For children, - Ethical Stories: What Goes Around Comes Around!(Waitress Story)

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One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.
Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.
He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was those chills which only fear can put in you.
He said, "I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson."
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.
As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.
He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, "And think of me."
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.
A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered.
After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.
There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: "You don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you."
Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.
Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard...
She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson."/- -*-
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Discover Islam, - Who is a Muslim

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The word "Muslim" means one who submits to the will of God. The first principle of Islam is known as theShahaadah)Testimony of Faith(, and is as follows:"There is no one worthy of worship except Allaah )God(and Muhammad is the Final Apostle )Messenger( of God.”
In a broader sense, anyone who willingly submits to the will of God is a Muslim. Thus, all the prophets preceding Prophet Muhammad,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, are considered Muslims.
One cannot judge Islam by looking at those individuals who have a Muslim name, but in their actions, they are not living or behaving as Muslims. Muslims are ordinary people like other humans; among them are the good and the bad. They are not infallible creatures and, therefore, make mistakes.
When we mention the characteristics of a Muslim, we do not assume that all Muslims have these characteristics, but only those who follow -- to the best of their abilities -- the teachings of Islam.
We can thus summarize the teachings of Islam about the Muslim character concisely in the following way:
A Muslim is truthful, not dishonest
He is humble, not arrogant
He is moderate, not an extremist
He is honest, not corrupt
He is reserved, not garrulous
He is soft-spoken, not boastful
He is loving and solicitous to others, not unmindful of them
He is considerate and compassionate, not harsh
He is polite and helpful, not insulting and disrespectful to people
He is generous and charitable, not selfish and miserly
He is refined and gentle in speech, not prone to swearing or cursing
He is cheerful and generous, not bitter and resentful
He is grateful for what he has, not ungrateful
He is cheerful and pleasant, not irritable and gloomy
He is chaste and pure, not lustful
He is alert, not absent-minded
He is dignified and decent, not graceless
He is sincere and straightforward, not hypocritical
He is optimistic and hopeful, not cynical or pessimistic
He is confident and deep in faith, not doubtful and wavering
He is spiritually oriented, not materialistic
He always has faith in God’s mercy, not losing heart or becoming desperate
He is diligent and vigilant, not negligent to his duties
He is thankful to God and constantly prays to Him, not forgetful of His innumerable blessings
The Muslim personality is balanced. He pays due attention to his body’s needs and his outward appearance, without letting it distract him from nurturing his inner characteristics, as befits man whom God has honored and made His angels prostrate to him, and subjugated for his benefit all that is in the heaven and earth. The Muslim is also concerned with that which will form sound intellectual development and ways of thinking, so that he understands the nature and essence of things. He does not forget that man is not only composed of body and mind, but he also possesses a soul and a spirit, and feels a longing for higher things that makes him rise above this materialistic life and ascend the heights of goodness, virtue and light. Therefore, he pays as much attention to his spiritual development as he does to his physical and intellectual development, in a precisely balanced fashion, which does not concentrate on one aspect to the disadvantage of others.
With his parents, he is an example of sincere filial piety, good treatment, infinite compassion, politeness and deep gratitude.
With his wife, he is an example of good and kind treatment, intelligent handling, deep understanding and proper fulfillment of his responsibilities and duties.
With his children, he is a parent who understands his great responsibility towards them. Although he floods them with love and compassion, he pays attention to things that may affect their Islamic upbringing.
With his relatives, he maintains the ties of kinship and knows his duties toward them. He understands the high status given to relatives in Islam, which makes him remain in touch with them regardless of the circumstances.
With his neighbors, the true Muslim is an example of good treatment and consideration of others’ feelings and sensitivities. He puts up with mistreatment and turns a blind eye to his neighbor’s faults while avoiding committing any such errors himself. He always adopts the Islamic attitude, whereby treating neighbors well was made a basic principle of Islam. His relationship with his brothers and friends is the best and purest of relationships, for it is based on love for the sake of God. This pure, sincere, brotherly love derives its purity from the guidance of the Quran andSunnah)traditions and approved actions of Prophet Muhammad,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam( that became a unique system in the history of human relations.
In his social relationships with all people, he is well mannered, civil and noble, characterized by the attitudes which Islam encourages. Good behavior which is taught in the Quran andSunnah, has been made a religious duty in Islam, for which man will be brought to account.
This is the clear, beautiful picture of the Muslim whose personality has been formed by Islam and whose heart, mind and soul are filled with its divine light.
The development of a society is not measured solely in terms of its scientific achievements and material inventions. There is another, more important standard by which a society is measured. That is the prevalence of human values such as love, empathy, altruism, sacrifice, uprightness and purity of thought, behavior and dealings with others.
