Ethical Stories: Cats and Roosters Story (What Goes Around Comes Around!)

Once upon a time in Africa, roosters ruled cats.The cats worked hard
all day and at night they had to bring all they had gathered for the
roosters. The king of the roosters would take all the food for himself
and for the other roosters.
The roosters loved to eat ants. Thus, every cat had a purse hung round
its neck, which it filled with ants for the king of the roosters.
The cats did not like the situation. They wanted torid themselves of
the king so that the food they gathered through hard work and great
difficulty would be their own. But they were afraid of the roosters.
The roosters had told the cats that rooster's combs were made out of
fire and that the fire of their combs would burn anyone who disobeyed
them! The cats believed them and therefore worked from early morning
until night for the roosters.
One night, the fire on thehouse of Mrs. Cat went out. She told her
kitten, Fluffy, to bring some fire from Mr. Rooster's house.
When Fluffy went into the house of the rooster, she saw that Mr.
Rooster was fast asleep, his stomach swollen with theants he had
eaten. The kitten was afraid to wakethe rooster, so she returned home
empty handed and told her mother what had happened.
Mrs. Cat said, "Now that the rooster is asleep, gather some dry twigs
and place them near his comb. As soon as the twigs catch fire, bring
them home."
Fluffy gathered some dry twigs and took them to the rooster's house.
He was still asleep. Fluffy fearfully put the dry twigs near the
rooster's comb but it was no use, the twigs did not catch fire. Fluffy
rubbed the twigs against the rooster's comb again but it was no use
they would not catch fire. Fluffy returned home without any fire and
told her mother, "The roost's comb does not set twigs on fire."
Mrs. Cat answered "Why can't you do anything right! Come with me I'll
show you how to make fire with the rooster's comb." So together they
went to the house of Mr. Rooster.
He was still asleep. Mrs. Cat put the twigs as near to the rooster's
comb as she could. But the twigs did not catch fire. Then, shaking
with fear, she put her paw near the rooster's comb and gently touched
it. To her surprise, the comb was not hot, it was very cold, and it
was just red colored.
As soon as Mrs. Cat realized that the roosters had lied to the cats
abouttheir combs, she joyfully went out and told the other cats about
the rooster's tricks. From thatday on, the cats no longer worked for
the roosters.
At first, the king of the roosters became very angry and said to the
cats; "I will burn all of your houses if you do notwork for me!"
But the cats said, "Your comb is not made of fire. It is just the
color of fire. We touched it when you were sleep. You lied to us.
When the king of the roosters found out that the cats knew that he
hadlied to them , he ran away. Now, whenever roosters see a cat, they
scurry away, because to this very day they are afraid of cats.

Believers' hearts are with Allah at all times and in all places

What does it mean for the heart to be with Allah at all times and in all places?
What must one do to bewith Allah at all times and in all places?
Some people never consider the great blessings they enjoy throughout
their lives. Yet starting the day in good health every morning, being
able to breathe and see, being able to enjoy scents and food and all
beautiful things and being able to appreciate love, respect and
friendship are all great blessings. In addition, possessing the
judgment with which to distinguish between good and evil, right and
wrong or beauty and ugliness is another greatblessing bestowed by
Allah because that judgment enables one toavoid wickedness and the
evil whisperings of one's earthly desires andto choose goodness and
beauty instead. What one needs to do in return is properly appreciate
our Lord, to give proper thanks to Him and for one's heart to be full
of love and fear of Him at all times.
One's heart being with Allah at all times does not mean withdrawing
from all the preoccupations of the life of this world. "The heart
being with Allah atall times means";
Being aware of the greatness, might and power of our Lord at all times,
Knowing that He sees, hears and watches oneself and all the other
entities one sees, and that He encompasses theentire universe,
Being aware that Allah is the sole judge and sole Lord of all things,
and that He is mighty enough to do what He wants when He wants,
And knowing that everything that happensin the life of this world,
whether it appears to begood or bad, is actually the functioning of
the destiny ordained by Allah.
A Person Whose Heart Is Always Full of Remembrance of Allah Has a
Clear Mind and Awareness
It is easy to recognize the clarity of mind of someone whose heart is
always full of remembrance of Allah from his face and behavior because
there is a great difference between the face of someone who believes
and knows that Allah sees him at all times and someone who is
heedless. No matter howattractive the face of someone who has
forgotten Allah, it will never reflect any spiritual beauty or an
expression full of love and meaning, humanity, humility and
intelligence. In contrast, the luminosity, beauty, intelligence and
nobility bestowed by faith and clarity of mind are striking in someone
whose heart is with Allah. In the Qur'an, Allahnotes these features of
those who sincerely believe and exhibit an unsullied devotion to Him
and reveals it is easyto recognize them by"...the traces of
prostration" in their faces:
" Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him
are fierce to the unbelievers, merciful to one another. You see
them bowing and prostrating, seeking Allah's good favor and His
pleasure. Their mark is on their faces, the traces of prostration.
