Short moral stories

[redsulphur]

:start:

:salams - Peace be to you all


:insha: I will post short moral stories either Islamic or from other traditions from time to time. I hope you enjoy and benefit from the light reading.



__________________________________________________ ________





What do You Know?

The people knew that Mulla Nasruddin was generally intolerant of preachers and lecturers, so they asked him to give a sermon. He climbed into the pulpit and said: "Do you know what I am going to speak about?"

"No," everybody answered.

"If you are so ignorant, I am not going to waste time speaking to you," Nasruddin said and climbed down from the pulpit.

The following day he put the same question to them. This time everyone's answer was, "Yes, we know."

"If you know," Nasruddin replied, "then what am I here for?" And he left the mosque.

The third day, to the same question, half of the worshipers said, "We know," while the other half said, "We don't know."

So Nasruddin responded: "Let those who know tell those who don't."


[author unknown]

[redsulphur]

The Grammarian

A grammarian fell into a well one day and had difficulty climbing up the slippery sides.

A little later, a Dervish chanced by and heard the man's cries for succor. In the casual language of everyday life, the dervish offered aid.

The grammarian replied, "I would certainly appreciate your help. But by the way, you have committed an error in your speech," which the grammarian proceeded to specify.

"A good point," acknowledged the dervish. "I had best go off awhile and try to improve my skills." And so he did, leaving the grammarian at the bottom of the well.



[author unknown]

[redsulphur]

The Banquet

A Story from the Middle East

A poor man dressed in rags came to the palace to attend the banquet. Out of courtesy he was admitted but, because of his tattered clothing, he was seated at the very end of the banquet table. By the time the platters arrived at his seat, there was no food left on them.

So he left the banquet, returning several hours later dressed in robes and jewels he had borrowed from a wealthy friend. This time he was brought immediately to the head of the table and, with great ceremony, food was brought to his seat first.

"Oh, what delicious food I see being served upon my plate." He rubbed one spoonful into his clothes for every one he ate.

A nobleman beside him, grimacing at the mess, inquired, "Sir, why are you rubbing food into your fine clothes?"

"Oh," he replied with a chuckle, "Pardon me if my robes now look the worst. But it was these clothes that brought me all this food. It's only fair that they be fed first!"

<!--========== Begin Nested Table ==========-->[author unknown]

[redsulphur]

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 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."





[author unknown]

[redsulphur]

<CENTER>Old Man Yu Moves the Mountains


</CENTER>

A story from China



Once upon a time, there were two mountains that stood right beside each other. The first was name, “Tai-Ying” and the second was named, “Yellow House.” Both were over ten-thousand feet high, and together, they were four-hundred miles wide.

Facing the mountains lived Old Man Yu, who was over eighty-years-old and also known throughout the county for his foolishness. Every morning, as Old Man Yu walked to the village, his wife would shake her head as she saw him make yet another detour around the two mountains. As the years went by, he found it a great inconvenience to make these daily detours. So one day, Old Man Yu finally decided that the twin mountains would have to be moved.

He then called a family meeting and told his wife, sons, daughters, and their families of his intentions. “I will move these two mountains,” Old Man Yu cried, “and you will all help me do it!” Old Man Yu’s sons and grandsons thought it was a terrific idea. They cheered and gave him their undying support. Old Man Yu’s wife sneered, “You are a foolish old man indeed! Just how would you go about moving two big mountains like Tai-Ying and Yellow-House?” she continued, “never mind two mountains, I do not think you can even move two piles of cow-dung! And even if you could move the mountains, just where would you dispose of the dirt and rocks from the mountains? Huh?!?” she cried.

The old man thought for a moment, and without backing down answered her, “I will throw out the dirt and rocks into a faraway place. I will throw them into the sea!” Once again, Old Man Yu’s sons and grandsons thought that it was a terrific idea to throw the dirt into the sea. They cheered a second time and pledged to him their dying support. Even the neighbouring widow’s son named, Little Turnip Boy, gave the old man his support although he was only eight-years-old.

Off went Old Man Yu, his three sons, his many, countless grandsons, and Little Turnip Boy to work on removing Tai-Ying and Yellow House. It was such grueling work that in a year’s time, Little Turnip Boy was only able to make one trip to the sea to dispose of the dirt and rocks. Nonetheless, no one lost their enthusiasm, as they all held steadfast to Old Man Yu’s dream of having the two mountains removed.

Now on one of their trips to the sea, they met a man who lived along the Yellow River, who was known throughout the county for his cleverness and his arrogance. The clever man, who lived by the Yellow River mocked Old Man Yu saying, “You foolish old man! I have seen you, your three sons, your many, countless grandsons, and even Little Turnip Boy making trips to the sea to dispose of the dirt and rocks from the mountains. Do you think that you can actually remove two whole mountains? And look at you! You must be over ninety-years-old and closer to the grave as each day passes. How do you expect to move two mountains in your lifetime?” Old Man Yu looked upon the Yellow River Man with pity. “You are known throughout the entire country as a clever man. Yet, you are a man lacking in vision. Regarding this matter, even Little Turnip Boy has more wisdom than you.” Old Man Yu continued, “You are correct in saying that I am an old man who is closer to the grave as each day passes. But I have three sons, and many, countless grandsons. In time, my grandsons will bear their own children, who, in turn, will bear even more children. So in time, my dream of removing these two mountains will become a reality. As each day passes, my dream can only increase, as these two mountains can only decrease.”


[author unknown - courtersy of http://www.interlog.com/~fccs/culture.htm]

[redsulphur]

The Fox and the Grapes


One hot summer's day a Fox was strolling through an orchard
till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine which
had been trained over a lofty branch. "Just the thing to quench
my thirst," said he. Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and
a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again with a
One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again
and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had to
give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying: "I
am sure they are sour."


by Aesops

[History]

Very nice.
Thank you.
May others share short moral stories here as well?

Respectfully,
History

[booda]

Once upon a time there was a fine stag who ruled a herd of deer in a forest and it had a beautiful wife. The doe was very devoted to her husband and helped him in all matters of life.

One day, the stag was caught in the trap of a hunter and the doe was very frightened as was the stag. All the friends of the stag left him. But the doe remained steadfast next to him and waited for the hunter to come. She was very devoted to her husband. As soon as the hunter came, she fell on his knees and begged, "Sir! please make a nice bed of leaves for me and my husband and then kill me first and then my husband and you can have a nice feast."

The hunter was so amazed and surprised by her love, that he went to first free the stag before he prepared the bed of leaves, and in a split second, the stag and the doe ran after being free.

Moral: Great love can achieve anything.

[redsulphur]

Very nice.
Thank you.
May others share short moral stories here as well?

Respectfully,
History


Hello History :)

I will be away for a while.... so if you would like to share some short moral and wise stories then please do so. Be my guest! and all are welcome.

Kindest regards & peace

redsulphur

[History]

Thank you, Redsulphur.

The Greatest Blessing

Rabbi Isaac was not only Rabbi Nahman's mentor, but his dear friend. At the end of a long day of study, Rabbi Nahman asked his teacher to give him a blessing before the two men parted.

Rabbi Isaac replied, "Your request reminds me of the story of a man traveling across the desert. Not long after the start of his journey, the man runs out of food and water. Overcome by exhaustion, he can go no further. Fortunately he come upon a beautiful tree laden with magnificent fruit. The man eats a few pieces, thinking to himself, 'My, this is the tastiest fruit I have ever eaten.' Observing the tree's strong branches, he notices that they are bountiful with leaves. Under the tree's abundant shade, the man rests peacefully while he is recovering his strength. Upon awakening, he spots a bubbling brook flowing near the tree's roots, and he drinks its cool, refreshing water. Like the fruit, it too is nourishing and delicious. "Filled with vigor, the man wishes to express his appreciation to the tree before embarking on his journey. 'You have given me so much," he said. "How can I bless you in return?'"

Rabbi Isaac turned to his student and asked, "Should the man bless the tree by saying, 'May your fruit be sweet?' But that would be foolish, since he had already enjoyed the sweet taste of its fruit. "Should the man bless the tree by saying, "May your limbs be wide and filled with beautiful leaves?' But that would be foolish, since he had already sought refuge from the sun under the shade that the tree had provided. "Should he have blessed the tree by saying, 'May clean, cool waters flow swiftly beside you to nourish your roots?' But that would be foolish, since such waters already flowed by the tree."

"How then should the man bless the tree?" asked Rabbi Nahman.

Rabbi Isaac turned to his friend and answered, "He should have asked in blessing that all the tree's saplings be blessed just as the tree itself was."

With this, the learned rabbi said, "And this is the way it is with you, my dear friend and student. For how can I seek to bless you? With knowledge? That would be foolish, for you already have knowledge. With wealth? That would be silly because the riches of the world are already yours.

"Perhaps with children," Rabbi Isaac continued. "I could ask that you be blessed with children, but you already have children.

"And so my most sincere and deep hope for you in blessing is simply this: May your children grow to be as you are, and bless you with the same abundance of goodness that you give to others."
------------[Talmud: Ta'anit 5b]

Commentary: We are all blessed with one thing or another; it may be a measure of material goods, or intellect, or physical attributes. Yet there is no greater blessing than to see whatever goodness we possess reproduced in our offspring. Another blessing is to see the values that we cherish carried on by those who come after us.

Above all, we want everything with which we have been blessed to be passed on to our children, so they can continue to offer the same goodness to the world.

This is the greatest blessing, and there is no finer legacy.
----------Source: Saving the World Entire, Rabbi Bradley Bleefield, 1998

Respectfully,
History

[Ebony]

Thirst for Learning


Hadhrat Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) says:

"After the passing away of the Prophet (peace be upon him), I said to an Ansari friend of mine: ‘The Prophet is not now with us. But a large number of Sahabah are still among us. Let us go to them and get knowledge of the Islamic practices.’ He said: ' Who is going to approach you for learning a regulation in the presence of these eminent Sahabah?' I was not discouraged. I kept up my quest for knowledge and approached every person who was supposed to have heard something from the Prophet. I managed to gather substantial information from the Ansar. If on my visit to someone of the Sahabah, I found him asleep, I spread my shawl at the gate and sat waiting. Sometimes my face and body would get covered with dust, but I kept sitting till they woke and I was able to contact them.

