostitute. But she once helped a mad woman one night, who was in need. The Imam said to them: It was the angels who washed her, cause she had been merciful to that pregnant woman, and Allah has been even more merciful to her. Allah is the most Generous and Merciful. Whatever you do in life, do it for the sake of ALLAH! May Allah Guide Us All To Truth and Keep Us On The Straight Path.

The Story of Barsisa

There were three brothers from Bani Israel who were called upon to go on Jihad. These three brothers had a sister who did not have any one else to be taken care other that by them. They did not know under whose care could they leave the young woman. Then they thought that the most reasonable place to leave her was with the Abid (worshipper) because he was the most trusted man in town. Barsisa, the Abid was a man who used to be in a monastery devoted to worship of ALLAH. So they went to him and said, ” We are being enlisted to go on Jihad and we want to leave our sister with you. We trust no one in town but you.” Barsisa replied “Audhu billah, get away from me.” This was an Abid who was not married and he did not want to deal with these problems. The brothers said, “We have no where else to leave our sister but with you. We don’t trust anyone else.” So Shaytan came to Barsisa and said, “If u don’t accept, she might be left with somebody who might not be trustworthy.You have to step-up and take this responsibility.” So Barsisa told the brothers, “Leave her in the empty house.” (which was seperate from the monastery where he was staying). The brothers then left her there and went on Jihad. After that, Barsisa the Abid used to leave food at the doorstep and the young woman had to come out of her house and walk all the way to take the food from his doorstep. Barsisa never used to leave from his monastery. Barsisa had never met her and they did not seeing each other. Days passed. One day, Shaytan came to Barsisa and said, “Somebody might see her when she is walking out. So rather than have her leave from her house. You need to carry it and leave at her doorstep.” So he started leaving the food at her doorstep. This happened for many days. Again one day, Shaytan came to Barsisa and said, “You can’t just leave the food at her doorstep. Somebody might see her when she opens the door and she is very beautiful. You would have to take the food and leave it inside her room.” So Barsisa would go and knock on the door. She would open and he would walk inside and leave the food there. That continued for a while. Then again one day Shaytan said, “You can’t leave this poor woman alone without giving her any company. Nobody is speaking to her. So she may be feeling very lonely and that might lead to haram. So why don’t you go and talk to her from behind the door.” Barsisa liked the idea and so for a while he would sit outside and just talk to her for HOURS. Slowly and slowly the relationship was building up and Shaytan was finding it easier to drag him to the next step. Shaytan then came and said, “You can’t just sit there talking to her, people might see you. You need to go inside, just sit in another room without looking at her and talk to her.” So for sometime that is what he did. Slowly she started getting closer to him and everytime they got more and more close to the extent that eventually he comitted zina (fornication) with her. So the Abid, the worshipper who devoted his life to service in the monastery comitted zina. Because of that, she became pregnant and delivered a boy. Then Shaytan came to Barsisa and said,”Now when the brothers come back and find out that their sister has a child you are going to be in big trouble. The only way for you to put an end to this issue is to kill the baby.” Barsisa followed the advice of Shaytan and killed the child. But it didn’t end there. Shaytan came to him and said, “Do you think that this woman will keep the secret after you kill her own child? The only way out is to kill her.” So Barsisa killed her and burried both mother and child in a certain location inside the house. Later the brothers came back and inquired about their sister. Barsisa gave some reason and said, “She had passed away and this is where she is burried.” Saying that he pointed to a false grave. Then Shaytan went to the brothers and made them see a dream. In that dream they were told that Barsisa killed their sister and the proof was that she was burried in a different location (i.e. under the rock inside the house). When the brothers woke up they started talking to each other and found out that they all had seen the same dream. They thought that there must be some truth in it. So they went and uncovered the grave which Barsisa had pointed to and found it empty. Then they went inside the house and found the rock as mentioned in the dream. On digging underneath the rock they found their sister’s dead body along with that of the child. So they went to Barsisa and forced him to disclose the secret of what happened. He went ahead and told them the whole story. The three brothers took Barsisa to the king’s court and he was given punishment of execution. While Barsisa was being dragged to his execution spot, Shaytan came to him and said, “Barsisa I am Shaytan and it was me who was in communication with you since the start and not your inner thoughts. Now I can get u out of this trouble if you want. I am the one who put you in this trouble in the first place and I can get u out of it.” Barsisa asked, “What should I do?” Shaytan said, “Do sujood to me and I will save you.” Barsisa did sujood to Shaytan (i.e. committed shirk) and as soon as he did so, Shaytan ran away and Barsisa was executed. (Taken from Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki’s lecture set “Hereafter”)

THE LOST WATCH

There once was a farmer who discovered that he had lost his watch in the barn. It was no ordinary watch because it had sentimental value for him. After searching high and low among the hay for a long while; he gave up and enlisted the help of a group of children playing outside the barn. He promised them that the person who found it would be rewarded. Hearing this, the children hurried inside the barn, went through and around the entire

stack of hay but still could not find the watch. Just when the farmer was about to give up looking for his watch, a little boy went up to him and asked to be given another chance. The farmer looked at him and thought, "Why not? After all, this kid looks sincere enough." So the farmer sent the little boy back in the barn. After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand! The farmer was both happy and surprised and so he asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed. The boy replied, "I did nothing but sit on the ground and listen. In the silence, I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that direction." Moral: A peaceful mind can think better than a worked up mind. Oh Allāh! Grant us the ability to always remember YOU. For verily in the remembrance of Allāh do hearts find rest. Ameen.

