How a Person Could Change!

The following story was narrated to us by brother Mahmud from Preston,
England. Once, he along with a group of Muslims were visiting a city
for inviting others to Allah. They happened to pass bya group of
youths who were Muslims by birth butbecame gang members. The brothers
didn't give those gang members the negative attitude that others give
while passing by them. Rather, they went and hand-shook with them out
of brotherhood. With love and affection, the brothers invited the
youths to come to the Masjid. Not being familiar with such kindness,
the gang members were surprised and decided to come to the Masjid for
once. These youths were so much away from Islam that they were smoking
in the Masjid and doing a lot of other disrespectful acts. However,
brother Mahmud and others were discussing with them about the
Greatness of Allah with patience and endurance. A time came when the
brothers had to return to their homes andbefore leaving they advised
the gang members to turn towards Allah.
After several years, brother Mahmud was attending a large gathering of
Muslims when suddenly someone called him from the back. There were few
people dressed in sunnah standing behind him. They asked brother
Mahmud if he recognizes them. They told him, �We are those gang
members whom you visited few years back. We decided togo out and learn
more about Islam and eventually changed our lives.�
Dear readers, we should never underestimate certain people because of
the way they are as every individual has the capacity to become a
friend of Allah. It is only Allah who guides; we can only try with
kindness to reach out to their hearts.

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The Wooden Bowl

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and
four-year-old grandson. The old man's hands trembled,his eyesight was
blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table.
But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made
eating difficult.Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he
grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and
daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. We must do something
about Grandfather," said the son.I've had enough of his spilled milk,
noisy eating, and food on the floor. So the husband and wife set a
small table in the corner.There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest
of thefamily enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or
two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.
When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a
tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had
for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.
The four-year-old watchedit all in silence. One evening before supper,
thefather noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He
asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the
boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat
yourfood when I grow up." Thefour-year-old smiled and went back to
work.
The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears
started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both
knew what must be done. That evening the husband took Grandfather's
hand and gently led him back tothe family table. For the remainder of
his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason,
neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was
dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.
Allah mentions in Surah Al Isra 17:23-24
And your Lord has decreedthat you worship none butHim. And that you be
dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age
in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them
but addressthem in terms of honour.
And lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy,
and say: "My Lord! Bestowon them Your Mercy as they did bring me up
when I was small."

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The One who did Sajdah to Allah

The following incident was mentioned by brotherAslam Nakhuda during a
lecture that he gave on 24/1/2004. Brother Aslam is an Imam of Jame
Masjid Brampton in Canada.
He said that three years back a group of eight brothers, including
him, set out to Texas, USA for dawah. They spent sometime there to
remindthe residents about the reality of this life. On their way back,
they stopped bya service station beside a highway to perform the
Magrib prayer. One of the brothers gave the Adhan (Call to prayer).
Two Non Muslim men were passing by when the Adhan was being called.
Being curious, they came to the brothers and asked them who they were,
where do they come from and what they were doing. The brothers told
them that they are Muslims who are coming from Toronto, Canada with
the glad tidings of Islam. A scholar, who was with them, discussed
about Islam with the non-Muslim men for 2 or 3 minutes. Then the
brothers prepared to offer the salah. The non Muslims who were
standing by asked what they should be doing now.The brothers told them
to join the prayer and just follow along. The two men decided to join
the prayer. The imam recited Surah Fatiha and another surah after it.
Then he went to Ruku' and both the Non Muslims did the same. When time
for sajdah (prostration on the ground) came, the Non Muslims started
hesitating and didn't know whether they should also prostrate on the
ground as they never did this before. One of them decided not to do so
and he left the prayer. However, the other one just went to sajdah.
After the prayer, this person who agreed to prostrate to Allah was
blessed with iman. He accepted Islam from the brothers.
Dear readers, this is what we have to do. We have tosubmit to the will
of Allah and in return He will bless us with iman. On the otherhand, a
person who is arrogant and decide not tosubmit to the will of Allah
may just be deprived of iman.

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An Orphan's Eid

It was the day of celebration and a day of rejoicing. There was an air
of festivity in the streets ofMadinah. All the people, both young and
old were dressed in their best clothes, especially for this special
day of Eid.
As it was time for early morning Eid prayers everyone made their way
to an open piece of land on the outskirts of the city.The Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) arrived and led the prayers. After they had finished
they all greeted each other and everyone was walking back home. The
children running and playing in excitement, smiling and laughing,
without a care in the world. As the Prophet (pbuh) walked back home,he
suddenly became aware of a little boy (Zuhair Bin Saghir) sitting by
himself on the side of the path. The little boy was crying and looked
very sad. The Prophet (pbuh) bent down and patted him on the shoulders
and asked 'why are you crying?' 'Please leave me alone' sobbed the
little boy. The boy didn't even see who was talking to him. The
Prophet (pbuh) ran his fingers through the boy's hair and very gently
and kindly asked him again why he was crying. This time the boy said,
'My father was martyred fighting, and now my mother has married again
and my stepfather does not want me to live at home any more. Today is
Eid and everyone is happy.All the children have new clothes and nice
things to eat, but I don't have any clothes except what I am wearing.
I have no food and I don't even have a place to live.'
The Prophet (pbuh) said tohim, 'I know how you feel,I lost both my
mother andfather when I was a little boy.' The boy was surprised to
hear that it was an orphan who was comforting him, and whenhe looked
up to his great surprise it was the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and he
immediately jumped up tohis feet out of love and respect.
The Prophet (pbuh) said tohim 'If I were to become your new father and
Ayesha you new mother, and Fatima your new sister, would that make you
feel better?' 'Oh yes, that would be the best thing in the world!' The
boy started smiling. The Prophet took him home and gave him new
clothes and good food on this beautiful day of Eid. The boy indeed had
a wonderful Eid that day.
We should think of others that are less fortunate than ourselves on
this beautiful day of Eid. Not everyone has such a wonderful day. It
is a day of celebration, but take a moment to stop and thinkof those
who are less fortunate than ourselves.

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