Some of them said: 'Abdullah you are the cousin of the Prophet; you could have sent for us. Why did you take the trouble of coming to our places?' I said to them: 'I must come to you, for I am a student and you are my teachers.' Some people for whom I had waited said: 'Since when have you been waiting for us?' I informed them that I had been sitting there for
a pretty long time. They said: 'What a pity! You could have awakened us from our sleep.' I said: 'I did not like to disturb you for my own sake.' I thus carried
on my pursuits, till there came a time when people began to flock to me for
learning. My Ansari friend realized this at that time and remarked: 'This boy
has surely proved himself more sensible than us.'"

Source: From the book "Stories of the Sahabah" by Shaikh Muhammad Zakariyya Kaandhlawi.

Besides our quest for knowledge to earn a livelihood in this world, we must as
well gain sufficient knowledge of Islam. No matter what age group we belong to at this moment, we should atleast have that much Islamic knowledge with which we can turn our 24 hours life into worship. Those with knowledge and practice will be exalted in this world and in the hereafter.


Taken from www.islamcan.com (http://www.islamcan.com/)

[Hayaa]

Words and Actions Should Be the Same

There once was a boy who loved eating sweets. He always asked for sweets from his father. His father was a poor man. He could not always afford sweets for his son. But the little boy did not understand this, and demanded sweets all the time.

The boy's father thought hard about how to stop the child asking for so many sweets. There was a very holy man living nearby at that time. The boy's father had an idea. He decided to take the boy to the great man who might be able to persuade the child to stop asking for sweets all the time.

The boy and his father went along to the great man. The father said to him, "O great saint, could you ask my son to stop asking for sweets which I cannot afford?" The great man was in difficulty, because he liked sweets himself. How could he ask the boy to give up asking for sweets? The holy man told the father to bring his son back after one month.

During that month, the holy man gave up eating sweets, and when the boy and his father returned after a month, the holy man said to the boy "My dear child, will you stop asking for sweets which your father cannot afford to give you?"

From then on, the boy stopped asking for sweets.

The boy's father asked the saint, "Why did you not ask my son to give up asking for sweets when we came to you a month ago?" The saint replied, "How could I ask a boy to give up sweets when I loved sweets myself. In the last month I gave up eating sweets."

A person's example is much more powerful than just his words. When we ask someone to do something, we must do it ourselves also. We should not ask others to do what we do not do ourselves.

ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT YOUR ACTIONS AND YOUR WORDS ARE THE SAME.

[ Author: Unknown ]

[Mr_Jailer]

Do actions speak louder than words in the islamic sense?

Does one talks ill of people directly to the person involved better than the one who dresses inapropriately attractin' attention to her body for all to see...

I think commmittin' an open public sin is far worse than swearin' at s/o, 'cos only a few ppl will be affected that hear foul mouth rantin', while many can be affected by ones actions.

[redsulphur]

Two parables

Once upon a time a bird in a cage sang for her merchant.
He took such delight in her song day and night that her feelings began to matter.
He grew so fond of her that he brought her water in a golden dish, and when he had to go on a merchant’s journey he asked her for her wish.
‘I will go through the forest where you were born past the birds of your neighbourhood. What message should I bring them for news of your present good?’

‘Tell them I sit locked in a cage, singing my captive song.
My heart is grieved and I hope it won’t be long before I see them again and look on their faces and fly in freedom through the trees.
What message do they have for me from their lovely forest that will set my heart at ease?
Oh I yearn for my beloved, to fly with him and spread my captive wings!
Until then I sit disconsolate separate from all things sweet.’

The merchant went on his donkey through the thick and melodious wood. When he got to where his bird was from he stopped and pushed back his hood.
‘Oh birds, one and all, greetings to you from my pretty bird locked in her cage. She sends her love and wants me to tell you of her condition and ask your sage for a message to take back that will ease her heart and turn over a brand new page. She is all alone with bars all around her – she wants to join her beloved and sound her song through the air- for her heart to be free again.’

All the birds listened to his tale, then suddenly one bird shrieked and fell from its branch to the ground, dead. The merchant froze to the spot he stood on. Nothing could astound him more than this did. He went to the city and traded his goods, Then he returned to his house and went around in a mood unable to speak.

Finally his bird asked him what message came from their beaks and he stood before her cage and said,
‘Oh, nothing to speak of.’
‘No, no’ she cried, ‘I must know at once!’
‘I don’t know what happened,’ he said,
‘I’m a dunce! I told them your message and just like that, one bird fell dead at my feet.’
Suddenly, his own bird shrieked and fell on her head onto the floor for her cage. He let out a cry ‘Oh, what have I done?’ he wept, ‘What have I done? Now my moon has gone out and so has my sun. Now my own bird is dead – my life means nothing. I will have to bury her now, dear, dead thing!’

He opened the door and reached in and took her into his hand, careful not to drop her, but, once out in the air, she flew up with one swoop and flew out of the window onto the nearest roof slope.
‘Thank you, merchant master, for delivering my plea.’ She sang out, ‘Those birds sent me a message that instructed me on how to win my freedom and fly quite free.
So I go now to my loved on who is waiting for me .
All I did was play dead. All I had to do was die.
Its easy once you use your head. Goodbye, goodbye, master no more.
I will fly into space, to my beloved I’ll soar.’
She returned
no more.

by Jalal al-Din Rumi (ra)

[redsulphur]

Story of the man who killed 99
[A true account from ahadith]


Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (ra) reported Allah's Messenger :saw: was saying:



There was a person before you who had killed ninety-nine persons and then made an inquiry about the learned persons of the world (who could show him the way to salvation). He was directed to a monk. He came to him and told him that he had killed ninety-nine persons and asked him whether there was any scope for his repentance to be accepted.


He said: No.


He killed him also and thus completed one hundred.


He then asked about the learned persons of the earth and he was directed to a scholar, and he told him that he had killed one hundred persons and asked him whether there was any scope for his repentance to be accepted.

He said: Yes; what stands between you and the repentance?

You better go to such and such land; there are people devoted to prayer and worship and you also worship along with them and do not come to the land of yours since it was an evil land (for you).


So he went away and he had hardly covered half the distance when death came to him and there was a dispute between the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment.


The angels of mercy said: This man has come as a penitant and remorseful to Allah and the angels of punishment said: He has done no good at all. Then there came another angel in the form of a human being in order to decide between them. He said: You measure the land to which he has drawn near. They measured it and found him nearer to the land where he intended to go (the land of piety), and so the angels of mercy took possession of it.
Qatada(ra) said that Hasan(ra) told him that it was said to them that as death approached him, he crawled upon his chest (and managed) to slip in the land of mercy.




Sahih Muslim Book 037, Number 6662

[redsulphur]

The Eagle and the Fox

An Eagle and a Fox formed an intimate friendship and decided to
live near each other. The Eagle built her nest in the branches
of a tall tree, while the Fox crept into the underwood and there
produced her young. Not long after they had agreed upon this
plan, the Eagle, being in want of provision for her young ones,
swooped down while the Fox was out, seized upon one of the little
cubs, and feasted herself and her brood. The Fox on her return,
discovered what had happened, but was less grieved for the death
of her young than for her inability to avenge them. A just
retribution, however, quickly fell upon the Eagle. While
hovering near an altar, on which some villagers were sacrificing
a goat, she suddenly seized a piece of the flesh, and carried it,
along with a burning cinder, to her nest. A strong breeze soon
fanned the spark into a flame, and the eaglets, as yet unfledged
and helpless, were roasted in their nest and dropped down dead at
the bottom of the tree. There, in the sight of the Eagle, the
Fox gobbled them up.


by Aesops

[redsulphur]

Who knows?


One day the village teacher told Hodja that he had decided to travel across the land to seek additional knowledge. When the young man asked him what kind of people he should look for, Hodja recalled some wise words he had once heard in the bazaar:

He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool. Shun him.

He who knows not and knows that he knows not is a child. Teach him.

He who knows and knows not that he knows is asleep. Awaken him.

He who knows and knows that he knows is wise. Follow him.

Hodja paused for a moment and then continued, " But you know how difficult it is my son, to be sure that the one who knows and knows that he knows ....really knows."


A Nasruddin Hodja story

[redsulphur]

The Sack

A story from the middle east

Mula came upon a frowning man walking along the road to town. "What's wrong?" he asked.
The man held up a tattered bag and moaned, "All that I own in this wide world barely fills this miserable, wretched sack."
"Too bad," said Mula, and with that, he snatched the bag from the man's hands and ran down the road with it.
Having lost everything, the man burst into tears and, more miserable than before, continued walking. Meanwhile, Mula quickly ran around the bend and placed the man's sack in the middle of the road where he would have to come upon it.
When the man saw his bag sitting in the road before him, he laughed with joy, and shouted, "My sack! I thought I'd lost you!"
Watching through the bushes, Mula chuckled. "Well, that's one way to make someone happy!"

[Author unknown (to me)]

[redsulphur]

The Lonely Ember

A Musalli of a certain Masjid, who previously had been attending salaah in congregation regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the Imam decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The Imam found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for the Imam's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a big chair near the fireplace and waited. The Imam made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the play of the flames around the burning logs.

After some minutes, the Imam took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet fascination. As the one lone ember's flame diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and "dead as a doornail." Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.

Just before the Imam was ready to leave, he picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it. As the Imam reached the door to leave, his host said, "May Allah reward you so much for your visit and especially for the " fiery" sermon. I shall be back for salaah in the Masjid at Fajr."



