The young man who learned what cannot be taught,Islamic Stories, -

Once upon a time, there lived in Basra an old man whose only
occupation was caring for and loving his only son who was a handsome
young man. The old man invested all his money on his son's education.
The young man went away for a few years and acquired an education at a
well known university under the great scholars of thatage.
The day had arrived for the son to return from his studies and the old
man waited at the door for his son. When the son came and met his
father, the old man looked into his eyes and felt great
disappointment. "What have you learnt my son?" he asked, "I have
learnt everything there was to be learnt, father",he said. "But have
you learnt what cannot be taught?" asked the father. "Go, my son and
learn what cannot be taught", said the old man.
The young man went back to his master and asked him to teach him what
cannot be taught.
"Go away to the mountains with these four hundred sheep and come back
when they are one thousand", said the master.
The young man went to the mountains and became a shepherd. There for
the first time he encountered a silence. He had no one totalk to. The
sheep did not understand his language. In his desperation, he would
talk to them but they would look back at him as if to say he was
stupid. Slowly but surely he began to forget all his worldly
knowledge, his ego, his pride and hebecame quiet like the sheep and
great wisdomand humility came to him.
At the end of two years when the number of sheep had grown to
onethousand, he returned to his master and fell on his feet. "Now you
have learnt what cannot be taught," said the master.
NB. It is interesting to note that the Nabis of Allah Taala (Alayhimus
salaam) at some time in their lives, generally before Nubuwwat, tended
to sheep, and other such animals.

Islamic Stories, - Ibrahim ibn Adham and the man who didn't disobey Allah again

A man came to Ibrahim ibn Adham, may Allah be pleased with him, and
said, "Abu Ishaq, I am unable to control myself.Please give me
something to help me with it"
"If you accept five conditions," said Ibrahim, "and are able to put
them into practice, your disobedience will not cause you any problem."
"Just tell me what they are, Abu Ishaq!" the mansaid. "The first is
that when you want to disobey Allah you do noteat anything He
provides." "Then how will I get anything to eat? Everything on the
earth is from Him!" "So isit right to eat His provision and disobey
Him at the same time?" replied Ibrahim.
"No, it is not. What is thesecond condition?""When you want to disobey
him, move off His land."
"That is even more difficult! Exclaimed the man. "In that case
wherewill I live?"
"Is it right to eat his provision and live on His land and then to
disobeyHim?" asked Ibrahim."No, it is not."
"What is the third condition?" "When you want to disobey Him in spite
of eating His provision and living on His land, find a place where He
will not see you and disobey Him there."
"What do you mean, Ibrahim? He knows everything that happenseven in
the most hidden places!" "So is it right to disobey Him when you eat
His provision and liveon His land and when you know that He can see
everything you do?""It certainly is not!" the man replied.
"Tell me the fourth condition." "That when the Angel of Death arrives
to take your soul,you say to him, 'Give me a reprieve so that I can
repent and act righteously for Allah.'"
"But he won't listen to me!" "Then if you cannotward off death long
enough to give yourself time to repent, and you know that when it
comes there will be no reprieve, how can you hope to be saved?"
"What is the fifth?" "Thatwhen the angels of the Fire come to you to
take you to the Fire, you do not go with them.""They will take me
whether I like it or not!" exclaimed the man.
"So how can you hope to be saved?"
"Enough, enough, Ibrahim! I ask Allah's forgiveness and I turn toHim!"
The man's repentance was sincere and from that time on he was
assiduous in his worship and avoided acts of disobedience until the
day he died.

