Ethical Stories: What GoesAround Comes Around! (Carpenter Story)

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire, and he told his boss of his
plans to leave and live a more leisurely life with his wife. He would
miss the paycheck, he could get by, but he needed to retire.
The contractor was sorry to see such a good worker go, and he asked
the carpenter to build just one more house as a personal favor.
The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart
was notin his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used
inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end adedicated
career.
When the carpenter finished his work, the contractor came to inspect
the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter."This is your
house," contractor said. "It is my gift to you."
The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known he was
building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.
So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting
less than our best into the building. Then with a shock we realize we
haveto live in the house we have built.
If we could do it over, wewould do it much differently. But we cannot go back...
You are the carpenter of your life. Each day you hammer a nail, place
a board, or erect a wall. Your attitudes and the choices you make
today build your "house" for tomorrow...

Ethical Stories: What GoesAround Comes Around! (Waitress Story)

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but
evenin the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he
pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still
sputtering when he approached her.
Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped
to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't
look safe; he looked poor and hungry.
He could see that she wasfrightened, standing out there in the cold.
He knew how she felt. It wasthose chills which only fear can put in
you.
He said, "I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car
where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson."
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad
enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking fora place to put the
jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he wasable to change
the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.
As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and
began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was
only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to
her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The ladyasked how much she
owed him. Any amount would have been all rightwith her. She already
imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not
stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a
job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were
plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole
life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.
He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time
she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the
assistance they needed, and Bryan added, "And think of me."
He waited until she started her car and droveoff. It had been a cold
and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home,
disappearing into the twilight.
A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to
grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last
leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were
two old gaspumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress
came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a
sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day
couldn't erase.The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eightmonths
pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude.
The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving
to a stranger. Then she remembered.
After the lady finished her meal, she paid with ahundred dollar bill.
The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill,
but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the
time thewaitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could
be. Then she noticed something written on thenapkin.
There were tears in her eyes when she read whatthe lady wrote: "You
don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me
out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here
is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you."
Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.
Well, there were tables toclear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to
serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when
she got home from work and climbed into bed she wasthinking about the
money and what the ladyhad written. How could the lady have known how
much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it
was going to be hard...
She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to
her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low,
"Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson."