If individuals are the basis of a society, then rightly guided societies pay attention to human development and enhance the positive, constructive aspects while seeking to eliminate evil, destructive motives, so that the individual will become a model citizen. It is from groups of such model citizens that clean, civil, strong, healthy, righteous societies are formed.
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Discover Islam, - The revolutionary role of Islam – II

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Historical revolution
This expansion of the Islamic empire was not simply a political event. Its aim, in fact, was to set in motion a revolutionary process in history. This process had been initiated in Makkah itself, then it travelled from Makkah to Madeenah, to Damascus and Baghdad from where it entered Spain and thereafter it spread all over Europe and the entire world. We would probably be right in saying that the 20th century saw the culmination of this process.
There are two basic aspects to this movement. One was the end of religious persecution. )This kind of persecution has been mentioned in the Quran asfitna’(. )Quran 8:39(
The process began with the end of idolatry and was completed during the lifetime of the Prophet, salallaahu alayhi wa sallam. The other, the advent of religious freedom, came about later, during the pious caliphate; with the disintegration of the two great empires—the Sassanid and Byzantine—the two greatest pillars of religious persecution were uprooted, and religious freedom became the order of the day. However, no great revolution materializes all of a sudden. It reaches fruition only by a long historical process, and the Islamic revolution was no exception to this rule. The process of human liberation, initiated by Islam, continued over a long period to make advances through individual and collective efforts, taking various forms. The second Caliph, ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab )d.644(, may Allaah be pleased with him, addressing one of his governors and his son in a well known case asked: “Since when have you enslaved people while their mothers had given birth to them in freedom?”
This voice was echoed eleven hundred years later by the well known French reformer Rousseau )d. 1778(. His book, titled The Social Contract, began with this famous sentence: ‘Man was born free, but I find him in chains’.
The end of the superstitious era
Another basic change wrought by the Islamic revolution was similar in some respects to the scientific revolution of modern times; that is, the rooting out of superstitious thinking on scientific grounds and the general prevalence of thinking based on facts.
As mentioned above, the continued existence of the idolatrous way of life and thinking in ancient times was due to the ignorance of human beings regarding nature. Ancient man used to judge natural phenomena by their appearance. Holding them sacred, he began to worship them. For the first time in human history, Islam succeeded in convincing people that these phenomena of nature were not creators, but only creatures. They were entirely helpless beings, mere slaves and not the masters of man.
In the wake of this revolution, the ideological base of idolatry was wiped out altogether. All those things held sacred were relegated to the status of mere creatures. They were there to be harnessed by man and not for man to be enslaved by them. The sun was held to be a god and worshipped in ancient times; the man of today is converting the sun into solar energy. Ancient man held the moon sacred; modern man has set his foot on it. Ancient man had deified the river; modern man has converted rivers into steam power, etc.
In this way, it has happened for the first time in human history that the phenomena of nature, looked upon by ancient man with reverence, have now become objects of investigation. In other words, Islam started the process of scientific enquiry. The Quran repeatedly enjoins man to reflect on the objects of the universe. This is no simple matter. The act of pondering over the nature of the phenomena of the universe has been accorded the status of worship in Islam. As a result of this thinking, for the first time in known history, all things in the universe have been subjected to research and investigation.
The scientific way of thinking of the modern age initiated in the early period of Islam, continued as a process to grow, spreading from one country to another until it reached the west where it saw its culmination in the western world. In respect of its reality, this scientific thinking is a revolution desirable by Islam itself.
After this revolution, for the first time in human history the idolatrous way of thinking has been totally deprived of its ideological base. The concept of the sacredness of natural phenomena is now seen for what it is—a superstition, for modem scientific investigation has demonstrated belief of this kind to be baseless.
All that happened was exactly in accordance with the Divine plan, the Prophet, salallaahu alayhi wa sallam, and his companions, may Allaah be pleased with them, having been asked to carry out this divine scheme.
Allaah Almighty Says )what means(:“Fight them until there be no persecution and religion be wholly God’s”.]Quran 8:39[
This means that there was no longer any barrier to man’s making a choice in the way of God.
This was the final goal of the revolution brought about by the Prophet Muhammad, salallaahu alayhi wa sallam, and his companions. It ended that absolutist system of coercion which places curbs upon personal decisions about one’s religion. It also removed the veil of obstacles in ideological terms which confused and mislead people, as a result of which they began to worship creatures supposing them to he creators.
The Quran tells us that there is no compulsion in the matter of religion, with the proviso that true guidance and misconceptions should be thoroughly separated from one another. )2:256(
Truth and falsehood stand clearly separated from each other, just like light and darkness after the sun has risen. This was something which—after the Islamic revolution—could be grasped beyond the shadow of a doubt by anyone who sought reality with an open mind. No one was left groping in the dark. And no one was left with any excuses for rejecting God.
