A old News - The Guard Who Found Islam

NEWSWEEK
From the magazine issue dated Mar 30, 2009
Army specialist Terry Holdbrooks had been a guard at Guantanamo for
about six months the night he had his life-altering conversation with
detainee 590, a Moroccan also known as"the General." This was early
2004, about halfway through Holdbrooks's stintat Guantanamo with the
463rd Military Police Company. Until then, he'd spent most of his day
shifts just doing his duty. He'd escort prisoners to interrogations or
walk up and down the cellblock making sure they weren't passing notes.
But the midnight shifts were slow."The only thing you really had to do
was mop the center floor," he says. So Holdbrooks began spending part
of the night sitting cross-legged on theground, talking to detainees
through the metal mesh of their cell doors.
He developed a strong relationship with the General, whose real name
is Ahmed Errachidi. Their late-night conversations led Holdbrooks to
be moreskeptical about the prison,he says, and made him think harder
about his own life. Soon, Holdbrookswas ordering books on Arabic and
Islam. During an evening talk with Errachidi in early 2004,
theconversation turned to theshahada, the one-line statement of faith
that marks the single requirement for converting to Islam ("There is
no God but God and Muhammad is his prophet"). Holdbrooks pushed a pen
and an index card through the mesh, and asked Errachidi to write out
the shahada in English and transliterated Arabic. He then uttered the
words aloud and, there on the floor of Guantanamo's Camp Delta, became
a Muslim.

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Story :- Junaid Baghdadi andLove for Allah

Once at the time of Hajj, there was a gathering in Mecca of some
friends of Allah; the youngest among whom was Junaid Baghdadi (ra). In
that gathering, there was a discussion on the subject of 'Love for
Allah' and as to who is the lover of Allah. Many of them expressed
their views on the subject, but Junaid (ra)kept quiet. He was
pressedto say something.
With his head bowed down and tears in his eyes, he said, "The lover
ofAllah is he who forgets his own self, remains engagedin Allah's
remembrance with due regard to all its requirements; sees Allah with
the eyes of his heart, which is burnt by the heat of Allah's fear;
Allah's remembrance affects him like a cup of wine, he speaks the word
of Allah as if All-Mighty Allah speaks through his mouth;if he moves,
he does so under the command of Allah; he gets peace of mind only
through the obedience of Allah; and when such a stage is reached, his
eating, drinking, sleeping, awakening and, in short, all his actions
are for the pleasure of Allah; he neither pays heed to the worldly
customs, nor does he attach any importance to unfriendly criticism by
people."

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Story :- The Pious Man and the Shopkeeper

There lived a pious man allby himself, who spent most of his time in
praying, fasting and praising Allah. Almost all his waking hours were
utilised in meditation and devotions. He was very happy with his
spiritual progress. No wicked thoughts came to his mindand no evil
temptations entered his heart.
One night, he dreamt a rather disturbing dream. He saw that a
shopkeeper in the town was far superior to him in spirituality and
that he must go to him to learn the basics of true spiritual life.
In the morning, the pious man went in search of the shopkeeper. He
found him busy with his customers, selling goods and collecting money
with a cheerful face. He sat there in a corner of the shop andwatched
the shopkeeper carefully. No signs of any spiritual life at all, he
said to himself. His dream could not be true. But thenhe saw the
shopkeeper disappear to pray his Salah. When he returned, he was busy
dealing with money matters again.
The shopkeeper noticed the pious man sitting in the corner and asked:
"As Salamu Alaikum, would you like something, brother?"
"Wa Alaikum As Salam. Oh!No! No!" said the pious man. "I don't want to
buy anything, but I want to ask you a question." He then related his
dream.
"Well, that is very simple to explain," said the shopkeeper, "but you
will have to do something for me before I answer your question."
"I will do anything for you," replied the pious man.
"All right! Take this saucer;there is some mercury in it. Go to the
other end of the street and come back fast within half an hour. If the
mercury falls out of the saucer, you will hear nothing from me. There
you go now."
The pious man took the saucer and started running. The mercury nearly
wobbled out of the saucer. He saved it just in time, and slowed down.
Then he remembered he had to return within half an hour, so he started
walking at a fast pace. At long last he returned puffing and panting.
"Hereis your mercury, safe and sound," he told the shopkeeper. "Now
tell me the true interpretation of my dream."
The shopkeeper looked at the pious man's weary condition and asked
him:"Well, friend, how many times did you remember Allah while you
were going from this end of the street to the other?"
"Remember Allah!" exclaimed the pious man."I did not remember Him at
all. I was so worried about the mercury in the saucer."
"But I do remember Him all the time," said the shopkeeper. "When I am
doing my business, I am also carrying mercury in a saucer. I am fair,
honest and kind to my customers.I never forget Allah Ta'ala in my
dealings with other men."
"Men whom neither trade nor sale (business) diverts from the
remembrance of Allaah (with heart and tongue) nor from performing
As-Salaah (Iqaamat-as-Salaah) nor from giving the Zakaah. They fear a
Day when hearts and eyes will be overturned (out of the horror of the
torment of the Day of Resurrection). That Allaah may reward them
according to the best of their deeds, and add even more for them out
of His Grace. And Allaah provides without measure to whom He wills"
[Al Quran, Surah an-Noor 24:37-38]

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Story :- The Emperor and the Seed

An emperor in the Far Eastwas growing old and knew it was time to
choose his successor. Instead of choosing one ofhis assistants or his
children, he decided something different. He called young people in
thekingdom together one day. He said, "It is time for me to step down
and choose the next emperor. Ihave decided to choose one of you."
The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give
each one of you a seed today. One very special seed. I want you
toplant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with
what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants
that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!"
One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others,
received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story.
She helped him get a pot and planting soil,and he planted the seed and
watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if
it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began
to talkabout their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.
Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, 4
weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing. By now, others were talking
about their plants but Ling didn'thave a plant, and he felt like a
failure. Six months went by-still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew
hehad killed his seed.
Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling
didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for
his seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their
plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he
wasn't going to take an empty pot. But honest about what happened,
Ling felt sick to his stomach, but heknew his mother was right. He
took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at
the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were
beautiful-in all shapes andsizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor
and manyof the other kinds laughedat him. A few felt sorry for him and
just said, "Hey nice try."
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young
people. Ling just tried to hide in the back."My, what great plants,
trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of
you will be appointed the next emperor!" All of a sudden, the emperor
spotted Ling at the back ofthe room with his empty pot. He ordered his
guardsto bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor
knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will haveme killed!"
When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is
Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him.
The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then
announced to the crowd,"Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!"
Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could
he be the new emperor? Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I
gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it,
water it, and bringit back to me today. But I gave you all boiled
seeds which would not grow. Allof you, except Ling, have brought me
trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not
grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was
the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my
seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"
The Prophet taught,"Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and
righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keepson telling the truth
until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads toAl-Fajur (i.e.
wickedness, evil-doing), and Al-Fajur (wickedness) leads to the (Hell)
Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before
Allah, a liar." [Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol.8:116]

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