Introduction: A Short Voyage Through The Human Body

This book describes howthe human body's various systems function,and
gives examples of their components. In contrast to many other books
about human anatomy, however, we also regularly emphasizea number of
points. We examine information in considerable detail, draw attention
to the fine characteristic in every square millimeter of the human
body, and particularly emphasize the cells, tissues, molecules and
glands that perform such miraculous processes within that body's
depths.
From time to time, we also provide technical details, to ensure a
better understanding of the complex structure within your body, and
also to give you a new perspective on events occurring inside your
body and to encourage you to consider them more deeply.
In order to achieve this, as you read this book, imagine yourself on a
voyage throughout yourown body—a voyage on which unbelievable
surprises await you. You will discover that there is a generator in
your heart, and when that generator cuts out, a spare one steps in to
take over the work. You'll witness how cells in your small intestine
are able to recognize and trap iron atoms out of the many hundreds
ofdifferent substances they encounter. You will see how, after a long
journey, a molecule of hormone, produced in an endocrine gland located
in your head, reaches its far distant objective—your kidney, for
example—and how itinstructs the cells there what to do.
During the course of thisjourney you will witness miraculous events
that have been taking place throughout what you refer to as "My body"
ever since the day you were born, starting rightbeneath the surface of
your skin.
Viewed from that point of view, your body is a whole city, a whole
other world, in fact. Inside it are modes of transport, buildings,
factories, infrastructure systems, equipment more highly advanced than
even the most sophisticated technologyin the outside world,
specialized elements (such as cells, hormones, glands) that seem to
exhibit unexpected awareness, fully equipped defensive troops, and
many other marvels.
Moreover, this miniaturized environment is not restricted to your own
body alone. Everyone you see around you—your parents, brothers,
sisters, friends, colleagues, people walking in the street, the actors
you watch on television, and all the billions currently living on this
planet—possesses this same miraculous world withinthe skin. Similarly,
people who lived hundreds or even thousands of years ago—indeed all
the humans who have ever lived—have possessed this same inner
perfection. Just like those alive today, peoplein the past had the
same flawless systems in their bodies: trillions of conscious-seeming
cells, secretory glands with decision-making abilities, and organs
equipped with the most sophisticated biotechnology.
Considering and evaluating the events taking place within this
miniature environment is of great importance, because anyone who does
so has taken the first step towards freedom from a great illusion.
Those who realize the perfection of the systems inside their own
bodies—in the heart, for example—and who have grasped the creation
within that system, can no longer betaken in by evolutionary fables
that claim that theheart acquired all these features by chance. You
will know that cells formed by the coming together of unconscious
molecules could never do these things by themselves, and will seek to
question of Whose intellect it actually is that these cellsexhibit.
Someone who realizes that the stomach, a mereenclosure of muscle and
tissue, possesses a special system that prevents it digesting itself
while it secretes the acid strong enough to dissolve meat . . . those
who know that when they cut their finger, at least 20 different
enzymes go into action in a very special sequence in order for their
blood to clot, with never any confusion or deficiency in the various
processes while this is carried out .. . will find, by thinking deeply
about the details of matter, that none of these systems could
havedeveloped in stages, as evolutionists would haveus all believe.
Those who understand these details will realize that the tiny worlds
of their bodies, has a Creator, and will regard the information they
read here as a guide to becoming acquainted with that Creator.
Everyone who sees the order in the systems within the human body, its
superior creation at every point, will also clearly see that an Entity
possessed of a superior power and a superior intellect must have
created that body. In theQur'an it is revealed that:
Everything in the heavens and everything in the earth belongs to Him.
Allah is the Rich Beyond Need, the Praiseworthy. Do you not see that
Allah has made everything on the earth subservient to you and the
ships running upon the sea by His command? He holds back the heaven,
preventing it from falling to the earth—except by His permission.Allah
is All-Compassionate to humanity, Most Merciful. It is He Who gave you
life and then will cause you to die and then will give you life again.
Man is truly ungrateful. (Surat al-Hajj:64-66)
As you will clearly see from the examples giventhroughout this book,
it is Almighty Allah Who created the 100 trillion or so cells, the
glands, many organs and tissues in your human body. Allah creates
human beings as a whole, together with all their physical components,
and reveals evidence of this to allow them to come to know Him. As our
Lord has revealed in the Qur'an:
If you tried to number Allah's blessings, you could never count them.
Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surat an-Nahl:18)
That being so, those who are aware of all thismust also realize the
many blessings impartedby Allah. Such people will arrange their lives
insuch a way as to please only Him, know that their own bodies, and
every new day bestowedon them when they rise in the morning are
blessings from Allah, andwill give due thanks to Him.
Why indeed should I notworship Him Who brought me into being, Him to
Whom you will bereturned? Am I to take asdeities instead of Him those
whose intercession, if the All-Merciful desires harm for me, will not
help me at all and cannot save me? (Surah Ya Sin:22-23)
Intelligent Design—In Other Words, Creation
In order to create, Allah has no need to design.
It's important to properly understand the word "design." That Allah
has created a flawless design does not mean that He first made a plan,
and then followed it. Allah needs no "designs" in order to create.
Allah, the Lord of the Earth and the heavens, is exalted above all
such deficiencies. His planning and creation take place at the same
instant.
Whenever Allah wills a thing to come about, it isenough for Him just
to say, "Be!" As we are told in verses of the Qur'an:
His command when He desires a thing is just to say to it, "Be!" and it
is. (Surah Ya Sin:82)
[Allah is] the Originator of the heavens and Earth. When He decides on
something, He just says to it, "Be!" and it is. (Surat al-Baqara: 117)
-
Do you not see that Allahhas subjected to you everything in the
heavens and Earth and has showered His blessingsupon you, both
outwardly and inwardly? (Surah Luqman:20)