That is their likeness in the Torah. And their likeness in the Gospel
is that of a seed which puts up a shoot and makes it strong so that
itthickens and grows up straight upon its stalk," (Surat al-Fath, 29)
In addition, when we look at the lives of those whose hearts are
heedless of Allah, we seethat it is these people who suffer the worst
consequences of their heedlessness. These people, who do not believe
in our Lord, Whocreated them from nothing and has bestowed so many
blessings upon them, avoid everything that might remind them of their
responsibilities to Him. They try to ignore the way that they and the
universe were brought into being fromnothing, they ignore thefact of
death and the Day of Reckoning afterward, the countless blessings of
paradise or the infinite torments of hell because they realize that
only by heeding their consciences, they will have to reflect on Allah
and come to faith. They know that if they think about the existence of
Allah, they will remember His commandments and prohibitions and
therefore be unable to follow their own earthly desires and passions.
Hearts Only Find Peace and Ease through Remembrance of Allah
True peace, joy and happiness can only comewhen people believe in
Allah and their hearts are with Him. One can never attain true joy
andhappiness so long as remains heedless of Allah. Contrary to popular
opinion, all pleasures flee away if one does not have faith because
people cannot live by moral virtues in places where the fact that
Allah is closer to onethan one's own jugular vein is ignored, and
where there is no fear ofHis wrath. Lack of fear ofAllah brings with
it ignorance of all bounds and lawlessness, and thus a degenerate
structure. Everyone behaves as they please. For example, taking
careover one's honor and chastity, not wasting theblessings bestowed
by Allah, thinking the best of people around one (not looking for
secret flaws), not showing off, not talking behind people's backs,
treating the people around one with love and respect rather than with
the aimof seeing what one can get out of them, displaying the moral
values of which Allah approves and being gentle, kind and polite are
all important examples of moral virtues. However, someone who denies
the fact that Allah enfolds and surrounds him (surely Allah is beyond
that) will keep as far away from these moral virtues as possible and
find himself living a degenerate life.
It is for these reasons that one of the worst mistakes people make is
to imagine they can avoid their responsibilities to Allah and build
tranquil lives by not thinking and by erecting walls around their
consciences. But the fact is that no matterhow much one may be
reluctant, or outright refuse to think, the existence of Allah is
still an absolute reality. Allah is there as we have fun, watch the
television, read the newspapers, eat, talk, walk down the street,
sleep, go to school and everywhere. He is closer to us than our own
jugular vein. Wherever one looks, oneencounters manifestations of
Allah. He creates and maintainsall events. Someone whothinks along
those lines can appreciate the true nature of the life of this world
and the absolute existence and might of Allah, grasp the conceptsof
paradise and hell and be punctilious over theirreligious obligations.
Unlike the majority of other people, he knows he must be a servant of
whom Allah approves, and therefore begins to think and live by
religious moral values revealed by Allah in the Qur'an and embodied
bythe prophets and true believers. In consequence, he will take much
more pleasure from beauties and blessings than otherpeople do, and
Allah willbestow a fine life on himin this world and the hereafter.
This is revealed as follows in the Qur'an:
" Those who believe and do right actions and establish prayer and pay
alms, will have their reward with their Lord. They will feel no fear
and will know no sorrow." (Surat al-Baqara, 277)
The finest way of turning to our Lord is to begin every task by
reciting Bismillah (in the name of Allah). Embarking on every taskby
invoking the name of Allah establishes a healthier power in termsof
evoking an effect on the heart and also increases a person's proximity
to Allah, because someone who embarks on a task with the name of Allah
will know that everything happens under His control and that he will
be successful if Allah so chooses. There is no doubt that this leads
to avery deep closeness between Allah and His servant. Such a person
has comprehended his own weakness and the fact he has no power to do
anything without Allah's leave, and has thus fully submitted himself
to Almighty Allah. This position of believers is described as follows
in the Qur'an:
"Say: 'Nothing can happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us.
