Story :- Better to Give

A young man, a student in one of the universities, was one day taking
a walkwith a Professor, who wascommonly called the student's friend,
from his kindness to those who waited on his instructions.
As they went along,they saw lying in the path a pair of old shoes,
which they supposed to belong to a poor man who was employed in a
field close by,and who had nearly finished his day's work.
The student turned to the professor, saying: "Let us play the man a
trick: we will hide his shoes, and conceal ourselves behind those
bushes, and wait to see his perplexity when hecannot find them."
"My young friend," answered the professor,"we should never amuse
ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give
yourselfa much greater pleasure by means of this poor man. Put a coin
in each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how this
affects him."
The student did so and they both placed themselves behind the bushes
close by. The poor man soon finished his work, and came across
thefield to the path where he had left his coat and shoes.
While putting on his coat he slipped his foot into one of his shoes,
but feeling something hard, hestooped down to feel what it was, and
found the coin. Astonishment and wonder were seen upon his
countenance. He gazed upon the coin, turned it around, and looked at
it again and again.
He then looked around him on all sides, but no person was to be seen.
He now put the money into his pocket, and proceeded to put on the
other shoe; but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin.
His feelings overcame him;he fell upon his knees, looked up to the
heavens and uttered aloud a fervent thanksgiving in which he spoke of
his wifewho was sick and helpless,and his children without bread, whom
this timely bounty, from some unknown hand,would save from perishing.
The student stood there deeply affected, and his eyes filled with
tears."Now," said the professor, are you not much better pleased than
if you had played your intended trick?"
The youth replied, "You have taught me a lesson which I will never
forget. I feel now the truth of thesewords, which I never understood
before: "It's more blessed to give than to receive."
Abdullah bin Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) reported thatthe Prophet
(sallAllahu alaiyhi wassallam) said that encouraging good, prohibiting
evil, lifting the burden of the weak person and removing an offensive
thing from a path are all acceptable prayers to Allah.

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Story :- A Thousand Camels

In the times of Umar (Radiallahu Anhu) there was a severe famine. All
the people of Madinah were suffering due to the shortage of food. A
caravan made up of a thousand camels loaded with a large stock of food
grains belonging to Uthman (Radiallahu Anhu) arrived from Shaam
(Syria). Several merchants offered to buy all of it. He asked them
what profit they would pay. "Five per cent," they said. He answered
that he could get higher profit than that.They began to argue with
him, saying that they did not know of any merchantwho would offer him
more than their quote. He said to them, "I know of one who repays a
profit ofmore than seven hundred to a dirham (Arabian currency)." He
then recitedthe verse of the Noble Quran in which Allah Ta'ala
mentioned this profit. "The likeness of those who spend their wealth
in the Way of Allah, is as the likeness of a grain (of corn); it grows
seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold
increase to whom He pleases. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His
creatures' needs, All-Knower." (2:261).
"O traders! Bear witness with me that I donate all this to the poor
people of Madinah!" said Uthman (Radiallahu Anhu).
Source: Related by Shaikh Habibullah Mukhtaar in hisbook "Bringing Up
Children in Islaam" in the chapter of Generosity.
Dear readers, what ever we give for the sake of Allah is really ours
and whatever we keep with uswill one day be someone else's. Let us
follow the footsteps of our Prophet and the pious Sahabah, with whom
Allah was pleased with, by helping the needy ones in this blessed
month of Ramadan.

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Secrets intended for believers alone are hidden in the Qur’an

When we read the Qur'an we see that the most fundamental matters that
Muslims have to know and understand are set out quite explicitly.
Allah describes His creation in the Qur'an. He describes satan,
reveals what is lawful and unlawful and tells us of the lives of the
prophets. It is revealed how the life of this world is a test and how
our true homes are inthe Hereafter. Paradise and Hell are described in
the Qur'an and people are warned against the torments in the latter.
In addition to all these basic issues, the Qur'an also contains
special signs that Allah has deliberately concealed in it for
believers. Through these signs, our Lord tells believers how they
shouldbehave toward deniers, the best way of preaching the word and
what they must do if the moral values of the Qur'an are torule the
world. These signsare only, of course, comprehensible to those
servants who can look at the Qur'an with the eyes of the heart and
good conscience, who can grasp the radiance and message of the Qur'an,
and with whom Allah is well pleased. This is just one of the hundreds
of miracles of the Qur'an.
Our Almighty Lord Makes Science Obligatory for Believers in the Qur'an
The presence in the Qur'anof scientific and mathematical miracles is
itself a miracle that confirms the sublime nature of the Qur'an, its
miraculous aspect and the fact that it is a divine scripture. But in
addition to that specific miracle, when we look at the verses of the
Qur'an we see that Allah makes science obligatory for believers. Allah
advises believers to reflect on the extraordinary creation they
witness and to learn the knowledge of the creation of the Earth and
sky. In Surah Al 'Imran our Lord says:
Those who remember Allah, standing, sitting and lying on their sides,
and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the Earth: "Our Lord,
You have not created this for nothing. Glory beto You! So safeguard us
from the punishment of the Fire." (Surah Al 'Imran, 191)
Scientific development and progress proves the sublime and
extraordinarynature of Allah's creation in the most perfect way. The
more that people of good conscience possessed of this knowledge deepen
in science, the more amazed they are by Allah's sublimeartistry. Just
a single cell, the glorious DNA within a single cell or a single
protein is enough to see the power and might of Allah. Almighty Allah
is powerful enough to createworlds within worlds, to create all things
from nothing, and gloriously shows His sublime omniscience by creating
atoms in tiny specks of space and making atoms, which themselves
consist of 99% empty space, the natural causes of matter itself.
Almighty Allah is powerful enough to bring the Earth and sky into
being through a single explosion, out of nothing, out of emptiness.
Almighty Allah reveals thissublime creation, the Big Bang miracle in
other words, in this verse:
As for heaven – We built it with great power and gave it its vast
expanse. (Surat adh-Dhariyat, 47)
Almighty Allah has made scienceessential for Muslims in order for them
to comprehend andsee His matchlessartistry and the glories in the
entities He creates. Those who deepen in science with the knowledge of
the Qur'an will also grow in faith since they will witness His
omniscience. Allah tells us in another verse:
But those of them who are firmly rooted in knowledge, and the
believers, believe in what has been sent down to you and what was sent
down before you: those who establishprayer and pay alms, and believe
in Allah and the Last Day – We will pay such people an immense wage.
(Surat an-Nisa', 162)
For that reason, Allah advises true Muslims to learn and research the
scientific facts and to become aware of what is all around them:
Have they not looked at the sky above them: how We structured it and
made it beautiful and how there are no fissures in it? And the
Earth: how We stretched it out and cast firmly embedded mountains onto
it and caused luxuriant plants of every kind to grow in it, an
instruction and a reminder for every penitent human being. (Surah Qaf,
6-8)
Have they not looked at the camel – how it was created? And at the sky
–how it was raised up? And at the mountains – how they were embedded?
And at the Earth – how it was smoothed out? So remind them! You are
only a reminder. (Surat al-Ghashiyya, 17-21)
Do they not see the things Allah has created, casting their shadows
tothe right and to the left, prostrating themselves before Allah in
complete humility? (Surat an-Nahl,48)

