Eid day when Shuaib came out of his house, a street urchin was walking
around the shiny new car, admiring it. "Is this your car, Uncle?" he
asked. Shuaib nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Eid." The boy was
astounded.
"You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn'tcost you nothing?
Boy, I wish..." He hesitated. Of course Shuaib knew what he was going
to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what
the lad said jarred Shuaib all the way down to his heels. "I wish,"
the boy went on,"that I could be a brother like that." Shuaib looked
at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added,"Would you like
to take a ride in my automobile?""Oh yes, I'd love that."
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes aglow, said,
"Uncle, would you mind driving in front of my house?" Shuaib smiled a
little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his
neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile. But Shuaib was
wrong again."Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked.
He ran up the steps. Then in a little whileShuaib heard him coming
back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled
brother. He sat him down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up
against him and pointed to the car.
"There it is, little brother, just like I told you upstairs. His
brother gave it to him for Eid and it didn't cost him a penny. And
some day I'm gonna give you one just like it...then you can see for
yourself all the pretty things in the Shop windows that I've been
trying to tell you about."
Shuaib got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The
shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them
began a memorable ride. That Eid, Shuaib learned what the RasulAllah
(salAllahu alayhi wasalam) meant when he had said: "love for your
brother what you love for yourself".
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