[Author unknown (to me)]

[redsulphur]

The Rose Within


A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it blossomed, he examined it.


He saw the bud that would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought,


"How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?"


Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom... it died.



[Author unknown (to me)]

[redsulphur]

The red and blue coat


A story from Africa


Once there were two boys who were great friends, and they were determined to remain that way forever. When they grew up and got married, they built their houses facing one another. There was a small path that formed a border between their farms.
One day, a trickster from the village decided to play a trick on them. He dressed himself in a two-color coat that was divided down the middle. So, one side of the coat was red, and the other side was blue.
The trickster wore this coat and walked along the narrow path between the houses of the two friends. They were each working opposite each other in their fields. The trickster made enough noise as he passed them to make sure that each of them would look up and see him passing.
At the end of the day, one friend said to the other, "Wasn't that a beautiful red coat that man was wearing today?"
"No", the other replied. "It was a blue coat."
"I saw the man clearly as he walked between us!" said the first, "His coat was red."
"You are wrong!" said the other man, "I saw it too, and it was blue."
"I know what I saw!" insisted the first man. "The coat was red!"
"You don't know anything," the second man replied angrily. "It was blue!"
They kept arguing about this over and over, insulted each other, and eventually, they began to beat each other and roll around on the ground.
Just then, the trickster returned and faced the two men, who were punching and kicking each other and shouting, "Our friendship is OVER!"
The trickster walked directly in front of them, and showed them his coat. He laughed at their silly fight. The two friends saw this his coat was red on one side and blue on the other.
The two friends stopped fighting and screamed at the trickster saying, "We have lived side by side like brothers all our lives, and it is all your fault that we are fighting. You have started a war between us."
"Don't blame me for the battle," replied the trickster. "I did not make you fight. Both of you are wrong, and both of you are right. Yes, what each one saw was true. You are fighting because you only looked at my coat from your own point of view."




[Author unknown (to me)]

[redsulphur]

A Dishonest Trader's Punishment


There once lived a dishonest trader who bought forest wood from hard-working, honest woodcutters at very low prices. Then he sold it at great profit to the rich.

An open-hearted man went to him. He asked if he was a snake that bit anyone it saw, or a wolf which brings disaster wherever it goes? He further told him off by telling him, "Even though you can deceive honest powerless woodcutters, you cannot deceive the Just All-Powerful Allah."

The unfair trader became angry. He ignored the fair man's advice and continued his illegal earnings. He was the king of trade and nobody could compete with him.

One night, the cinders from his kitchen fire landed in the heap of dry wood stored around the room. Within minutes the fire had swallowed his entire stock. From the heights of contentment and pride, he fell into the depths of sorrow and despair.

One day the same good adviser heard him complaining to his friends about how such a fire could have reached his safe home. The good man interrupted,

"From the fire which blazed from the hearts of the poor!"



by Shaykh Saadi Shiraz (ra)

[redsulphur]

Change


One day, there was a blind man sitting on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet and a sign that read:

"I am blind, please help".

A creative publicist was walking by him and stopped to observe. He saw that the blind man had only a few coins in his hat. He dropped in a few more coins and, without asking for permission, took the sign, turned it around and wrote another announcement. He placed the sign by the blind man's feet and left.

That afternoon the creative publicist returned to where the blind man sat and noticed that his hat was full of bills and coins. The blind man recognized his footsteps and asked if it was he who had re-written his sign and he wanted to know what he had written on it.
The publicist responded: "Nothing that was not true, I just wrote your sign out a little differently." He smiled and went on his way.

The new sign read: "Today is Spring and I cannot see it."


[Author unknown (to me)]

[redsulphur]

You don't know


A story from Eastern Europe


A pious old man would each day cross the village green and go into the temple to pray. A soldier watched him do this day after day. One morning, in an ill temper, the soldier stopped the old man and said, "Where do you think you're going?"

"I don't know," replied the old man.

"What do you mean, you don't know?!" said the soldier. " Everyday I see you walk out of your house at this time, cross the village green and go into the temple to pray! Answer me! Where are you going?"

Again the old man replied, "I don't know."

With that, the soldier grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, took him to the jail and pushed him into a cell. Just as the soldier was turning the key, the old man looked at the jail and said, "See! You don't know!"



[Author unknown (to me)]

[redsulphur]

The Thieves and the Cockerel

Some thieves broke into a house and found nothing but a Cockerel,
whom they stole, and got off as fast as they could. Upon
arriving at home they prepared to kill the Cockerel, who thus pleaded
for his life: "Pray spare me; I am very serviceable to men. I
wake them up in the night to their work." "That is the very
reason why we must the more kill you," they replied; "for when
you wake your neighbors, you entirely put an end to our
business.



by Aesops


The safeguards of virtue are hateful to those with evil intentions.

[redsulphur]

A Zen story from China

Is That So?


A beautiful girl in the village was pregnant. Her angry parents demanded to know who the father was. At first resistant to confess, the anxious and embarrassed girl finally pointed to Hakuin, the Zen master whom everyone previously revered for living such a pure life. When the outraged parents confronted Hakuin with their daughter's accusation, he simply replied "Is that so?" When the child was born, the parents brought it to the Hakuin, who now was viewed as a pariah by the whole village. They demanded that he take care of the child since it was his responsibility. "Is that so?" Hakuin said calmly as he accepted the child.
For many months he took very good care of the child until the daughter
could no longer withstand the lie she had told. She confessed that the real father was a young man in the village whom she had tried to protect. The parents immediately went to Hakuin to see if he would return the baby. With profuse apologies they explained what had happened. "Is that so?" Hakuin said as he handed them the child.




[Author unknown (to me)]

[witty]

Kindness

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.

Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry and so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?"

"You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness." He said, "Then I thank you from my heart." As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strengthened also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Years later, that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.

Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, he went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor's gown, he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day, he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested from the business office to pass the final billing to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge, and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words:

"PAID IN FULL WITH ONE GLASS OF MILK....

(Signed)
Dr. Howard Kelly."

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: "Thank You, God, that Your love is shed abroad through human hearts and hands."

[redsulphur]

The Beggar



A beggar went to a door, asking for something to be given to him.
The owner answered, and said: "I am sorry, but there is nobody in."
"I don't want anybody," said the beggar, "I want food."



by Hakim Jami

[redsulphur]

The Miser and the Angel of Death

A miser had accumulated, by effort, trade and lending, three hundred thousand dinars. He had lands and buildings, and all kinds of wealth.He then decided that he would spend a year in enjoyment, living comfortably, and then decide as to what his future should be. But, almost as soon as he had stopped amassing money, the Angel of Death appeared before him, to take his life away.The miser tried, by every argument which he could muster, to dissuade the Angel, who seemed, however, adamant.
Then the man said:
'Grant me but three more days, and I will give you one third of my possessions.'

The Angel refused, and pulled again at the miser's life, tugging to take it away.
Then the man said:

'If you will only allow me two more days on earth, I will give you two hundred thousand dinars from my store.

'But the Angel would not listen to him. And the Angel even refused to give the man a solitary extra day for all his three hundred thousand pieces.
Then the miser said:
'Please, then, give me just time enough to write one little thing down.'This time the Angel allowed him this single concession, and the man wrote, with his own blood:

'Man, make use of your life. I could buy not one hour for three hundred thousand dinars. Make sure that you realize the value of your time.'

by Shaykh Farauddin Attar (ra)

[redsulphur]

The Stag at the Pool


A stag overpowered by heat came to a spring to drink. Seeing his
own shadow reflected in the water, he greatly admired the size
and variety of his horns, but felt angry with himself for having
such slender and weak feet. While he was thus contemplating
himself, a Lion appeared at the pool and crouched to spring upon
him. The Stag immediately took to flight, and exerting his
utmost speed, as long as the plain was smooth and open kept
himself easily at a safe distance from the Lion. But entering a
wood he became entangled by his horns, and the Lion quickly came
up to him and caught him. When too late, he thus reproached
himself: "Woe is me! How I have deceived myself! These feet which
would have saved me I despised, and I gloried in these antlers
which have proved my destruction."

By Aesops


What is most truly valuable is often underrated.

[SoulAsylum]

The Pearl Necklace


Qazi Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Abdul Baqi Ansari is an illustrious personality of Islamic History. He was the most pious person of his time. Even after the lapse of nine centuries, his exemplary life is a source of guidance to Muslims. His biographers tell a number of tales of his honesty and reliability but the one that affected his whole life is full of strange and unique events. He has narrated this story in his own words and it adorns the pages of history books.



"In the middle of the 5th century Hijri, I was a student of the Holy Quran and Hadith in Makkah. During that period, I once became jobless and my means of income came to an end. I managed, somehow, to subsist for a few days but soon it became hard to obtain even two square meals. My studies were discontinued and I had to sell a few of my books to support myself. I was at the edge of starvation but my feelings of self-respect did not allow me to borrow or beg from anybody.

One day, I was hungry, as usual. I went to the Holy Ka'bah to pray to Almighty Allah to save me from my sad plight. On my way back, I saw a velvet cloth pouch lying near the road edge. I picked it up. It was nicely sewn and neatly tied with a silk cord. I looked around to find its owner but the road was deserted and nobody was in sight. I carried the pouch to my house.


I was curious to know the contents of the small bag. As I untied the cord, a very precious necklace of pearls slipped into my hand. The luster of the spotless pearls almost lit my room. The pearls of different sizes were nicely put together in a string of crimson colored silk. It was a radiant beauty and I was thrilled to hold the valuable ornament. For a moment, I altogether forgot the hungry and pitiable state in which I was. My thoughts went to the unfortunate owner who had lost the precious jewelry. He must be unhappy and very worried due to his great loss. The course of action which I instantly decided on was to look for the owner and give him back his necklace to relieve him of this mental suffering. It never came to my mind to keep it wrongfully in my possession. So I set out to search for him. Leaving the bag behind, I went straight to the place were it was found.

