farmer. Farmer found Eaglet in one of his fields,and so took him home,
tended to his wounds, and then placed him outside in the barnyard to
recover.
Strangely enough, Eaglet soon adapted to the habits of all the
barnyardchickens. Eaglet learned to walk and cluck like chickens.
Eaglet learned to drink from a trough and peck the dirt for food, and
for many years Eaglet peacefully resigned himself to this new life on
the farm and grow up to become beautiful Eagle.
But then one day, one of the farmer's friends spotted the Eagle and
asked, "Why in the world is that Eagle acting like a Chicken?" The
farmer toldhim what had happened,yet the friend could hardly accept
the situation.
"It's just not right," said the friend. "The Almighty Creator made
that Eagle to soar in the sky, not scavenge in the barnyard!" So he
picked up the unsuspecting Eagle, climbed onto a nearby fence post,
and tossed him into the air. But the confused Eagle just fell back to
earth andscurried off in search of his feathered friends.
Undaunted, the friend then grabbed the Eagle and climbed to the top
ofthe barn. As he heaved him off the roof, the Eagle made a few
halfhearted squawks andflaps before falling into abale of hay. After
shakinghis head a few times, the Eagle then made himself comfortable
and began mindlessly pecking at pieces of straw.
The friend went home that night dejected, and could barely sleep as he
remembered the sight of those powerful talons caked with barnyard mud.
He couldn't bear the thought, so the very next day, he headed backto
the farm for another try. This time he carried the Eagle to the top of
a nearby mountain where the sky unfolded in a limitless horizon.
He looked into the Eagle'seyes and cried out, "Don'tyou understand?
You weren't made to live like a Chicken! Why would you want to stay
down here when you were born for the sky?" As the man held the
confused Eagle aloft, he made sure the Eagle was facing into the
brilliant light of the setting sun. Then he powerfully heaved the bird
into the sky, and thistime the Eagle opened his wings, looked at the
sun, caught the updraft rising from the valley, and disappeared into
theclouds of sky.
Moral: Do you know that we, too, were born for some high purpose in
this life? The Almighty Creator has called us to live in the heights,
yet too many of us have huddled together in the barnyard, not
struggling to search for our own Islamic identity and the purpose of
Islamic life?
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