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Story - Novel The Fever CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3
I walked to the jeweler the next day, just before noontime.
I sat across the street andstared down the man in the black
sweatshirt. Eventually the creepy, crooked smile appeared behind the
cigarette on his face and I crossed the heavy traffic of the Chicago
street. As I came closer he aimed his nose at the ground, never
revealing his eyes to me.
"You wanna talk to Uncle Jack?"
"Yes."
"No-body talks to Jack 'cept me."
"Well then I need a favor."
His smiled widened."Whatdaya need?"
"Money. I have to get a new job and house and take care of my family
and...I have no job, I just need money fast."
He laughed. "You and half the city."
"Please," I pleaded. "I'm desperate." His laughing stopped.
"How desperate?"
"I'll do anything."
"Anything?"
"Anything."
The hooded man took a long suck on his cigarette. His scratchy and
demanding voice controlled the conversation. I couldn't imagine how
bellowing and deep his voice wouldordinarily sound without the
scratchy aspect from the constant cigarette entertaining his lips. "Do
you have any idea what you are dealing with?"
"Yes." How couldn't I? Everyone knew "Uncle Jack," except, nobody
really knew him. He was one of the biggest drug traffickers and money
launderers in Southern Chicago - not to mention one of the richest men
in the Midwest. He was a very dangerous man. He could snap his fingers
and you would be dead ifhe wanted it that way- and he always got what
he wanted. He never stopped until he got what he wanted.
"I don't think you understand what you aregetting yourself into."
I lied. "I do. I understand completely, and I'll do anything."
"You will be killed if you don't meet his demands."
"I figured." I tried to sound confident, but the gulp after the
sentence gave away my anxiety.
He tilted his head back and for the first time, I saw his eyes. They
were black as night, with red, bloodshot lines surrounding the
darkness. He grabbed his lighter and lit another cigarette. The light
from the flicker of the plastic canister instantly displayed his
facial features for a short moment. He was rather handsome, his face
perfect except for the unshaven scruff across his chin line. "Stay
put," he said after long deliberation and also as he caught me staring
at his face. He briskly walked down the sidewalk about a block and
disappeared from my sight. While he was gone, I did simple things to
pass the time. I tied myshoe laces a few times, counted taxis speeding
down the street, and watched a nearby clock, among other things. I
couldn't imagine standing here for hour after hour, day after day,
like the man in the hooded sweatshirt constantly did.
Finally, he reappeared in a crowd, walking at a hurried pace. "Follow
me,and keep up!" he harshly spat at me as he tossed his half-used
cigarette onthe sidewalk. He blew right past me and I almost had to
jog to keepup with his long, quick stride. He was constantly looking
over his shoulder, not at me but past me, almost as if he was
expecting conflict.
After a few blocks of roaming, he pulled me back deep into an alley.
Paranoia and adrenaline were all over his face.
"I'm going to speak quickly, so listen up."
"Okay."
He reached under his sweatshirt and pulled outfour stacks of
paper-wrapped bills.
"Here is one-hundred grand. In two years to this day, we will meet
again in this exact same spot we are standing now. I'll be here all
day. You need to show up with a quarter million. Yes, that is right,
two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars. You willalso be asked for
favors along the way. You must comply. If you don't, you are dead. If
you don't show up here in two years, you are dead; and your wife and
two little girls will die a long, slow,and painful death.
I was suddenly alert and surprised. "How did you know about-?"
"Let's not go there, shall we?" he smirked as his grin returned and
lit another cigarette. With the first inhale he was suddenly calm
again. "Be here in two years." He tossed the money at me."When we
leave this alley, I'm going to the right and you are going to the
left. Understood? Don't stop or turn arounduntil you are home. Got
it?"
"Yes. I got it." I suddenly felt extremely nervous.
"Good. See ya in two years."
"Thank you," I managed to choke out in a whisper. But before he could
hear me, he was already moving and had taken off. He turned rightwhen
he hit the sidewalkand was gone. I went leftonce I had managed to
figure out how to work my legs again. I was excited but extremely
nervous at the same time.I couldn't stop the feelingof ecstasy pumping
through my veins.
I took an extended route home, going around the block my house was on
atleast twice before entering. I ran into the house and slammed the
door. Jennifer nearly hit the ceiling in surprise then scolded me for
the amount of noise I was making.
"Ssshhhh, the kids are asleep!" she hissed at me.
"We're getting out of here!"
"What?" she raised her voice in alarm.
I pulled the money out from under my sweater and her eyes were
suddenly wide in amazement and caution.
"Where did you get that?"
"That's not important."
"Paul-"
"Jen, can't you see? This is an opportunity to start over! We can go
where we want, get what we want, and be who we want! We can completely
start over. No more getting robbed day in and day out. No more
worrying about if we aregoing to have enough food to get through the
day! AND NO MORE SOUP! SOUP, SOUP, SOUP! I WANT SOME MEAT! TONIGHT WE
ARE GOING OUT FOR STEAKS!"
"Hush now, the girls are still sleeping."
I smiled at her and she continued to stare at me, but after a few
moments,a smile broke and crept across her face.
"Is this really happening?"
"Every bit of it. C'mon, let's get out of here."
She stared at me again for a few moments. "I'll start packing-"
"No, Jen. Just leave it here. We're going to startcompletely over. We
havenothing here left of value. We can get a hotel for the night and
shop tomorrow."
She smiled at me in a way I had not seen in years. I smiled back. This
is what we had been waiting for. This was our chance.
Jen half-ran down the hallway to wake the kids up. She used her
supermom strength to pick up and carry one kidin each arm as I grabbed
a small, combination suitcase to hold the money in.
Within minutes we had left the house, the front door wide open. We
walked directly to the nearest hotel, ordered a family suite, and paid
in cash. We headed to our room and unlocked the door. I held the door
open for Jen and the kidsand everyone was instantly taken aback by the
wonder and sheer amazement presented from the hotel room in front of
them. The two children were the most amazed as they had never been in
a hotel before.
Jen set the twins down intheir bed and they instantly fell asleep
after ridding themselves of excess energy from running around the room
for about 10 minutes, searching every hidden corner. We decided to let
them sleep and decided to get steaksthe next night.
Soon enough, for the first time since our honeymoon, Jen was fast
asleep and looked relaxed and comfortable. The drowsiness created by
my surrounding familyeventually wore off on me and I was also fighting
sleep. I took my rightful place beside her and kissed her forehead.
She smiled, which left mewondering if she was really asleep or not.
Either way, sleep came quickly from exhaustion, much fast than it used
to,never feeling safe with the door locked every night.
I fell asleep, dreaming about what I could do with the money.

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Food & Nourishment -, Ruling on eating balut (egg containing a dead chick).,Dought & clear - ,

Belut is a fertilized duck or chicken egg that contains a
nearly-developed embryo. This egg is boiled and eaten in the shell.
The prevalent belief here in the Philippines is that it contains a
high level of protein and is good for the heart. It is sold in
themarkets and streets of the Philippines. What is the ruling on
eating this kind of egg?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The description of this egg on some websites is as follows:
Development of the chick usually takes 28 days, but balut is an egg
that has been incubated for only 18 days, during which they get a real
embryo with a primitive skeleton.
When the egg reaches the age of 16-20 days, it is ready to be taken to
market, where it will be boiled for thousands of customers who enjoy
this food. This depends on the size of the egg. The egg that is 18
days old is the best. The sellers wash the eggs thoroughly with
sponges, then when they are perfectly clean, they are put in a pot
andboiled. End quote.
With regard to the ruling on eating the egg with the embryo that is
not fully developed, the ruling is that it is haraam, because it comes
under the heading of eating maytah (something that has died without
being slaughtered properly). Eating maytah is definitely haraam
according to Islam.
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas were asked
about the ruling on eating this egg and they ruled that it is haraam.
They were asked:
When we visited the Philippines, we noticed that the people of that
country commonly eat a dish they call balut. This is a chicken egg
that is placed in an incubator until it develops the form of a small
chick with all its features. Three days before the egg is peeled, they
cook the egg in water until it is done, then they break the egg and
eat the chick that is inside it.
Please advise us of the ruling on eating this food.
They replied:
If the situation is as described, then the chickis regarded as maytah
(something that died without being properly slaughtered) and it is not
permissible to eat it, because it had taken shape inside the egg, and
the prohibition on maytah is something that is well known and well
established in Islam.End quote.
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez Aalal-Shaykh, Shaykh 'Abd-Allah ibn
Ghadyaan,Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan, Shaykh BakrAbu Zayd
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah (22/305)
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