A group of excited men were standing there and were busy in anxious conversation. I went close to them. Their topic of discussion was the missing pouch of pearls. An old man whose nobility and magnanimity was evident from his imposing personality, was standing amidst them. He was explaining the loss of his pearls to the attentive audience and was announcing a reward of five hundred gold coins to the person who could help him in recovering the lost necklace.


I listened to his account of the loss very carefully. When I was sure of his ownership, I held his hand gently and requested him to come along with me. He looked at me very hopefully and without asking any questions, he followed me. On the way back to my house, I was delightfully thinking that a handsome amount of five hundred dinars would be mind after a short while. The very thought of getting a reward of that much money was very pleasing. I was wondering whether my miseries would be over. I would no longer be a hungry or poor person. With such happy ideas in my mind, I entered my house and also invited the old man to come in.


When we sat down, I asked my perplexed guest about some marks of identification of his lost bad, so that his ownership could be established beyond doubt. He readily explained the shape and color of the pouch. He told me about its contents and gave an exact count of the pearls. He even described the tying cord. It convincingly proved that he was the rightful owner of the bad and the necklace of pearls. I silently rose and brought out the necklace pouch. As he saw it, his gloomy expression at once changed. His shining eyes beamed with joy and he looked at me with sincere gratefulness. His pleasant glance of thanks impressed me, and my own mode of thinking suddenly changed.


A little earlier, I was enjoying the idea of getting a good reward but now my mind was reasoning as to what I had actually done to deserve it. It was by sheer chance that the bag had came into my possession. I had exerted no efforts to obtain it. Therefore, why did I expect to get a reward for returning it to its rightful owner? But I was actually in dire need of money. My poverty and the grim realities of life were looking me in the face. Why shouldn’t I accept the reward? It was absolutely legitimate and surely there was no harm in taking it. A painful conflict of indecision was going on within me and I was in an uneasy state of double mindedness.
The noble old man was looking at the necklace again and again as to assure himself of its recovery. He then looked at me and said, "O dear me, you are a virtuous person and I thank you from the core of my heart. I am unable to express fully my feelings o fgratittude for your act of praiseworthy conduct. Nevertheless, I offer you a purse of five hundred dinars as a humble present and request you to kindly accept it."


He then placed in front of me a purse full of gold coins. A conflicting struggle of ideas was still going on in my mind. The sight of money which was within my easy reach was very tempting but I checked myself and said, "Sir, I thank you for offering me a substantial amount as a reward but it is impossible for me to accept it."

"Why not?" asked my noble guest, "You justly deserve the reward because I am giving it entirely of my own free will. I gladly give it to you as a humble token of my gratitude. Please do not dishearten me by refusing it." I replied, "Sir, I cannot even think of being rude to decline your kind offer, but iti is certainly improper for me to take it without doing anything to earn it. The necklace is yours and I happened to find it only by chance. Its restoration to you does not entitle me to take anything in return. Please do not insist on me to accept what is not morally due to me."


He was rather surprised by my firm refusal. Normally people yearn for money but I was adamantly declining it. He said, "My son! It is a virtue to be an honest person but the money is which is being offered to you is not disallowed by our faith. It is not prohibited to offer or accept such presents. Therefore, I request you to reconsider your unrealistic stand and keep that purse for the sake of my pleasure if not for anything else."

I said, "Sir, I do not at all intend to displease you, but the pleasure of Almighty Allah is more important to be reckoned with than your or my pleasure. If there is any good in my action, I will prefer to leave the matter to His Grace for compensation, which I do not wan tot risk for all the riches of this world. Kindly do not insist because I am determined not to accept any undue reward." My guest collected his pouch and purse and stood much dejectedly to leave. He patted me on the back and left without a word.


After a week or so, I got back my previous job. My days of deprivation and hunger were over. I rejoined my classes and forgot all about the incident I my busy schedule of daily routine. I exerted all of my energy to acquire knowledge of the Holy Qur'an and Hadith. My main subject of interest was Islamic Jurisprudence. I completed my studies with a distinction.


On the recommendation of my tutor, I was offered an appointment as Qazi of Qurtaba, (Cordova) the capital city of Haspaniyah (presently known as Spain). I readily accepted the post and started to prepare myself very happily for the long journey. I took leave of my colleagues and went to the port of Jeddah to embark on the ship for my destination. I boarded a merchant ship to carry me to the land of my future hopes.


For the first few days, the voyage was smooth and very enjoyable. Then suddenly a violent storm of severe intensity overtook us and the ship was engulfed by stormy waves. The mountain high waves tossed the ship around like a tiny toy. The masts were broken and the sails torn. A mighty wave crushed the ship and wrecked it completely. A few screams were heard and it was all over. I saw some floating boards and a few victims of the crash swimming around trying to save their lives. They were the only survivors of the hapless ship who were drifting over the ocean surface. When I recovered from the shock, I found myself clinging to a plan and moving with it at the mercy of the waves.


After drifting for two days, in a semi-conscious state, the waves tossed me upon the shore. I thanked Almighty Allah for saving me from the jaws of death. I was so weak that I couldn’t move. I helplessly lay there exposed to the scorching heat of the burning rays of the sun. I crawled to the dim shadows of a thorny bush. I lost track of time and was in a state between dizziness and heavy slumber.


After some time, I slightly opened my eyes and saw a few strange faces staring at me. They poured a few drops of water into my mouth and I came out of my oblivion but was still unable to speak. They made up a stretcher and carried me to a nearby town. When we approached near it, the first man-made thing which caught my eye was a towering minaret of a Masjid. I thanked Allah for being among my own brethren of faith.


They took me to a house belonging to one of them and laid me on a comfortable bed. With proper care, feeding, and treatment, I soon regained my lost energy. I told my kind host all about myself and the mishap of the ship wreck. My host, whose name was Faleh Hasan, informed me that I was in Hodeida, a coastal town of Yemen. The tract where I was luckily found was a desolate region and was a less treaded part of the coast. Faleh Hasan and his friends noticed a few vultures circling over the area, so they went to investigate and found me there in an unconscious state. He introduced me to his friends and I expressed my heartful thanks for saving my life. Due to their loving concern, I was soon normal, both mentally and physically.


I began to attend Masjid to offer my regular prayers and there I came to know many persons of nobility and of high-ranking positions. They all knew my unhappy episode through my host and treated me with understanding and respect. One of them was the aged and pious Sheikh Ahmad bin Suhail who usually led the prayers. He always greeted me with fatherly affection which touched me to the heart.


One day, he was a little late to arrive to the Masjid, so the people requested me to lead the prayers. My hesitation and excuses proved to be useless before their sincere appeals. That day I performed the duties of Imam. I did my best to recite clearly the Verses of the Holy Qur'an during the prayer and afterwards delivered a brief sermon on Islamic Law. Everyone seemed to be highly impressed. Sheikh Ahmad bin Suhail came forward and congratulated me on my excellent performance. I thanked him for his appreciation and encouragement. I came back to the house of my host filled with delight and self-confidence.


But later, I had sometimes thought that I had overstayed my welcome. So after the evening prayers, I stated my intention of leaving, but my host disagreed with me. He wanted me to stay for a few more days to recoup my health fully. At night, when I was going to bed, Sheikh Ahmad bin Suhail came with a few respectable people of the town. The friends of Faleh Hasan, who were my saviors, were also with them. When the preliminary formalities of greeting each other were over and all were comfortably seated, Sheikh Ahmad turned his eyes towards me and said, "Dear Abu Bakr, I have been honored by these gentlemen to speak to you, on behalf of them, about their commendable wish. I expect, you will please assent to it."


I was perplexed by that kind of address. So I said nervously, "Sir, you are very helpful and kind to me. I cannot disregard any of your commands or wishes. You can order me to do anything and it will be an honor for me to obey it."

He said, "Dear son, we all earnestly desire you to stay here with us forever. The regular Imam of our Masjid had died last year. We still mourn his death and perhaps will do so forever. His respect is deeply rooted in our hearts. He had enlightened our lives with the torch of knowledge. We wish you to take his place and consent to be our Imam. We may not be able to offer you a better paid position than that of the Qazi in Qurtaba, but we will surely give you our love, affection, and respect."

"But Sir," I protested, "I am a fresh, inexperienced student and feel small to carry out the sacred duties of the high office of Imam." The Sheikh said, "My son, do not underestimate yourself. We all have heard your recitiation and sermon, and are fully convinced of your ability to fulfill those responsibilities."

Before I could think of any evasive answer, my host, Faleh Hasan, and his friends vehemently backed up the proposal. I was left with no other alternative but to nod in affirmative. Everybody was pleased with my decision, especially Sheikh Ahmad who thanked me and kissed my forehead. They all rose to leave and thanking me individually, departed very happy.

They left me thinking how the secret hands of fate change the course of destiny in a secret manner. Circumstances secretly take such a turn that they altogether change the plans made up by man. I had cherished the hope of being a Qazi of Qurtaba and had taken steps to attain that goal, but preordained events made me an Imam of the Masjid in Hodeida.


So a new phase in my life began. I took charge of the imposed position and shifted to the assigned house of the Imam. I restarted the primary school that had closed due to the sad demise of the former Imam. I also commenced evening classes to impart lessons to explain the meaning of the Holy Qur'an.

I completely adjusted myself to the new environment and people generally accepted me as their religious leader. I was very contented and never for a moment regretted my decision to settle there. All the people, young and old alike, were happy and respected me. The feelings of any estrangement all faded away and I became as if I was one of them for ages.


One day, Sheikh Ahmad came to me and after enquiring about my welfare, said, "Dear Abu Bakr, your services to or townsmen are praiseworthy and beyond our expectations. I am glad that you had accepted our offer of staying with us. Now have come to you to ask one more favor."

I said, "Sir, I am at your service. Please tell me and I will comply with your order."