To this particular end, Allaah Almighty brought about the revolutions in human history, as mentioned above. Now truth and untruth have become so distinct from one another that there is no thick or thin veil in between: the task of clarification has been performed so thoroughly that the man of today has total freedom of choice. Now in his journey towards Allaah Almighty, man is hindered neither by false ideologies nor by practical barriers.
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Discover Islam, - Islam is your birthright -II

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Muslims: The Moderate Nation:
The chief characteristic of the Islamic concept of life is that it does not recognize a conflict or a separation between the spiritual and the mundane. It does not recognize ritualism, secularism or materialism. For a Muslim, all aspects of life, the spiritual and the material, the State and the religion are interrelated, because everything belongs to Allaah and Allaah alone. Islam provides definite guidelines for all people to follow in all walks of life: individual, social, moral, governmental, political, economic, spiritual and advocates moderation. This is why the Quran calls the Muslims a "moderate nation."
Source of Islamic Teachings:
The Islamic way of life is based on the teachings of the Quran and the Sunnah )traditions( of the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, )may Allaah exalt his mention(. The Quran is the basic source of Islamic teaching and law. It is the word of Allaah revealed to Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, by the angel Gabriel. The entire Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in parts over the 23-year period of his prophethood. Whenever a portion of it was revealed, it was written by his faithful scribes, may Allaah be pleased with them, according to his instructions on palm leaves, parchments, bones etc. Moreover, there were tens of thousands of the Prophet's Companions, may Allaah be pleased with them, who committed the Quran to memory.
After the death of Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the first Caliph Abu Bakr, may Allaah be pleased with him, ordered the collection of the whole Quran in one volume. It was preserved until the third Caliph ‘Uthmaan, may Allaah be pleased with him, prepared several copies and sent them to different Muslim territories. From that time onwards )about 1400 years ago(, the same version has been in use with identical words, order and language, without a single addition or deletion. Briefly stated, the Quran is the only remaining authentic Divine Revelation available to humankind today that is distinguished by its clear historical accounts, unquestionable accuracy, indisputable authenticity and complete preservation in the exact language of its Revelation.
The Sunnah consists of the teachings, sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, meticulously reported by his Companions, may Allaah be pleased with them. It explains and elaborates the Quranic verses.
Islam Is The Religion of Equality:
There is no discrimination in Islam between people on the basis of color, tribe, race, nationality, etc. since all humans descend from one father and one mother: Aadam, may Allaah exalt his mention, and Eve. Islam teaches that the standard of distinction is righteousness. A verse of the Glorious Quran reads )what means(:"Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allaah is the most righteous."]Quran 49: 13[
Islam Is Your Birthright:
Everybody is born in a state of Fitrah )the inclination to worship One God i.e. pure Monotheism(. To accept Islam is not to turn one's back on all the previous Messengers and Prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention. In fact, it is a reversion to the original Monotheism in which we are all created. As such, Islam is your "birthright." However, the parents or the community converts the child to other faiths or to atheism.
Criteria for Truth:
Are you following the correct belief system? The criteria for true faith are listed as follows:
1. Rational Teachings: Man is a rational being, hence, he should use both reason and intellect to distinguish truth from falsehood.
2. Perfection: Since Allaah is perfect, His Revelation must be perfect without flaw and completely free of any contradiction or error.
3. Scientific: Since Divine Revelation is the absolute truth, it can always withstand the challenge of any kind of knowledge, including human discoveries in the field of science.
4. Inimitable: True Revelation from Allaah is an infallible living miracle that cannot be imitated by any being.
5. Worship of One God: True Revelation should teach the worship of One God who has no partner, sharer, associate or helper in His Divinity )i.e., Creatorship, Lordship, Sovereignty or in any of His Divine Attributes(.
6. Simple, Clear and Just: True Revelation must be simple, clear and just in order to be readily understood by any one, because all humans are equal in the sight of Allaah. His blessings are open to anyone who has the will to obey Him.
To conclude, Islam is not a new religion. It is, in essence, the same message and guidance, which Allaah revealed to all His Messengers, may Allaah exalt their mention, but only reiterated in its comprehensive, complete and final form. It is a continuation and culmination of all the preceding Revelation, because as we know, their origin is one and the same; A verse of the Glorious Quran reads )what means(:"This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you, and have approved for you Islam as religion."]Quran 5: 3[.
Since it is the final message from Allaah that culminates, supersedes and seals all the previous religions, Islam makes it an obligation on every person who clearly hears its Message to accept it and follow it. Another verse of the Glorious Quran says )which means(:"And whoever desires other than Islam as religion – never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers."]Quran 3: 86[
Now, Allaah has shown you the right path and at the same time conferred upon you freedom of choice and will, whether you accept the message of Islam or not is up to you. May the light of truth shine in our hearts and minds. May it lead us to peace and certitude in this life and eternal bliss in the Hereafter.
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