Story - :-> The Messenger (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said: “Iman is to believe in Allah,His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day and the Decree; the good thereof and the bad.” [Muslim]

This is a true story that happened in Egypt (relatedby Shaykh Wahid
'Abd al-Salam Bali in his lecture ):
A young man flagged down a taxi in order to take his ill mother to the
hospital. They both got in and the driver made his way to the
hospital. However, on the way, the son asked for the taxi to bestopped
so that he could get out and quickly get some medication for his
mother. As he was away, the mother's health suddenly plummeted and
subhan'Allah, the driver noticed the signs of death on her. He
immediately went to her side and guided her through the Shahadah
(testimony of faith), in accordance to the hadith: "Whoever's last
words are la ilaha illa'Allah (there is no God but Allah), will enter
Paradise." [Abu Dawud]. The mother looked at the driver acknowledging
it, and finally she uttered the words of faith before breathing her
very last.
When the son returned, thedriver informed him of the news. The son
went into a natural hysteria whereupon the driver consoled him saying,
" Don't worry, I helped her utter the Shahadah and shesaid it in a
clear voice." The son then exclaimed, "What! Why did you do that?
Don't you know we are Christians?!"
Subhan'Allah, the wonders of the Qadr (Decree) of Allah. You just
don't know where it will take you and what your last words/deeds will
be. This was a Coptic Christian mother in the throes of death and
Allah saved her just in time. May Allah grant us all a good end,
ameen.
The Messenger (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said: "Iman is to believe
in Allah,His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day and the
Decree; the good thereof and the bad." [Muslim]

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Story - :-> Now pull out that one," said the old man pointing to a bush.

A wealthy man requested an old scholar to wean his son away from his bad habits.
The scholar took the youth for a stroll through a garden. Stopping
suddenly he asked the boy to pull out a tiny plant growing there. The
youth held the plant between his thumb and forefinger and pulled
itout. The old man then asked him to pull out a slightly bigger plant.
The youth pulled hard and the plant came out, roots and all.
"Now pull out that one," said the old man pointing to a bush. The boy
had to use all his strength to pull it out.
"Now take this one out," said the old man, indicating a guava tree.
The youth grasped the trunk and tried to pull it out. But it would not
budge.
"I – It's impossible," said the boy, panting with the effort. "So it
is with bad habits," said the wise.
Moral ♥ :"When they are young it is easy to pull them out but when
they take hold they cannot be uprooted."
The session with the old man changed the boy's life.

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Story - :->

I babysit two of our grandchildren every Thursday and I like to do
different things with them so they can have fun. This past Thursday I
decided to take the on a bus ride around our city. I havenever been on
a bus around town before,I never had any reason to ride the bus. It
was so interesting to see all the different people who got on thebus.
I was wandering what their story was. This bus ride humbled me,and my
heart wentout to the people who don't have a choice between riding the
bus or driving their car.

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-:Hadees:-:-> Modern Historical Methodology vs. Hadeeth Methodology

The study of ahadeeth is one thatgoes back centuries and has been the
subject of much discussion among both Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Some scholars deem the collections of ahadeeth as unauthentic and
something to be disregarded, while others claim the opposite. Where
exactly does the truth lie? As a starting point, it is helpful to
examine criticism according to hadeeth methodology compared to
criticism according to modern,western historical methodology.
Therefore the purpose of this paper shall be to first explain the
general guidelines for authenticating and verifying historical
sources, then to explainthe general guidelines used in authenticating
and verifying ahadeeth, and finally to compare the two processes.
Modern, Western Historical Methodology
When events occur, they can be known by contemporaries who then pass
on their knowledge and understanding (Lucey 20). Indaily life, people
accept that knowledge of events can be passed on from the witnesses of
those events, and that they can be transmitted exactly. Indeed, ina
court of law, through the testimonies of witnesses to a particular
event, facts are established beyond a reasonable doubt (Lucey 22).
According to one historian, "…Testimony, sufficient, reliable
testimony, is a source of unimpeachable, indisputable knowledge of
historical events" (Lucey 20). It is from the reliable testimony of
contemporaries of events that historical knowledge is derived (Lucey
18). Therefore, the aim of historical methodology is to determine if
the various testimonies that reach us today can be accepted as sound
evidence.
Once a historian has collected hissources—anything that directly or
indirectly provides information about a particular event (e.g. a book,
a scroll, a broken piece of pottery, a picture, a radio clip, an oral
tradition)—he must then evaluate them using the techniques of
criticism . These historical sources or "witnesses" provide
information or testimony. It is the role of external criticism to
establish the authenticity of a source (the fact of testimony) and its
integrity (the freedom from corruption during transmission). In
comparison, internal criticism is concerned with establishing the true
meaning of a testimony and the credibility of a witness (Lucey23).
Ultimately, the basic principles of source criticism are what lead to
the establishment offacts, or to the debunking of previously
established ones (Marwick 196).

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