He said, "Dear son, a man is not perfect without his partner of life. I want you to marry and take full advantage of life. Marriage is also a sacred Sunna of our Holy Prophet. The sweet marital responsibilities are a real blessing which have been conferred onto man."

I replied, "Sir, you have always advised me in my best interest. I take you as a father to me and in this matter also, I will follow you counsel."

The Sheikh said, "Your predecessor, the late Imam of this Masjid was a very close friend of mine. He had a daughter, and when he was sure of his end, he entrusted her to my protection and care. Since then she has been under my guardianship. She is a lovely and adorable girl of good manners. Allah has endowed her with physical and mental beauty. She is virtuous and is a suitable match for you. I wish to give her in marriage to you and I feel sure that it will be a marriage of true minds."


I had no objection to the proposal whatsoever. A few days later, the bonds of marriage united us. After the festive ceremonies were over, Sheikh Ahmad escorted her to my house that was in fact her old abode where she had lived with her late father. I looked at her and my gaze was concentrated steadily on her. I forgot to even say welcome to her. I was not only looking at her beautiful and charming face, and at her downcast eyes; but my glance was riveted upon her pretty neck, which was ornamented by precious pearls. I at once recognized that necklace. It was the same necklace that I once found on a deserted road of Makkah. I looked at her in silent and open-mouthed wonder.


Sheikh Ahmad noticed my confused condition and thought that her beauty and the luster of the pearls had enchanted me. He politely said, "Dear Abu Bakr, that necklace and its wearer, both are yours now and you can take all your time to behold them. It may, perhaps, interest you to know that the necklace has a strange story of its own. Five years ago, my friend went to Makkah for pilgrimage and took that necklace with him to get it re-polished. There, he lost it. But due to the goodness of an honest young man, he recovered it intact. That commendable young man refused to sell his honesty and declined the pressing offer of a handsome reward. He left a lasting impression upon my friend who always remembered and talked about him. He once confided to me that he had a mind to go to Makkah again and ask that virtuous young man to accept the hand of his daughter, but time did not allow him to do so. Anyhow, it was destined differently. His daughter was to become your wife instead of his. The decreed decisions of fate are strange and beyond the understanding of man."

An emotional storm erupted within me. The strange happenings of the fateful events which were unfolded by the hidden hands of destiny agitated me and drops of tears rolled down my cheeks; I looked towards Sheikh Ahmad through misty eyes and said, "Dear Sir, you are very right to say that insight into the unknown mysteries of fate is not possible. It would perhaps be a pleasant surprise to know that I am the same person who found the necklace and restored it to your friend. He, in return, offered me an amount of five hundred dinars. Although I was a pauper and was suffering from the agonies of hunger in those days, my conscience did not allow me to accept anything that was not my due. I pinned all my hopes and expectations of Almighty Allah for any reward. And here I am with His gracious and greatest reward of all."


Sheikh Ahmad was amazed and without saying a word, he held my hand and shook it was a passion. My newly wedded wife lifted her eyes and looked me full in the face. Her eyes were filled with enthusiastic love that any husband ever could desire for. Almighty Allah had bestowed upon me His favors by giving me a considerate and loving wife and nothing in life surpasses that bliss."








Abu Bakr Muhammad
[compiled by Abdul Haq Muhammad]






Taken from www.geocities.com/mutmainna (http://www.geocities.com/mutmainna)

[redsulphur]

!! :ahb:, :lailah:, :alhumdull, :sub:

:crying: ..if that isn't a touching story... I don't know what is!.

:jkk: SoulAsylum for sharing that superb story.. :D

[redsulphur]

King Mahmud and the beans


The mighty King Mahmud of Ghazna, out hunting one day, was separated from his party. He came upon the smoke of a small fire and rode to the spot, where he found an old woman with a pot.
Mahmud said:

'You have as guest today the monarch. What are you cooking on your fire ?'

The crone said:

'This is a bean stew.'

The emperor asked her:

'Old lady, will you not give me some?'

'I will not,' she said, 'for this is only for me. Your kingdom is not worth what these beans are worth. You may want my beans, but I don't want anything you have. My beans are worth a hundred times more than all you have. Look at your enemies, who challenge your possessions in every particular. I am free, and I have my own beans.'

The mighty Mahmud looked at the undisputed owner of the beans, thought of his disputed domains, and wept.


by Shaykh Farriduddin Attar (ra)

[SoulAsylum]

!! :ahb:, :lailah:, :alhumdull, :sub:

:crying: ..if that isn't a touching story... I don't know what is!.

:jkk: SoulAsylum for sharing that superb story.. :D

Your welcome redsulphur :D , its a deeply amazing story, i knew i had to share it.

[redsulphur]

A story from India

(Step by step)


A certain man had to go out to another town miles away. It was night and pitch dark, and all he had was a tiny little lantern which could, at most, light a couple of steps. Because the journey seemed so long, and the night dark, he was depressed and unsure - unsure of reaching his destination with only this tiny light.
While he stood at his door utterly frustrated and helpless, a Realised Man happened to appear and asked him why he was standing at his door with a lantern.
The man replied that he really did not know what to do;
though he was all set for the journey, it appeared so long, and the night so dark, that his small lantern could not really be of much use.
The Realised Man explained to him that it was not necessary to have a big enough light to illuminate the whole way.
'As you proceed' he said, 'the light will move with you, so that the next one or two steps will always be clear. All you need to do is to hold on to this light and start walking. As the darkness clears with the rising of the sun, if you keep walking you will reach the destination in the full night of the moon'.


by Shri Shantananda Saraswati

[redsulphur]

The Poet and the Physician

A poet went to see a doctor. He said to him:
"I have all kinds of terrible symptoms. I am unhappy and uncomfortable, my hair and my arms and legs are as if tortured."
The doctor answered:
"Is it not true that you have not yet given out your latest poetic composition?"
"That is true," said the poet.
"Very well," said the physician, "be good enough to recite."
He did so, and, at the doctor's orders, said his lines again and again.
Then the doctor said:
"Stand up, for you are now cured. What you had inside had affected your outside.
Now that it is released, you are well again."

by Hakim Jami

[redsulphur]

The Heifer and the Ox


A Heifer saw an Ox hard at work harnessed to a plow, and
tormented him with reflections on his unhappy fate in being
compelled to labor. Shortly afterwards, at the harvest festival,
the owner released the Ox from his yoke, but bound the Heifer
with cords and led him away to the altar to be slain in honor of
the occasion. The Ox saw what was being done, and said with a
smile to the Heifer: "For this you were allowed to live in
idleness, because you were presently to be sacrificed."


by Aesops

[redsulphur]

A true account

A Wise Young Muslim Boy

Many years ago, during the time of the Tâbi'în (the generation of Muslims after the Sahâbah), Baghdâd was a great city of Islam. In fact, it was the capital of the Islamic Empire and, because of the great number of scholars who lived there, it was the center of Islamic knowledge.

One day, the ruler of Rome at the time sent an envoy to Baghdad with three challenges for the Muslims. When the messenger reached the city, he informed the khalîfah that he had three questions which he challenged the Muslims to answer.

The khalîfah gathered together all the scholars of the city and the Roman messenger climbed upon a high platform and said, "I have come with three questions. If you answer them, then I will leave with you a great amount of wealth which I have brought from the king of Rome." As for the questions, they were: "What was there before Allâh?" "In which direction does Allâh face?" "What is Allâh engaged in at this moment?"

The great assembly of people were silent. (Can you think of answers to these questions?) In the midst of these brilliant scholars and students of Islam was a man looking on with his young son. "O my dear father! I will answer him and silence him!" said the youth. So the boy sought the permission of the khalîfah to give the answers and he was given the permission to do so.

The Roman addressed the young Muslim and repeated his first question, "What was there before Allâh?"

The boy asked, "Do you know how to count?"

"Yes," said the man.

"Then count down from ten!" So the Roman counted down, "ten, nine, eight, ..." until he reached "one" and he stopped counting

"But what comes before 'one'?" asked the boy.

"There is nothing before one- that is it!" said the man.

"Well then, if there obviously is nothing before the arithmetic 'one', then how do you expect that there should be anything before the 'One' who is Absolute Truth, All-Eternal, Everlasting the First, the Last, the Manifest, the Hidden?"

Now the man was surprised by this direct answer which he could not dispute. So he asked, "Then tell me, in which direction is Allâh facing?"

"Bring a candle and light it," said the boy, "and tell me in which direction the flame is facing."

"But the flame is just light- it spreads in each of the four directions,

North, South, East and West. It does not face any one direction only," said the man in wonderment.

The boy cried, "Then if this physical light spreads in all four directions such that you cannot tell me which way it faces, then what do you expect of the Nûr-us-Samâwâti-wal-'Ard: Allâh - the Light of the Heavens and the Earth!? Light upon Light, Allâh faces all directions at all times."

The Roman was stupified and astounded that here was a young child answering his challenges in such a way that he could not argue against the proofs. So, he desperately wanted to try his final question. But before doing so, the boy said,

"Wait! You are the one who is asking the questions and I am the one who is giving the answer to these challenges. It is only fair that you should come down to where I am standing and that I should go up where you are right now, in order that the answers may be heard as clearly as the questions."

This seemed reasonable to the Roman, so he came down from where he was standing and the boy ascended the platform. Then the man repeated his final challenge, "Tell me, what is Allâh doing at this moment?"

The boy proudly answered, "At this moment, when Allâh found upon this high platform a liar and mocker of Islam, He caused him to descend and brought him low. And as for the one who believed in the Oneness of Allâh, He raised him up and established the Truth. Every day He exercises (universal) power (Surah 55 ar-Rahmân, Verse 29)."

The Roman had nothing to say except to leave and return back to his country, defeated. Meanwhile, this young boy grew up to become one of the most famous scholars of Islam. Allâh, the Exalted, blessed him with special wisdom and knowledge of the deen. His name was Abu Hanîfah (rahmatullâh 'alayhi- Allâh have mercy on him) and he is known today as Imâm-e-A'dham, the Great Imâm and scholar of Islam.