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There is a great secret in the difficulttests undergone by the Prophets

Almighty Allah of course knows that all the prophets He created were
pure believers possessed of lofty moral values; it is He Who created
them with a true depth and pure faith. Yet despite being our Lord's
chosen, superior and honored servants, the prophets were still
subjected to difficult tests all through their lives. Difficulties are
agreat means whereby people could witness theirhonesty and adopt their
moral values as role models, for the prophets to improve their
closeness to and love of Allah, and for their goodness to increase
many times over in the Hereafter.
This climate of testing is described by means of the stories related
in the Qur'an. When he came to the sea, pursued by Pharaoh's army, the
Prophet Moses (as) saw no apparent way of escape. Those who failed to
properly appreciate the infinite might of Allah said,"We are trapped,"
but as revealed in verses the Prophet Moses (as) said "Never! My Lord
is with me and He will guide me." (Surat ash-Shuara', 62)
Throughout that difficult time when he was imprisoned in the belly of
the fish, the Prophet Jonah (as) constantly turned to Allah and, as
revealed in a verse, "...called out (to the Lord) in absolute
despair." (Surat al-Qalam, 47) The Prophet Jonah (as), who sincerely
turned to Allah during this difficult test, was rescued from the belly
of the fish through our Lord's mercy and compassion, and was then sent
to a community as their prophet. This difficult test of the Prophet
Jonah is describedas follows in the Qur'an:
Jonah too was one of the Messengers.
When he ran away to the fully laden ship
and cast lots and lost.
Then the fish devoured him and he was to blame.
Had it not been that he was a man who glorifiedAllah,
he would have remainedinside its belly until the Day they are raised again.
So We cast him up onto the beach and he was sick;
and We caused a gourd tree to grow over him.
We sent him to a hundred thousand or even more.
They believed and so Wegave them enjoyment for a time.
(Surat as-Saffat, 139-148)
When our holy Prophet (saas) was attacked by thepagans on two sides
together with his community there appeared to be no escape. This was
the day of a mostdifficult test. At the same time, it was a very
special test in which true believers with a genuine faith in Allah,
Who trusted in Allah's help with all their hearts, and who trusted in
and embraced Him, could remain strong and expect His help. As ordained
by Allah, those who were unable to properly appreciate Him and the
hypocrites lost hope of His mercy and began dreaming up false ideas of
their own. Our All-Mighty Lord described this difficult climate in
another verse:
When they came at you from above you and below you, when your eyes
rolled and your hearts rose to your throats, and you thoughtunworthy
thoughts about Allah, at that pointthe believers were tested and
severely shaken.
When hypocrites and people with sickness in their hearts said, 'What
Allah and His Messenger promised us was mere delusion.' and a group
ofthem said, 'People of Yathrib, Your position is untenable so
return!' some of them asked the Prophet to excuse them, saying, 'Our
houses are exposed,' when they were not exposed; it was merely that
they wanted to run away. (Surat al-Ahzab, 10-13)
In this difficult climate, ourProphet (saas) and the pure believers
with him hoped for Allah's help and support and placed their trust in
Him, saw that this had been promised by ourAlmighty Lord and gave
thanks. Almighty Allah reveals in a verse:
When the believers saw the Confederates they said: 'This is what Allah
and His Messenger promised us. Allah and His Messenger told us the
truth.' It only increased them in faith and in submission. (Surat
al-Ahzab, 22)
As our Lord reveals in a later verse; "Allah made itunnecessary for
the believers to fight. Allah is Most Strong, Almighty." (Surat
al-Ahzab, 25)

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