2a. Imam Abu Hanifah andthe Atheist

2a.
There was no navigator or sailor on the boat, and the boat began to
travel towards the direction of the royal palaces, without anyone
having programmed it as to where to go. I could not understand what
was happening, and how this boat had formed and was taking me to my
destination against the flow of water. The boat eventually reached the
other side of the River Tigris and I disembarked. I turned around and
the boat had disappeared, and that is why I am late.'
At this moment, the athiestbrust out laughing and remarked, 'Oh Abu
Hanifah,I heard that you were the best debator from amongst the
Muslims, I heard that you were the wisest, the most knowledgable from
amongst your people. From seeing you today, I can say that you show
none of these qualities. You speak of a boat appearing from nowhere,
without someone having built it. Nails positioning themselves without
someone having banged them, sealant being poured without someone
having poured it, and the boat taking you to your destination without
a navigator against the tide, your taking childish, your talking
rediculous, I swear Ido not belive a word of it!'
Abu Hanifah Rahimullah turned to the athiest and replied, 'You don't
believe a word of it? You dont believe that nails can appear by
themselves? Youdont believe sealant can bepoured by itself? You dont
believe that a boat can move without a navigator, hence you don't
believe that a boat can appear without a boat maker?'
The athiest remarked defiantly, 'Yes I dont believe a word of it!'
Abu Hanifah Rahimullah replied, 'If you cannot believe that a boat
came into being without a boat maker, than this is only a boat, how
can you believe that the whole world, the universe, the stars, the
oceans, and the planets came into being without a creator?/

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2. Imam Abu Hanifah andthe Atheist

2.
Long ago in the city of Baghdad, there was a Muslim empire. On one
sideof the River Tigris were theroyal palaces and on the other side
was the city. TheMuslims were gathered in the Royal Palace when an
athiest approached them. He said to them, 'I don't believe in God,
there cannot be a God, you cannot hear Him or see Him, you're wasting
your time! Bring me your best debator and I will debate this issue
with him.'
The best debator at the time was Imam Abu Hanifah Rahimullah. A
messenger from amongst the Muslims was sent over the River Tigris to
the city, where Abu Hanifah Rahimullah was, in order to tell him about
the athiest who was awaiting him. On crossing the River Tigris, the
messenger conveyed the message to Abu Hanifah Rahimullah saying, 'Oh
Abu Hanifah, anathiest is waiting for you, to debate you, please
come!' Abu Hanifah Rahimullah told the messeneger that he would be on
his way.
The messenger went over the River Tigris once again and to the Royal
Palaces, where everyone including the athiest awaited the arrival of
Abu Hanifah Rahimullah. It was sunset at the time and one hour had
passed, but Abu Hanifah Rahimullah still hadn't arrived. Another hour
had passed, but still there was no sign of him. The Muslims started to
become tense and worried about his late arrival. They did not want the
athiest tothink that they were too scared to debate him, yet they did
not want to take up the challenge themselves as Abu Hanifah Rahimullah
was the best ofDebators from amongst the Muslims. Another hour passed,
and suddenly the athiest started laughing and said, ' Your best
debator is too scared! He knows he's wrong, he is too frightened to
come and debate with me. I gurantee he will not turn up today.'
The Muslims increased in apprehension and eventually it had passed
midnight, and the athiest had a smile on his face. Theclock ticked on,
and finally Abu Hanifah Rahimullah had arrived. The Muslims inquired
about his latenessand remarked, 'Oh Abu Hanifah, a messenger sent for
you hours ago, and youarrive now, explain your lateness to us.'
Abu Hanifah Rahimullah apologises for his lateness and begins to
explain, while the atheist listens to his story.
'Once the messenger delivered the message to me, I began to make my
way to the River Tigris, andon reaching the river bank I realised
there was no boat, in order to cross the river. It was getting dark,
and I looked around, there was no boat anywhere norwas there a
navigator or a sailor in order for me to cross the river to get to
theRoyal Palaces. I continued to look around for a boat, as I did not
want the athiest to think I was running away and did not want to
debate with him.
I was standing on the river bank looking for a navigator or a boat
when something caught my attention in the middle of the river. I
looked forward, and to my amazement I saw planks of wood rising to the
surface from the sea bed. I was shocked, amazed, I couldn't believe
what I saw seeing. Ready made planks of wood wererising up to the
surface andjoining together. They were all the same width and length,
I was astounded at what I saw.
I continued to look into themiddle of the river, and then I saw nails
coming up from the sea floor. They positioned themselves onto the boat
and held theplanks together, without them being banged. I stood in
amazement and thought to myself, 'Oh Allah, how can this happen,planks
of wood rising to the surface by itself, and then nails positioning
themselves onto the boat without being banged?' I could not undertsand
whatwas happening before my eyes.'
The athiest meanwhile waslistening with a smile on his face. Abu
Hanifah Rahimullah continued, 'I was still standing on the river bank
watching these planks of wood join together with nails. I could see
water seeping through the gaps in the wood, and suddenly I saw a
sealant appear from the river and it began sealing the gaps without
someone having poured it, again I thought, 'Ya Allah, how is this
possible, how can sealant appear and seal the gaps without someone
having poured it, and nails appear without someone having banged
them.' I looked closer and I could see a boat forming before my eyes,
I stood in amazementand was filled with shock. All of a sudden a sail
appeared and I thought to myself, 'How is this happening, a boat has
appeared before my eyes by itself, planks of wood, nails, sealant and
now a sail, but how can I use this boat in order to cross the river to
the Royal Palaces?' I stood staring in wonderment and suddenlythe boat
began to move. It came towards me against the current. It stood
floating beside me while I was on the river bank, as if telling me to
embark onto it. I went on the boat and yet again it began to move.
:->