Adapted into English from "Manâqib Abî Hanîfah" written by Imâm Muwaffaq Ibn Ahmad al-Makki (d. 568 Hijri). Dar al - Kitâb al-'Arabiy, Beirut, 1981/1401H.

[I will be away for a while so pls feel free to post stories]

source here (http://www.darulislam.info/ftopict-84.html&sid=6023d3d7ae561b1d5047aa4c394abe30)

[wisdom]

jazakiallah brother for sending those stories they are very interesting!

[redsulphur]

A Fly Makes Its Point


A tyrannical ruler was addressing the people, when a fly settled on his face. He chased the fly away. Back it came and again he chased it. The fly was stubborn. It settled on his face once more. He tried to kill it, failed, got angry. He then asked Dahhak, a scholar who was present: "Why has Allah created this annoying insect? Doesn't it seem useless?" Dahhak replied: "It was created to show tyrants like you how impotent they really are; that they don't even have the power to dispose a fly. You may hold sway over human beings, yet a feeble little insect refuses to obey you. It settles on dirt, then comes and alights on the faces of those who imagine they are God. If it could express itself in words, it would say: "You are a nonentity. Do not forget that you are nothing. You may conquer the world, but you cannot conquer me. If Allah wills, He can kill you, as He killed Nimrod, with a miserable little fly."


by
Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi,

[redsulphur]

The Game Board

An African (Ethiopian) story

Once a man in the town of Nebri carved a beautiful gebeta board for his son. He made it from the wood of an olive tree. When he was finished he showed his son how to play games upon it. The boy was very glad to have such a beautiful thing, and in the morning when he went out with the cattle to the valley where they grazed he took his gebeta board along. Everywhere he went he carried his board under his arm.
While he followed the cattle, he came upon a group of wandering Somalis with their camels, gathered around a small fire in a dry riverbed.
"Where in this country of yours can a man get wood?" the Somalis asked.
"Why, here is wood," the boy said. And he gave them the fine gebeta board, which they put into the fire. As it went up in flames, the boy began to cry:
"Oh, now where is my fine gebeta board that my father has carved for me?"
"Do not make such turmoil," the Somalis said, and they gave him a fine new knife in place of the game board.
The boy took the knife and went away with his cattle. As he wandered he came to a place where a man was digging a well in the sand of the riverbed, so that his goats could drink.
"The ground is hard," the man said. "Lend me your knife to dig with."
The boy gave the man the knife, but the man dug so vigorously with it that it broke.
"Ah, what has become of my knife?" the boy wailed.
"Quiet yourself," the man said. "Take this spear in its place." And he gave the boy a beautiful spear trimmed with silver and copper.
The boy went away with his cattle and his spear. He met a party of hunters. When they saw him one ofthem said: "Lend me your spear, so that we may kill the lion we are trailing."
The boy gave him the spear, and the hunters went out and killed the lion. But in the hunt the shaft of the spear was splintered.
"See what you've done with my spear!" the boy cried.
"Don't carry on so," the hunter said. "Here is a horse for you in place of your spear."
The hunter gave him a horse with fine leather trappings, and he started back toward the village. On the way he came to where a group of workmen were repairing the highway. As they worked they caused a landslide, and the earth and rocks came down the mountain with a great roar. The horse became frightened and ran away.
"Where is my horse?" the boy cried. "You have made him run away!"
"Don't grieve," the workman said. "Here is an axe." And he gave the boy a common iron axe. The boy took the axe and continued toward the village. He came to a woodcutter who said: "Lend me your large axe for this tree. My axe is too small."
He loaned the woodcutter the axe, and the woodcutter chopped with it and broke it.
The boy cried, and the woodcutter said: "Never mind, here is a limb of a tree."
The boy took the limb upon his back and when he came near the village a woman said: "Where did you find the wood? I need it for my fire."
The boy gave it to her, and she put it in the fire. As it went up in flames he said: "Now where is my wood?"
"Here," the woman said, "here is a fine gebeta board."
He took the gebeta board under his arm and went home with the cattle. As he entered his house his father smiled and said: "What is better than a gebeta game board to keep a small boy out of trouble?"



[Author unknown (to me)]

source (http://www.darsie.net/talesofwonder/game.html)

[redsulphur]

The four dollar servant

A story from Russia

A rich man, whose name was Mr. Seidman, employed many servants. He treated them all kindly, and they were fond of him and often told him their troubles and asked his advice. Among these servants were two men, named John and Joseph. John was paid four dollars a week as wages, and Joseph ten dollars a week.
The two men often saw each other at their tasks. John's work was nearly always hard. He had to move heavy furniture about, and carry large boxes and packages up and down stairs. Joseph's work was much easier. He ran errands for his master, worked for him among his books, and wrote letters for him.
John often wondered why Joseph received so large a wage for light work, while he himself worked much harder for less money. He determined to ask Mr. Seidman the reason. He knew that his master was his friend and would be willing to answer his question.
"There is something that puzzles me," he said to Mr. Seidman one day. "I wish you would explain it to me." And he told him his trouble.
Mr. Seidman listened, and then answered, "Yes, I will explain to you the reason for the difference between your wages and Joseph's. But first, do you see that loaded wagon that has stopped in the street? Ask the driver, please, what he has in his load."
John went out to the street and returned at once, saying that the wagon was loaded with wheat.
"Where is the wheat going?" asked Mr. Seidman.
Again John went out to the wagon.
"The wheat is to be delivered in Brod," he reported.
"And from where does it come?" Mr. Seidman asked.Once more John was obliged to go out to the street and speak to the driver of the wagon.
Then Mr. Seidman wished to know how grain there was in the load.
As soon as John had learned this, his master asked what the price was per bushel. Again John ran out to the wagon.
Altogether he made five trips in order to answer his master's questions.
Then Mr. Seidman sent for Joseph, who was busy at his work in another room.
"Joseph," he said, "run out to that driver and ask him what he has in his wagon. I want to know."
Joseph quickly ran out to the street; and it was not very long - in fact only as long as it took John to ask his first question - before he came back.
"Well?" asked the master."The driver comes from the town of Sinyava," answered Joseph, "but his load of wheat comes from Svod, and he says he is taking it to Brod. Since early morning he has been on the road, but expects to get to Brod before night. He has more than one hundred and twenty bushels of wheat in the load, and it is worth seventy-five cents a bushel. He tells me that the wheat crop has been large this year, and that we may expect a fall in the price before long. Is that all, Mr. Seidman?"

"Yes, that is all, Joseph. Now, John," said Mr. Seidman, "do you understand why Joseph is worth a larger wage than you are?"
John nodded. "Yes," he replied, "he thinks while he works."

source (http://www.ongoing-tales.com/SERIALS/oldtime/FAIRYTALES/folktale01.html)

[SoulAsylum]

JUST P.U.S.H!

http://www.ezsoftech.com/stories/images/dot.gifA man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and the Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down; his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all of his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind: "you have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't moved." Thus, giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. Satan said, "Why kill yourself over this?" "Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough."

That's what he planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. "Lord," he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

The Lord responded compassionately, "My Servant, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard.

Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. Now I, my servant, will move the rock." At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just a simple obedience and faith in Him. By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves mountains.

When everything seems to go wrong ... just P.U.S.H!

When the job gets you down ... just P.U.S.H!

When people don't react the way you think they should ... just P.U.S.H!

When your money is "gone" and the bills are due ... just P.U.S.H!

When people just don't understand you ... just P.U.S.H!

P + U + S + H = Pray + Until + Something + Happens


http://www.ezsoftech.com/stories/mis8.asp#plant

[redsulphur]

:start:

... A great story :) .. thanks SoulAsylum... may Allah bless and reward you with good..ameen:D

[SoulAsylum]

JazakAllah Red Sulphur....and the same for you :)

[redsulphur]

http://www.super-babies.com/smiliepages/pointlaugh.gif
..Red Sulphur.... ...I like that..:D :up:

__________________________________________________ ______________




Working Very Hard


A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, "I am devoted

to studying your martial system. How long will it take me to master it." The

teacher's reply was casual, "Ten years." Impatiently, the student answered,

"But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will

practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to. How long will it take

then?" The teacher thought for a moment, "20 years."




[Author unknown (to me)]

[redsulphur]

The Gift of Insults

There once lived a great warrior. Though quite old, he still was able to defeat

any challenger. His reputation extended far and wide throughout the land

and many students gathered to study under him.

One day an infamous young warrior arrived at the village. He was

determined to be the first man to defeat the great master. Along with his

strength, he had an uncanny ability to spot and exploit any weakness in an

opponent. He would wait for his opponent to make the first move, thus

revealing a weakness, and then would strike with merciless force and

lightning speed. No one had ever lasted with him in a match beyond the first

move.

Much against the advice of his concerned students, the old master gladly

accepted the young warrior's challenge. As the two squared off for battle, the

young warrior began to hurl insults at the old master. He threw dirt and spit

in his face. For hours he verbally assaulted him with every curse and insult

known to mankind. But the old warrior merely stood there motionless and

calm. Finally, the young warrior exhausted himself. Knowing he was

defeated, he left feeling shamed.

Somewhat disappointed that he did not fight the insolent youth, the students

gathered around the old master and questioned him. "How could you endure

such an indignity? How did you drive him away?"

"If someone comes to give you a gift and you do not receive it," the master

replied, "to whom does the gift belong?"


[Author unknown (to me)]

[SoulAsylum]

The above story was Cool MashAllah...........Good moral but hard to practice in real life!!

[Niqaabi]

A man came home limping and asked his young daughter to giv him a cloth and a bowl of warm water.
The little girl bought the water and cloth and asked what happened?
"I was bitten by a dog my child" the man replied.
The little girl was upset by what she heard so she asked her father "why didnt you bite the dog back daddy?"
The father laughed, "sometimes people do something hurtful to you, and its best to walk away, because (1) they misunderstood you or (2) they were angry when they did it" the man went on to say "the dog bit me, does that give me a right to bite him back?"