A profound respect forAllah is a sign of genuine faith

A profound respect for Allah, the religion, the Qur'an, our Prophet
(saas), the angels and all our spiritual values is an important sign
of genuine faith. Allah described in the Qur'an how the prophets and
true believers stood in respectful awe of Him and remembered him with
awe, how their hearts were softened by fear of Him, and how they came
with a sound and pure faith through their profound fear. Therefore,
all Muslims must be scrupulous and punctilious when it comes to
remembering Allah, in speaking of our Prophet (saas) and all the other
prophets, and in discussing religious matters.
Language that is disrespectful of Allah willimpose a heavy
responsibility in the Hereafter and also have a negative impact on
people of weak or no faith who hear it. Every Muslim must carefully
avoid talking in any suchway.
BELIEVERS' PROFOUND RESPECT FOR ALLAH
(Believers are) those WHO ARE FILLED WITH THEFEAR of their Lord.
(Surat al-Muminun, 57)
(People of intelligence are) those who join what Allah has commanded
to be joined and are AFRAID OF THEIR LORD and fear an evil Reckoning.
(Surat ar-Rad, 21)
Those who fear their Lord in their most secret thoughts, and WHO HOLD
THE HOUR (OF JUDGMENT) IN AWE. (Surat al-Anbiya',49)
We responded to him and gave him John, restoring for him his wife's
fertility. They outdid one another in good actions, calling outto Us
in yearning and in awe, and HUMBLING THEMSELVES TO US. (Surat
al-Anbiya', 90)
If We Had sent down thisQur'an onto a mountain, YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN IT
HUMBLED, CRUSHED TO PIECES OUT OF FEAR OF ALLAH. We make such examples
for people so that hopefully they will reflect. (Surat al-Hashr, 21)
HAS THE TIME NOT ARRIVED FOR THE HEARTS OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE TO YIELD
to the remembrance of Allah and to the truth He has sent down, so they
are not like those who were given the Book before for whom the time
seemed over long so that their hearts becamehard? Many of them are
deviators. (Surat al-Hadid, 16)
(It is) so that you might all believe in Allah and His Messenger and
honorHim and RESPECT HIM and glorify Him in the morning and the
evening. (Surat al-Fath, 9)
Men and women who are Muslims, men and women who are believers, men
and women who are obedient, men and women who are truthful, men and
women who are steadfast, MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE HUMBLE, men and women
who give charity, men and womenwho fast, men and women who guard
theirchastity, men and women who remember Allah much: Allah has
prepared forgiveness forthem and an immense reward. (Surat al-Ahzab,
35)
Among the people of theBook there are some who believe in Allah andin
what has been sent down to you and what was sent down to them, and WHO
ARE HUMBLE BEFORE ALLAH. They do not sell Allah's Signs for apaltry
price. Such peoplewill have their reward with their Lord. And Allah is
swift at reckoning. Surah Al 'Imran, 199)
Those who speak in a manner that is inappropriate towards Allah and
Islam, who foolishly adopt a mocking tone or who behave in such a way
as to weaken people's love and respect for Allah in this world will be
able todo none of these things when they are brought into His Presence
and will seriously regret their actions.
DENIERS' AND HYPOCRITES'FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND SPEECH IN THE PRESENCE OF ALLAH
On that day they will follow the Summoner who has no crookednessin him
at all. VOICES WILL BE HUMBLED BEFORE THE ALL-MERCIFUL AND NOTHING BUT
A WHISPER WILL BE HEARD. On that Day intercession will not be of any
use except for him whom the All-Merciful has authorized and with whose
speech He is well pleased. (Surah Ta Ha, 108-109)
You will see them as theyare exposed to it, ABJECT IN THEIR ABASEMENT,
glancing around them furtively. Those who believe will say, 'Truly the
losers are those who lose themselves and their families on the Day of
Resurrection.' The wrongdoers are in an everlasting punishment. (Surat
ash-Shura, 45)
'Be moderate in your tread and LOWER YOUR VOICE. THE MOST HATEFUL OF
VOICES IS THE DONKEY'SBRAY.' (Surah Luqman, 19)
Therefore, (O Prophet,) turn away from them. The Day that THE CALLER
WILL CALL (THEM) TO A TERRIBLE AFFAIR. They willemerge from their
graves with DOWNCAST EYES , like swarming locusts, necks outstretched,
EYES TRANSFIXED, RUSHING HEADLONG TO THE ONE WHO SUMMONS. The
unbelievers will say, 'This is a pitiless day!' (Surat al-Qamar, 6-8)
THEIR EYES WILL BE DOWNCAST, darkened by debasement; for they were
called on to prostrate when they were in full possession of their
faculties. (Surat al-Qalam, 43)
Do not consider Allah to be unaware of what the wrongdoers perpetrate.
HE IS MERELY DEFERRING THEM TO A DAY ON WHICH THEIR SIGHT WILL BE
TRANSFIXED, rushing headlong–heads back, eyes vacant, hearts hollow.
(Surah Ibrahim, 42-43)
ON THE DAY IT COMES, NO SELF WILL SPEAK EXCEPT BY HIS PERMISSION. Some
of them will be wretched and others glad. (Surah Hud, 105)
By your Lord, We will collect them and the demons together. THEN WE
WILL ASSEMBLE THEM AROUND HELL ON THEIR KNEES. (Surah Maryam, 68)