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1a. The Hidden Blessings of Illness and Hardship

1a.
That's something I dreamed of all my life. And it came about because I
was stressed!
What other secret blessingsawait me? What other lifelong dreams are
quietly budding, getting ready to bloom?
Only Gratitude
That's why the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, "How amazing is the
case of the believer; there is good for him in everything, and this is
only so for the believer. Ifhe experiences something pleasant, he is
thankful, and that is good for him; and if he comes across adversity,
he is patient, and that is good for him." [Muslim]
How amazing indeed! What a treasure trove of strength and mercy there
isin this deen! Who can say that this is not a religion ofhope?
Allah rewards the believer even for the pricking of a thorn. Who can
deny that this is the attitude of a Compassionate God, One who
understand us, sees our pain, cares about our suffering, and wants
only good for us?
And what does Allah want in return? Only gratitude, and that our
actions manifest that gratitude. Nothing more.
Allah says, "And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are
grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny,
indeed, My punishment is severe.' " [Surat Ibrahim 14:7]
Which brings us back to myopening statement. I am grateful and glad
even for the hardships. I am aware of all of Allah's favors, and when
He says, "Then which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?" my
response is, "I deny none of them, O Lord!"/

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1. The Hidden Blessings of Illness and Hardship

1.
I'm glad and grateful that I am ill right now,and that times are hard.
Does that sound crazy?
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of
Allah(pbuh) said, "For any adversity a Muslim suffers, Allah erases
someof his sins, even though it may be no more than athorn pricking
him." (Related by Al-Bukhari).
Another version of this Hadith is also related by Al-Bukhari on the
authorityof two of the Prophet's (pbuh) companions, namely, Abu Saeed
Al-Khudri and Abu Hurairahwho quote him as saying: "Whatever befalls a
Muslim of exhaustion, illness, worry, grief, nuisance or trouble,
eventhough it may be no more than a prick of a thorn, earns him
forgiveness by Allah of some of his sins."
My father recently suffered a fall and broke his leg badly, and is now
in a rehab center. In my personal life, two moves and one divorce in
the last five years have made it hard to retain friendships, and I
find myself feeling isolated. I've been through some painful personal
experiences. And these are hard times economically aswell. So there's
a lot of stress in the household.
I do my best to love my daughter more than ever, to play with her, hug
and kiss her, and always remind her of Allah's barakah. I try to make
her world full of happiness, learning, and talks about Allah. I try to
never let her see me sweat, as they say. But once she's sound asleep
in bed, I feel the weight of responsibility on my shoulders like a
sack of stones.
So if by patiently enduring this illness and these hard times in
general, I will earnAllah's forgiveness for my sins, and maybe will be
blessed in ways that I do not see, then I am grateful.
One more hadith: Jabir ibn Abdullah narrated that Allah's Messenger
salallahu alayhi wasallam said, "On the Day of Resurrection, when
people who have suffered affliction are given their reward, thosewho
are healthy will wish their skins had beencut to pieces with scissors
when they were in the world." (Al-Tirmidhi,1570)
In other words, when people see how much reward is given to those who
suffered in life, they will wish that they had suffered terribly, in
the worst possible ways, so that it might become a cause of
forgiveness for them in the Hereafter.
SubhanAllah, whatever pain we suffer in this life is not in vain. It
is not wasted. We may cry and wince and groan over small pains, but
Allah sees our suffering and will compensate us more than we can
imagine, as long as we are patient and keep faith in Him. Allah the
Most High has a plan for us, and He is the best of planners. We must
have faith in Him and His plan for us.
Seeing the Good
Also, let us not be blind to the good things that have happened. I
think this is very important. All too often we get caught up in our
losses and dismiss some of Allah's quiet gifts and blessings that have
budded and opened up when we were hardly looking.
For example, I have alwaysthought of myself as a writer at heart and
have been happiest when I was pursuing that calling. WhenI was single
I was obsessive about it. Even after a long day at work I would sit
down in front of the computer in my little San Francisco loft, and
write. After I got married and the responsibilities of family life
fell on my shoulders I neglected my writing. Lately, however, I find
myself writing daily and expressing ideas that have been growing in my
heart for decades. The words flow as if they have been bottled under
pressure, waiting for release. What a blessing!
In my teens I studied martial arts for some years.Life carried me in
different directions and I stopped practicing but I still thought of
myself as a martial artist, and kept meaning to get back into it.
Finally in my late thirtiesI realized that my dream was passing me by.
I got back into it and made a do-or-die commitment. Since then, with
the moves from the Bay Area to Panama City to El Valle to Fresno, it's
been a struggle to find teachers and training partners, but I have
persisted, in some cases creating my own training group out of
scratch. For the last year and a half, partly as a way of dealing with
loneliness and stress, I plunged myself into an intensive study of the
arts.
Now I suddenly find myselfentering this phase when my understanding of
the arts is expanding like a tidal wave. I seem to have moved beyond
rote memorization of techniques and I am able to spontaneously create
combinations and visualizenew possibilities. My balance is solid, my
form is good. Basically, I have grasped the underlying principles of
the arts and have moved beyond the 1-2-3 stage. I can finally call
myself a martial artist.
:->

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