Moral: 2 Wrongs dont make a Right

:dogrun:

[redsulphur]

:jkk: Niqaabi for that story :)

The above story was Cool MashAllah...........Good moral but hard to practice in real life!!


You are absolutely right SoulAsylum.... we can only try... or P.U.S.H even :)

You know..... there is one moral teaching that is on my mind alot... which ..Ya Allah!...I really really 'try' to work on.. :( ..(may Allah help us all to follow this moral wisdom, ameen).... its not a story but a Sahih Hadith of Habibullah, Sayiddina, Rasuululah Muhammad :saw: may Allah bless him and grant him peace and his household and all those who struggle to follow his way, ameen


..I will post it here anyway...


"Take benefit of five before five:
1. Your youth before your old age,
2. Your health before your sickness,
3. Your wealth before your poverty,
4. Your free-time before your preoccupation, and
5. Your life before your death."

[SoulAsylum]

=redsulphur]:jkk: Niqaabi for that story :)
You are absolutely right SoulAsylum.... we can only try... or P.U.S.H even :)


lool we can P.U.S.H :) but sometimes we have to fight fire with fire


You know..... there is one moral teaching that is on my mind alot... which ..Ya Allah!...I really really 'try' to work on.. :( ..(may Allah help us all to follow this moral wisdom, ameen).... its not a story but a Sahih Hadith of Habibullah, Sayiddina, Rasuululah Muhammad :saw: may Allah bless him and grant him peace and his household and all those who struggle to follow his way, ameen


..I will post it here anyway...


"Take benefit of five before five:
1. Your youth before your old age,
2. Your health before your sickness,
3. Your wealth before your poverty,
4. Your free-time before your preoccupation, and
5. Your life before your death."


Wow........MashaAllah.......that has so many things in it....it encapsualtes everything. May Allah make it easy for you, me and the whole ummah to make this hadith the fulcrum of our life:)

Peace

Walaykum Salaam RedSulphur

[redsulphur]

Wanting God



A hermit was meditating by a river when a young man interrupted him.

"Master, I wish to become your disciple," said the man. "Why?" replied the

hermit. The young man thought for a moment. "Because I want to find

God."

The master jumped up, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, dragged him

into the river, and plunged his head under water. After holding him there for

a minute, with him kicking and struggling to free himself, the master finally

pulled him up out of the river. The young man coughed up water and gasped

to get his breath. When he eventually quieted down, the master spoke. "Tell

me, what did you want most of all when you were under water."

"Air!" answered the man.

"Very well," said the master. "Go home and come back to me when you

want God as much as you just wanted air."


[Author unknown (to me)]





..I will be away ramdhan is coming up...if anything that I have written on this forum has caused offence or harm to anyone please forgive me for that... I extend my heartiest prayers, peace and best ramadhan wishes to you all.

[toxic]

The cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five.
Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh please, Mommy.
Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?"


Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face. "A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $10.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."


As soon as Aisha got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out
17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbour and asked Aunty Jamshed if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.
Aisha loved her pearls.


They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere, Sunday madressa classes, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath.
Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.


Aisha had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story from the Quraan. One night as he finished the story, he asked Aisha , "Do you love me?"


"Oh yes, daddy. You know that I love you." "Then give me your pearls."
"Oh, daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail. Remember, daddy? The one you gave me. She's my very favourite." "That's okay, Aisha, daddy loves you.
Allah-hafez." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.


About a week later, after the story time, Aisha's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?" "Daddy, you know I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll.
The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have
the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper. "That's okay. Sleep
well. May Allah bless you & protect you, Aisha. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.


A few nights later when her daddy came in, Aisha was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.
"What is it, Aisha? What's the matter?" Aisha didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, daddy, this is for you." With tears gathering in his own eyes, Aisha's daddy reached out with one hand to take the cheap necklace,
and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a
blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Aisha.


He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the cheap stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure.


So it is with our Allah Almighty. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures.
Isn't Allah great? Are you holding onto things that Allah wants you to let go of?


Are you holding on to harmful or unnecessary partners, relationships, habits and activities that you have come so attached to that it seems impossible to let go? Sometimes it is so hard to see what is in the other hand but do believe this one thing ...


.....Allah will never take away something without giving you something better in its place.


You can do two things with this story:


The greatest gifts happen when you share love and touch others'
hearts!

[siti_saphina]

red sulphur these stories are wonderful masha allah!

[peace2u]

Masha Allah:up: I really liked Just P.U.S.H and Pearls of life:)


Peace

[Salahudin]

Jazakallah Khair red! wonderful inspiring stories! :D

[Stan_is_back]

Abba Lot once went to see Abba Joseph and said:

"Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule and my little fast, my prayer,
meditation and contemplative silence; and according as I am able I strive to cleanse my heart of bad thoughts.
Now, what more should I do?"

And the elder rose up in reply and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became lamps of fire.
And he said to Abba Lot, "Why not become fire?"

[Hamza Momand]

This is a true story about a girl who lived in Oman, and was Omani. The people who told her story are her best friend and some members of her family.



The story starts when a young Omani man married a western woman. The woman stayed on her Christian religion, but she came to live in Oman with her husband. The man had a good job and was wealthy. They had some children, but they lacked a family.



This story is very sad because it talks about THE TRUTH; The truth that was so bitter for one of their daughters.

I will call her Malak, it means angel. That is what she turned out to be later, so there is no better name to call her.



Malak lived a life of luxury and wealth. She had whatever anyone would dream to have.The only thing that this young girl lacked was a family.



Malak wanted someone there for her to spend time with, and to confide in.The only people who she could turn to were the other rich girls who led a life similar to hers. They spent their time with friends basically having fun, as it would be called. There was no one to interfere with them, they could do whatever they please.



In one of the vacations they decided to go to Salalah for a couple of days.



There was Malak and her best friend and six boys that went with them. They took two rooms, one, which the boys slept in, and the other where she and her friend slept in. They would all stay together in one room, or in the clubs then they would go to sleep around two in the morning. This is how much freedom these girls had. At least that is what they considered freedom.



Malak and her best friend both had boyfriends, so once they wanted to hang around somewhere without being disturbed by the others. They decided to go to her friend's house because there was no one there.



So they sat together in the living room for sometime, then her friend wanted to go into one of the rooms with her boyfriend, and she told Malak that she could also go into any of the rooms if she wanted to.



Malak preferred to stay in the living room and talk to her boyfriend. After some time her friend called her, so she and her boyfriend both went. When they did they were astonished to see their two friends in such a shameful way. Malak was so furious that she slapped her friend and told her, " How dare you?" Then she stormed out of the house, full of feelings that she had felt for the first time in her life.



For the first time she felt that her life was worthless. She just needed somewhere to run to be comforted.



She went to her house,only to hear the loud music playing and the voices of her siblings with their friends. Oh how she hated all those things that happened in that house. She ran to her room for comfort, only to find all those horrible paintings and posters staring at her. She pulled them all down and broke them. She felt very tired after that, but relieved.



Now she needed to pray, she went to their living room, because it was quiet so that she can pray. She wanted to pray, she needed to pray, but she didn't know how! She went into the toilet and got her whole body wet, because she had no idea how to perform wudhu. Then she found her grandmother's prayer mat and she stood on it, not knowing what to do.



Then she just did what her heart told her to do, she prostrated (did sujud) and just talked to God. She stayed like that for one whole hour. She just poured her heart out to her Creator. She felt much better after that, but there was more that she wanted to do now.



She remembered her uncle, whom she hadn't seen for a very long time, because he was not on good terms with her father. He was the person who could help her. She planned to go to his house, but she absolutely couldn't go there dressed the way she was. She tried to find something suitable to wear, she couldn't. All her clothes exposed her body. Then she remembered that her aunt had once given her an abaya and veil and the holy Qur'an. She went and got them all out, wore the Abaya and veil, then she called her grandmother's driver to take her to her uncle's house.



When she got there, her uncle's wife opened the door. Malak threw herself into her arms and cried her heart out.



The aunt understood what happened, so she called her husband. When Malak saw her uncle, she did the same, she just hugged him tight and cried. The uncle didn't even recognize his niece at first because he hardly sees her. When he understood who she was, he comforted her and sat with her and talked to her.



Malak had later said that this was the first time that she ever felt love and care. Then she asked to see one of her cousins. When her cousin came, she asked her to teach her how to pray. After she learned the prayers, she said I don't want anyone to come in this room, I want to be alone for three days.



Then she asked her uncle, "How long would it take me to memorize the holy Quran." The uncle said that she would need at least five years to do that. She was not happy, she said," I could die before five years had passed."



So she started her mission, she started memorizing the Qur'an. Malak was so much happier and at peace with herself in this new lifestyle. After about two months her father finally realized that his daughter was not in the house and started to inquire about her!



He was infuriated to discover that she was in his brother's house. He went to take her from there, but she refused to go back to their house. Finally Malak decided to go live in her grandfather's house, so as to solve the problem.



What's important is that Malak did reach her goal, she memorized the holy Qur'an in three months only! Now she called her uncle and his family to come over so that they could celebrate the occasion. She told them to hurry. They were all so happy and excited and they went quickly.



When they got there, they were told that she was praying. A long time passed and she still didn't come, so her cousins decided to go see her. They saw her on the prayer mat holding the holy Qur'an in her arms, lying dead. Yes you all read that sentence correctly, she had died holding the holy book in her arms near the heart that memorized it.



The whole family was devastated at her death, but now they had to bury her quickly. They called her father, but she had told her grandfather that she doesn't want her mother to come if she had not converted to Islam. Her sister and brother also came. Then they started washing her. It was the first time for her cousins to wash someone, but they did it anyway, because they were the closest people to her. They said that they felt other people helping them, people that they couldn't see. They had prepared the Kafan (the white cloth that the dead person is wrapped in), but it had disappeared.