He is Our Master. It is in Allah that the believers should put their
trust'." ( Surat at-Tawba, 51)
A sincere, deep and uninterrupted bond established with Almighty Allah
at every moment further increases a believer's faith, fervor,
submission to Allah and love and respect for Him. It causesa person to
avoid behavior that will be displeasing to Allah, restrains the
excesses of earthly desires and evils that know no bounds, and
constantly encourages one to behave in a way that may be hoped to be
pleasing to Allah. This closeness bestows a great spiritual delight
onthe believer by drawing him closer to Allah's approval, mercy and
paradise. It makes the believer scrupulous when it comes to
maintaining the bounds set by Allah, and bestowsa great awareness and
care in seeking His approval.
The Worthy Islamic Scholar Imam Al-Ghazali Expresses His Closeness to Allah:
"He [Allah] cannot be fettered by quantities; continents cannot
contain Him, He is not bounded by directions and neither the earth nor
sky can hold Him. He is settled on the earth in the sense commanded by
Him. He neither touches the earth, nor makes His abode there, nor
settles there, nor is included in it, nor proceeds towards it, He is
beyond all these. The earth cannot carry Him, but He bears the earth
and the angels that bear the earth with His might,and these are
mastered as a manifestation of His title of the Punisher. In the same
way that His being on the earth and sky does not require Himto be
distant from the ground and soil, so it does not require proximity to
the earth and sky. On the contrary,in the same way as He is far from
under the ground, so He is far fromthe earth and sky. In addition, He
is closer to the servant than his ownjugular vein. Indeed, in the
Qur'an Allah says "He is witness of everything"(Surat al-Saba', 47) ."
(IHYA-U ULUMUDDİN, Vol. 1 p. 201, Hacetü'l İslam, Imam Gazali)
What One Needs to Do toBe with Allah at Every Moment
To Take Allah, the All-Mighty, As One's Friend and Guide
Our Lord tests His servants by creating events they perceive as
difficulties, in which they face troubles, or experience joy and
happiness. Devout Muslims seek help from Allah alone under such
circumstances and trust in Him alone. They place no hope in natural
causes, intermediaries orother people. They do not regard Allah's
creation as having any power, will or effect independently of Him.
Seeking shelter in Almighty Allah, Who creates one and is awareeven of
the secrets one conceals from others is amajor consequence and sign of
proximity to Allah.
To Pray
Prayer is a very important means by which someone who is utterly
powerless in the face of our Almighty Lord can turn to Him, confess
his sins to Him, seek help from Him alone, feel His existence and
power and maintainthat awareness at every moment of his daily life.
To Turn to Allah in All Tasks
One of the greatest signs of faith is to be aware that all blessings
belong to Allah alone, and to express this with a pure heart and
tongue. It is also one of the most sincere ways ofestablishing a deep
bond with Allah and"serving Him alone."
To Always Give Thanks
By examining the proofs of creation, believers reflect on how it is
Almighty Allah, Who bestows such blessings as the Earth's atmosphere
which protects them against dangers from space, how the Earth's crust
protects them from the boiling magma beneath,how drinking water is
created, the fruits of the earth, the creation of night and day, life,
health, consciousness, the five senses, the air we breathe and
countless other examples at every moment. And by giving thanks for
these they once again turn to Allah alone.

Mayan people believe that the year 2012 is the beginning of a new age when some blessed people will appear

Mayan people belive that the date December 21st, 2012, which is the
end of the Mayan calendar system made up of periods of thousands of
years, refers to the end of a long age.
According to the Mayan calendar the world enters a new age every
1million 872 thousand days. The history of the world consists of
periodsof nearly 5125 years and the end of each one of these periods
mark radical changes and great renovations.
According to the Mayan people, the period in which we live is the
fifthand the last period and it will come to an end onthe date
13.0.0.0.0. According to the Gregorian calendar, this date is 21
December 2012.
According to the Calendar of the Maya, the date of December 22nd 2012
would be represented by what arenamed: 13 Baktun, 0 Katun, 0 Tun, 0
Uinal, and 0 Kin. On their calendar a total of 1,872,000 days will
have elapsed since the beginning of the Maya Era, and this date will
mark the new beginningof the New Era.
For this reason, Mayan people think that December 21st, 2012 is not
only the end of a particular period. They believe that this date is
the beginning of a new period during which some wise, blessed people
will appear and bring a Golden Age to the world.
The Stella (stone structure) depicting that the date December 21st,
2012 is the time when an age will end and a new one will begin.
A stella was found nearby Nohoch Mul, the second highest pyramid among
the Coba Pyramids of the Ancient Mayan civilization. This stella
depicts the age that starts on August 11, 3114 BC and ends in December
21st 2012.
