How thirty people ate in the dark

Sheikh Abul Hasan Antaki (RA.) lived in Raye, a city in Khorassan. One
day, it chanced that the Sheikh had more than thirty guests, while he
did not have sufficient bread withhim. He could not bake more bread,
for, it was late at night. So, he broke the few loaves he had into
small pieces and spread them over a piece of cloth, which he had
laidbefore his guests. When they were going to start eating, the
Sheikh put outthe lamp. Everybody seemed to start eating and one could
hear the sound of their chewing. After a while, the sound stopped and
it was presumed that everybodyhad finished eating. The Sheikh then
lighted the lamp and they saw that all the pieces were lying
untouched; nobody had eaten anything. Because the food was little,
everyone was thinking about his brothers next tohim and wanted them to
eat instead.
Source: "Fadhail-e-Sadaqaa: Part II" translated by Prof. Abdul Karim.
May Allah make us useful for each other in terms of pleasing Allah.

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Interesting stories about Prophet Muhammad's childhood

Abdul Muttalib (Prophet Muhammad's grandfather) was more passionate
with his grandson (young Muhammad) than with hisown children. He never
left the boy a prey to loneliness, but always preferred him to his own
kids. Ibn Hisham reported:A mattress was put in the shade of Al-Ka'bah
for Abdul Muttalib. His children used to sit around that mattress in
honour to their father, butMuhammad used to sit onit. His uncles would
take him back, but if Abdul Muttalib was present, he would say: "Leave
my grandson. I swear by Allahthat this boy will hold a significant
position." He used to seat the boy on his mattress, pat his back and
was always pleased with what the boy did. Source: Ibn Hihsam, 1/168.
It is also reported that during Amina's (Prophet Muhammad's mother)
pregnancy, she felt no pain or discomfort. She had always heard
womencomplaining about the hardships of pregnancy, but she felt very
well. During these months Amina had many dreams. One night in a dream
she saw a light coming out of her. The light was shining on castles of
Syria. Source:Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd, 1/63.

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He Completed Fasting 30 Days Then Arrived in a Country Still on their 30th day

If I were to travel on the 30th day of Ramadaan from London just after
Magrib time, after having broken my fast and I wereto arrive at my
destination in the USA butto find that they are still in the day time
of their 30th day of Ramadaan, what should I do?
The reply to your question in brief is: your state should be similar
to that of the [Muslim] inhabitants of where you are. So, if they were
still observing fasting then you should observe fasting with them even
if that means you would be fasting for more than 30 days [the max.
number of days, normally observed in the month of Ramadaan]. This is
the opinion of Shaikh Abdul-Azeez Ibn Baaz.

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Muslims say they do not worship idols. When they go to Mecca, why do they kiss a black stone?

Isn't that like worshippingan idol?
Muslims do not worship the black stone. They regard the stone as a
created thing. The most fundamental principle of Islam is that nothing
or no one is to be worshipped except Allah, the one true God.
Muslims who can afford the journey are required once in their lifetime
to visit the House of Worshipin Makkah. This was the first house built
for the worship of the one true God. It was constructed byAbraham and
his son Ishmael, peace be upon them. The black stone was brought to
them from heaven by the angel Gabriel to function as a corner stone.
It was thus affixed in one corner.
Because Muslims kiss that stone, some observers hastily conclude that
Muslims worship it. A kiss, however, is not an act of worship unless
it is accompanied by an intention to worship. If you kiss your child,
for instance, that does not mean you worship your child.
Some may find it strange that Muslims should treat a stone with
respect. But this is not just any old stone. It is an item out of
paradise.
The act of fixing a stone to mark a place of worship is as old as
history. In the Bible we are told that Jacob, on whom be peace, had
fixeda stone at a place where he saw a vision. He poured oil on it and
calledit Bethel meaning 'house of God' (see Genesis 28:18). He did
this again upon God's instruction (see Genesis 35:1, 14, 15). No one
should understand from this that God instructed Jacob to worship the
stone.

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