A sweet lesson on patience.

A NYC Taxi driver wrote:

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. ‘Just a minute’, answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90’s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940’s movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and glassware.

‘Would you carry my bag out to the car?’ she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. ‘It’s nothing’, I told her.. ‘I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.’

‘Oh, you’re such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, ‘Could you drive
through downtown?’

‘It’s not the shortest way,’ I answered quickly..

‘Oh, I don’t mind,’ she said. ‘I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. ‘I don’t have any family left,’ she continued in a soft voice..’The doctor says I don’t have very long.’ I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

‘What route would you like me to take?’ I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, ‘I’m tired.Let’s go now’.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

‘How much do I owe you?’ She asked, reaching into her purse.

‘Nothing,’ I said

‘You have to make a living,’ she answered.

‘There are other passengers,’ I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.She held onto me tightly.

‘You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut.It was the sound of the closing of a life..

I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day,I could hardly talk.What if that woman had gotten an angry driver,or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

Poison Your Mother-in-Law ...

A long time ago in China, a girl named Li-Li got married and went to
live with her husband and mother-in-law. In a very short time, Li-Li
found that she couldn't get along with her mother-in-law at all.

Their personalities were very different, and Li-Li was angered by
many of her mother-in-law's habits. In addition, she criticized Li-Li
constantly.

Days passed days, and weeks passed weeks. Li-Li and her mother-in-law
never stopped arguing and fighting. But what made the situation even
worse was that, according to ancient Chinese tradition, Li-Li had to
bow to her mother-in-law and obey her every wish.

All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing Li-Li's poor
husband great distress.

Finally, Li-Li could not stand her mother-in-law's bad temper and
dictatorship any longer, and she decided to do something about it.

Li-Li went to see her father's good friend, Mr. Huang, who sold
herbs. She told him the situation and asked if he would give her some
poison so that she could solve the problem once and for all. Mr.
Huang thought for a while, and finally said, Li-Li, I will help you
solve your problem, but you must listen to me and obey what I tell
you. Li-Li said, "Yes, Mr. Huang, I will do whatever you tell me to
do."

Mr.Huang went into the back room, and returned in a few minutes with
a package of herbs.

He told Li-Li, "You can't use a quick-acting poison to get rid of
your mother-in-law, because that would cause people to become
suspicious. Therefore, I have given you a number of herbs that will
slowly build up poison in her body.

Every other day prepare some delicious meal and put a little of these
herbs in her serving. Now, in order to make sure that nobody suspects
you when she dies, you must be very careful to act very friendly
towards her. Don't argue with her, obey her every wish, and treat her
like a queen."

Li-Li was so happy. She thanked Mr. Huang and hurried home to start
her plot of murdering her mother-in-law.

Weeks went by, and months went by, and every other day, Li-Li served
the specially treated food to her mother-in-law. She remembered what
Mr.Huang had said about avoiding suspicion, so she controlled her
temper, obeyed her mother-in-law, and treated her like her own
mother. After six months had passed, the whole household had changed.

Li-Li had practiced controlling her temper so much that she found
that she almost never got mad or upset. She hadn't had an argument
with her mother-in-law in six months because she now seemed much
kinder and easier to get along with.

The mother-in-law's attitude toward Li-Li changed, and she began to
love Li-Li like her own daughter. She kept telling friends and
relatives that Li-Li was the best daughter-in-law one could ever
find. Li-Li and her mother-in-law were now treating each other like a
real mother and daughter.

Li-Li's husband was very happy to see what was happening.

One day, Li-Li came to see Mr. Huang and asked for his help again.
She said, "Dear Mr. Huang, please help me to keep the poison from
killing my mother-in-law! She's changed into such a nice woman, and I
love her like my own mother. I do not want her to die because of the
poison I gave her."

Mr. Huang smiled and nodded his head. "Li-Li, there's nothing to
worry about. I never gave you any poison. The herbs I gave you were
vitimans to improve her health. The only poison was in your mind and
your attitude toward her, but that has been all washed away by the
love which you gave to her."

MORAL: Brothers and Sisters have you ever realised that how you treat
others is exactly how they will treat you?
There is a wise Chinese saying: 'The person who loves others will
also be loved in return.'

Unknown Author