It is estimated that this stella is at least 2000 years old, because
settlements in the area where the pyramids of Coba exist have been
dated somewhere between 600 and 900 CE.
Mayan glifs signifying December 21st, 2012
According to the Mayan people the end of the long Mayan Cycle will
bring the end of the age of oppression and violence, and this will
bethe beginning of the "Golden Age". However this beginning will not
be a peaceful transformation; there will be upheavals in every corner
of the world, many disasters will come upon that will wear-out the
structures of the state. These will not happen in a short while; they
will occur in a long period of time. Again according to the Mayan
people, followingall these happenings, "great blessed people", whom
they believe will be the spiritual leaders of all humanity, will come.
Before their coming, there will be spiritual workers who will prepare
their way. Mayan people believe that the date December 21st, 2012
signifies the time when these spiritual workers will gradually
increase their influence.
Source: Entering the Chain of Union, Timothy Hogan, 2012.

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Zayd ibn Thabit - Biographies of the Companions (Sahabah)

We are in the second year of the Hijrah. Madinah the city of the
Prophet is buzzing with activity as the Muslims prepare for the long
march southwards to Badr.
The noble Prophet made a final inspection of the first army to
bemobilized under his leadership to wage Jihad against those who had
tormented the Muslimsfor many years and who were still bent on putting
an end to his mission.
A youth, not yet thirteen, walkedup to the ranks. He was confident and
alert. He held a sword which was as long or possibly slightly longer
than his own height. He went up to the Prophet, may God bless him and
grant him peace, and said: "I dedicate myself to you, Messenger of
God. Permit me to be with you and to fight the enemies of God under
your banner."
The noble Prophet looked at himwith admiration and patted his shoulder
with loving tenderness.He commended him for his courage but refused to
enlist him because he was still too young.
The youth, Zayd ibn Thabit, turned and walked away, dejected and sad.
As he walked, in slow and measured paces, he stuck his sword in the
ground asa sign of his disappointment. He was denied the honor of
accompanying the Prophet on his first campaign. Behind him was his
mother, an-Nawar bint Malik. She felt equally dejected and sad. She
had dearly wished to see her young son go with the army of mujahidin
and to be with the Prophet at this most critical time.
One year later, as preparations were underway for the second encounter
with the Quraysh which took place at Uhud, a group of Muslim teenagers
bearing arms of various kinds - swords, spears, bows and arrows and
shields - approachedthe Prophet. They were seeking to be enlisted in
any capacity in the Muslim ranks. Some of them,like Rafi ibn Khadij
and Samurah ibn Jundub, who were strong and well-built for their age
and who demonstrated their ability to wrestle and handle weapons, were
granted permission by the Prophet to join the Muslim forces. Others
like Abdullah the son of Umar and Zayd ibn Thabit were still
considered by the Prophet to be too young and immature to fight. He
promised though to consider them for a later campaign. It was only at
the Battle of the Ditch when Zayd was about sixteen years oldthat he
was at last allowed to bear arms in defence of the Muslim community.
Although Zayd was keen to participate in battles, it is not as a
warrior that he is remembered. After his rejection for the Badr
campaign, he accepted the fact then that he was too young to fight in
major battles. His alert mind turned to other fields of service, which
hadno connection with age and which could bring him closer to the
Prophet, peace be on him. He considered the field of knowledge and in
particular of memorizing the Quran. He mentioned the idea to his
mother. She was delighted and immediately made attempts to have his
ambition realized. An-Nuwar spoke to some men ofthe Ansar about the
youth's desire and they in turn broachedthe matter with the Prophet,
saying: "O Messenger of Allah, our son Zayd ibn Thabit has memorized
seventeen surahs of the Book of Allah and recites them as correctly as
they were revealed to you. In addition to that he is good at reading
and writing. It is in this field of service that he desires to be
close to you. Listen to him if you will."
The Prophet, peace be on him, listened to Zayd reciting some surahs he
had memorized. His recitation was clear and beautiful and his stops
and pauses indicated clearly that he understood well what he recited.
The Prophet was pleased. Indeed he found that Zayd's ability exceeded
the commendation he had been given by his relatives. The Prophet then
set him a task which required intelligence, skill and persistence.
"Zayd, learn the writing of the Jews for me," instructed the Prophet.
"At your command, Messenger of Allah," replied Zaydwho set about
learning Hebrew with enthusiasm. He became quite proficient in the
language and wrote it for the Prophet when he wanted to communicate
with the Jews. Zayd also read and translated from Hebrew when the Jews
wrote to the Prophet. The Prophet instructed him to learn Syriac also
and this he did. Zayd thus came to perform the important function of
an interpreter for the Prophet in hisdealings with non-Arabic speaking
peoples.