They started looking for it everywhere, but they couldn't find it. Then to their surprise in one of the corners of the house they found another Kafan that had the most beautiful smell. So they had no choice but to use this Kafan. When the men went to pray for her, there were six men, dressed in green.



These six men also prayed for her, then they carried her to the graveyard and they buried her. These six men were not members of the family, they were strangers. After the burial, these men disappeared and no one knew who they were or where they came from.



There is no doubt about whom they are and where they came from. They were angels and they came from up above to take the body of the pure Malak and treat it the way God wants. Malak deserved to be buried by angels not humans, because she had reached a higher standard than most other humans had.



The sad thing is that there are many like Malak in Oman and in other Islamic communities. I just hope that everyone spreads this story so that we could learn from this live example. To all the men and women, when it comes to marriage don't just think of love and lust, think of the children that are going to come.



Choose good parents for you children before you bear them. Remember that there is death and judgement and then heaven or hell.



Take good care of your families and nurture them with love and care,and sow faith in their hearts.



Like Malak, with all that she had, she never really felt happy until she found her path back to Allah. Without faith there is no happiness or contentment.

[siti_saphina]

mashallah this is so true. What a thought provoking story. keep them coming as I really love to read them and RED your stories are wicked!

[redsulphur]

pEaRLs of LiFe ...

:masha: ......:jkk: .. toxic for that story :up:




Masha Allah:up: I really liked Just P.U.S.H and Pearls of life:)
:up:




red sulphur these stories are wonderful masha allah! ... mashallah this is so true. What a thought provoking story. keep them coming as I really love to read them and RED your stories are wicked!

:masha:.... :jkk: .... Selamat datang siti_saphina jika anda punya amalan cereka sila habuan. Saya bercakap Melayu tiada lancar sorrylah! :D




Jazakallah Khair red! wonderful inspiring stories! :D

:masha:.... :jkk: .... Salahudin... waad mahad-santahay walal! :D



Abba Lot once went to see Abba Joseph and said :up:




This is a true story about a girl ..
:masha:.... :jkk: .... Hamza for this true and powerful account may Allah bless Malak and those like her ameen. :)

[SoulAsylum]

Welcome back Red Sulphur........good to see you back :D

[redsulphur]

:jkk: ... SoulAsylum .. Thanks for the welcome back... it's good to see you too! :D

[redsulphur]

The North Wind and the Sun


The North Wind and the Sun disputed as to which was the most
powerful, and agreed that he should be declared the victor who
could first strip a wayfaring man of his clothes. The North Wind
first tried his power and blew with all his might, but the keener
his blasts, the closer the Traveler wrapped his cloak around him,
until at last, resigning all hope of victory, the Wind called
upon the Sun to see what he could do. The Sun suddenly shone out
with all his warmth. The Traveler no sooner felt his genial rays
than he took off one garment after another, and at last, fairly
overcome with heat, undressed and bathed in a stream that lay in
his path.


by Aesops

[redsulphur]

The Smuggler

A Tale from the Middle East

A clever smuggler came to the border with a donkey. The donkey's back was heavily laden with straw. The official at the border was suspicious and pulled apart the man's bundles till there was straw all around, but not a valuable thing in the straw was found. "But I'm certain you're smuggling something," the official said, as the man crossed the border.
Now each day for ten years the man came to the border with a donkey. Although the official searched and searched the straw bundles on the donkey's back, he never could find anything valuable hidden in them.
Many years later, after the official had retired, he happened to meet that same smuggler in a marketplace and said, "Please tell me, I beg you. Tell me, what were you smuggling? Tell me, if you can."

"Donkeys," said the man.


Author unknown (to me)

[SoulAsylum]

The Smuggler

A Tale from the Middle East

A clever smuggler came to the border with a donkey. The donkey's back was heavily laden with straw. The official at the border was suspicious and pulled apart the man's bundles till there was straw all around, but not a valuable thing in the straw was found. "But I'm certain you're smuggling something," the official said, as the man crossed the border.
Now each day for ten years the man came to the border with a donkey. Although the official searched and searched the straw bundles on the donkey's back, he never could find anything valuable hidden in them.
Many years later, after the official had retired, he happened to meet that same smuggler in a marketplace and said, "Please tell me, I beg you. Tell me, what were you smuggling? Tell me, if you can."

"Donkeys," said the man.


Author unknown (to me)





Wicked........Red Sulphur :D.......reverse psychology hey??

[redsulphur]

;) .. this story makes me laugh.


hmm .. maybe it is reverse psychology ... or maybe its just down to plain ol' human stupidity ..by always missing the obvious.

..whoever these unknown authors were... they have one thing in common ...they were pretty smart!

:masha:

[yasmin20]

These are really amazing stories
RED jazak Allahu khiyre for sharing them with us.

[redsulphur]

These are really amazing stories
RED jazak Allahu khiyre for sharing them with us.


:masha: ...... :jkk: ... yasmin20 :) ..... please feel free to share any stories you may have :up:

[redsulphur]

Fate

A Hebrew Folktale

King Solomon's servant came breathlessly into the court, "Please! Let me borrow your fastest horse!" he said to the King. "I must be in a town ten miles south of here by nightfall!"

"Why?" asked King Solomon.

"Because," said his shuddering servant, "I just met Death in the garden! Death looked me in the face! I know for certain I'm to be taken and I don't want to be around when Death comes to claim me!"

"Very well," said King Solomon. "My fastest horse has hoofs like wings. TAKE HIM." Then Solomon walked into the garden. He saw Death sitting there with a perplexed look on its face. "What's wrong?" asked King Solomon.

Death replied, "Tonight I'm supposed to claim the life of your servant whom I just now saw in your garden. But I'm supposed to claim him in a town ten miles south of here! Unless he had a horse with hooves like wings, I don't see how he could get there by nightfall . . ."



Author unknown (to me)

[redsulphur]

Three Worst Men


There were three men competing to see who was the worst one in the world.

The first one attacked a woman, beat her until her teeth fell out and she bled from her nose and ears. He beat her so savagely that she fainted.
He turned to the others and said, "I am the worst one of all."

The second man stepped up to rape her and beat her further until she was almost dead.
He turned to the others and said, "No one can be worse than me."

The third one stepped up, smiled coldly, and said, "No, I am the worst one even though I just stood by and watched, because this woman is my sister."


Author unknown (to me)

[toxic]

Three Worst Men


There were three men competing to see who was the worst one in the world.

The first one attacked a woman, beat her until her teeth fell out and she bled from her nose and ears. He beat her so savagely that she fainted.
He turned to the others and said, "I am the worst one of all."

The second man stepped up to rape her and beat her further until she was almost dead.
He turned to the others and said, "No one can be worse than me."

The third one stepped up, smiled coldly, and said, "No, I am the worst one even though I just stood by and watched, because this woman is my sister."


Author unknown (to me)

:salams:

a few years back in south africa a similiar incident occured .... 3 muslim youngsters all HIGH and STONED ( :( ) decided that they'd rape the first hijabi sister that they came across. they saw a young girl with hijaab walking and attacked her and raped her :S . after the effects of the drugs wore off , one of them realised that he had raped his sister :S .... he could not handle that thought and took his own life ...... the parents were left to deal with the fact that their daughter was raped by her brother and his friends and also the fact that the son was no more.

MAY ALLAH HAVE MERCY ON US ALL AND HELP AND GUIDE US ALL!!!! AAMEEN YA RABB!!!

[redsulphur]

:salams:

a few years back in south africa a similiar incident occured .... 3 muslim youngsters all HIGH and STONED ( :( ) decided that they'd rape the first hijabi sister that they came across. they saw a young girl with hijaab walking and attacked her and raped her :S . after the effects of the drugs wore off , one of them realised that he had raped his sister :S .... he could not handle that thought and took his own life ...... the parents were left to deal with the fact that their daughter was raped by her brother and his friends and also the fact that the son was no more.

MAY ALLAH HAVE MERCY ON US ALL AND HELP AND GUIDE US ALL!!!! AAMEEN YA RABB!!!


:start:

:wswrwb:

.. That is deeply disturbing :(


...ameen to your dua toxic.... thumma ameen .... :lahawla:

[redsulphur]

The Mysterious Visitor

A man was offering salah in his house. He was praying as fast as he could as many of us do. All of a sudden, he heard the door behind him open.

Since, someone entered the room, he started making his ruku and sujud longer. Upon completion of the salah, he looked back to see who it was.

To his amazement, it was a dog!



Author unknown (to me)

[Salahudin]

:masha:.... :jkk: .... Salahudin... waad mahad-santahay walal! :D


lool adigaa mudan! :D

Red don't tell me ur another nomad?

[redsulphur]

lool adigaa mudan! :D

Red don't tell me ur another nomad?

:D ... a nomad?.. I am not a nomad.


..hmm.. well actually I am a nomad.

.. I am a linguistic nomad… I learn a few words of different languages here and there so that my mind moves around… and gets through those barriers of understanding.


…I am a spiritual nomad… I move around to where my heart and soul are at ease.. and when a place or people are no longer good for me ..or I am no longer good for a place or a people.. I just move on along…. yep….. that’s what I do.



…so yeh I guess I am.

[redsulphur]

Not Because of Us

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God.
However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.
After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing.
Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food.
The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.
Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island.
The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island.
He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.
As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"
"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything."
"You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of My blessings."
"Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"

"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."


Author unknown (to me)

[Hamza Momand]

THINK TWICE
One night there was a woman at the airport who had to wait for several hours before catching her next flight. While she waited she bought a book and a pack of biscuits to spend the time. She looked for a place to sit and waited.

She was deep into her book, when suddenly she realized that there was a young man sitting next to her who was stretching his hand, with no concern whatsoever,