Zayd's enthusiasm and skill wereobvious. When the Prophet felt
confident of his faithfulness in the discharge of duties and the care,
precision and understanding with which he carried out tasks, he
entrusted Zayd with the weighty responsibility of recording the Divine
revelation.
When any part of the Quran was revealed to the Prophet, he often sent
for Zayd and instructed him to bring the writing materials, "the
parchment, the ink-pot and the scapula", and write the revelation.
Zayd was not the only one who acted as a scribe for the Prophet.One
source has listed forty-eight persons who used to write for him. Zayd
was very prominent among them. He did not only write but during the
Prophet's time he collected portions of theQuran that were written
down by others and arranged these under the supervision of the
Prophet. He is reported to have said:
"We used to compile the Quran from small manuscripts in the presence
of the Prophet." In thisway, Zayd experienced the Qurandirectly from
the Prophet himself. It could be said that he grew up with the verses
of the Quran, understanding well the circumstances surrounding
eachrevelation. He thus became well-versed in the secrets of the
Shariah and at an early age gained the well-deserved reputation as a
leading scholar among the companions of the Prophet.
After the death of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, the task fell on this fortunate young man who specialized in
the Quran to authenticate the first and most important reference for
the ummah of Muhammad. This became an urgent task after the wars of
apostasy and the Battle of Yamamah in particular in which a large
number of those who had committed the Quran to memory perished.
Umar convinced the Khalifah AbuBakr that unless the Quran was
collected in one manuscript, a large part of it was in danger of being
lost. Abu Bakr summoned Zayd ibn Thabit and said to him:"You are an
intelligent young man and we do not suspect you (of telling lies or of
forgetfulness) and you used to write the Divine revelation for Allah's
Messenger. Therefore look for (all parts of) the Quran and collect it
in one manuscript."
Zayd was immediately aware of the weighty responsibility. He later
said: "By Allah, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift one of the
mountains from its place, it would not have been harder for me than
what he had ordered me concerning the collection of the Quran."
Zayd finally accepted the task and, according to him, "started
locating the Quranic material and collecting it from parchments,
scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who
knew it by heart)".
It was a painstaking task and Zayd was careful that not a single
error, however slight or unintentional, should creep into the work.
When Zayd had completed his task, he left the prepared suhuf or sheets
with Abu Bakr. Before he died, Abu Bakr left the suhuf with Umar who
in turn left it with his daughter Hafsah. Hafsah, Umm Salamah and
Aishah were wives of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them, who
memorized the Quran.
During the time of Uthman, by which time Islam had spread far and
wide, differences in reading the Quran became obvious. A group of
companions of the Prophet, headed by Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, who was
then stationed in Iraq, came to Uthman and urged him to "save the
Muslim ummah before they differ about the Quran".
Uthman obtained the manuscript of the Quran from Hafsah and again
summoned theleading authority, Zayd ibn Thabit, and some other
competent companions to makeaccurate copies of it. Zayd was put in
charge of the operation. He completed the task with the same
meticulousness with which he compiled the original suhuf during the
time of Abu Bakr.
Zayd and his assistants wrote many copies. One of these Uthman sent to
every Muslim province with the order that all other Quranic materials
whetherwritten in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies be burnt.
This was important in order to eliminate any variationsor differences
from the standardtext of the Quran. Uthman kept acopy for himself and
returned the original manuscript to Hafsah.
Zayd ibn Thabit thus became oneof the foremost authorities on the
Quran. Umar ibn al-Khattab once addressed the Muslims andsaid: "O
people, whoever wants to ask about the Quran, let him go to Zayd ibn
Thabit."
And so it was that seekers of knowledge from among the companions of
the Prophet and the generation who succeeded them, known as the
"Tabiun", came from far and wide to benefit from his knowledge. When
Zayd died, Abu Hurayrah said: "Today, the scholar of this ummah has
died."
When a Muslim holds the Quran and reads it or hears it being recited,
surah after surah, ayah after ayah, he should know that he owes a
tremendous debt of gratitude and recognition to a truly great
companion of the Prophet, Zayd ibn Thabit, for helping to preserve for
all time to come the Book of Eternal Wisdom. Truly did Allah, the
Blessed and Exalted, say: "Surely We have revealed the Book of
Remembrance and We shall certainly preserve it." (The Quran, Surah
al-Hijr, 15:9)

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