How a Person Could Change!

The following story was narrated to us by brother Mahmud from Preston,
England. Once, he along with a group ofMuslims were visiting a city
for inviting others toAllah. They happened to pass by a group of
youths who were Muslims by birth but became gang members. The brothers
didn't give those gang members thenegative attitude that others give
while passing by them. Rather, they went and hand-shook with them out
of brotherhood. With love and affection, the brothers invited the
youths to come to the Masjid. Not being familiar with such kindness,
the gang members were surprisedand decided to come to the Masjid for
once. These youths were so much away from Islam that they were smoking
in the Masjid and doing a lot of other disrespectful acts. However,
brother Mahmud and others were discussing with them about the
Greatness of Allah with patience and endurance.A time came when the
brothers had to return to their homes and before leaving they advised
the gang members to turn towards Allah.
After several years, brother Mahmud was attending a large gathering of
Muslims when suddenly someonecalled him from the back. There were few
people dressed in sunnah standing behind him. They asked brother
Mahmud if he recognizesthem. They told him, �We are those gang members
whom you visited few years back. We decided to go out and learn more
about Islam and eventually changed our lives.�
Dear readers, we should never underestimate certain people because of
the way they are as every individual has the capacity to become a
friend of Allah. It is only Allah who guides; we can only try with
kindness to reach out to their hearts.

Imam Bukhari cured from blindness

Imam Bukhari, who was one of the greatest compilers of ahadith, became
blind at a youngage. He had recourse to many famous and skilleddoctors
of his time but their treatments made no difference. His mother was a
pious worshipper and a righteous woman. She cried out for help in the
court of Allah the Almighty, for her child and begged for the
restoration of his eyesight. At last, "the river of mercy flowed over
her," and Almighty Allah accepted her invocation. One night, she
visited Ibrahim alayhis-salam in a dreamand was told, "Allah has
restored the sight of your son because of your intense and beautiful
invocations." In the morning, as Imam Bukhari got up from his bed,
glimmers of light reached out into his eyes. That is, his eyesightwas
fully restored.
Source: From the biography of Imam Bukhari (ra) located in the
beginning of Sahih Al Bukhari 9 Volume English Translation. Additional
details were provided by Shaykh al-Hadith Allama Ghulam Rasul Sa`idi.
Make use of salah and dua to solve any problem that even the best
experts of this world cannot solve. Unfortunately, the Muslims are
turning away from these deeds today when they need them the most. We
pray for Allah to give us the true understading of Islam.

God increases his blessings on those who are grateful

Every person is in need of God at every instant of life. From the air
one breathes to the food he eats, from the ability to use one's hands
to the faculty of speech, from being sheltered to beingin a joyful
spirit, one lives completely in need of what God creates and grants
him. Still, a vast majority of people do not perceive their weaknesses
and that they are in need of God. They suppose that thingsdevelop
spontaneously or that they acquire everything by their own efforts.
This is an important error, as well as a serious ingratitude towards
God. Ironically, people who render theirthanks to a person for even an
insignificant gift, spend all their lives ignoring the countless
blessings that God gives them all through their lives. However, so
great are the blessings granted to a person that one could never count
them. God relates this fact in a verse as follows:
If you tried to number God's blessings, you could never count them.
God is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surat an-Nahl: 18)
Despite this fact, most people fail to give thanks for any of the
blessings they have. The reason for this is related in the Qur'an:
Satan, who pledged to misguide people from God's way, said that his
ultimate aim is to make people be ungrateful to God. Satan's defiant
statements to God emphasize the importance of giving thanks to God:
'Then I will come at them, from in front of them behind them, from
their right and from their left. You will not find most of them
thankful.' He (God) said, 'Get out of it, reviled anddriven out. As
for those of them (mankind) who follow you, I, will fill up Hell with
every one of you.' (Surat al-A'raf: 17-18)
Believers, on the other hand, aware of their weaknesses and in
humility before God, render their thanks to Him for every blessing
granted. Wealth and possessions are not the only blessings for which
believers render their thanks to God. Knowing that God is the Owner
and Possessor of everything, believers express their inner
gratefulness for good health, beauty, knowledge, wisdom, love of faith
and hatred from disbelief, understanding, insight, foresight and for
power.They are thankful for being rightly guided andfor being in the
company of believers.
A beautiful landscape, easy handling of their affairs, fulfillment of
their wishes, tidings of great joy, respectful conduct or any other
blessings make believersimmediately turn to God,express their
gratefulness to Him and reflect on His mercy and compassion.
In return for good morals displayed, a reward awaits believers.This is
another of the secrets revealed in the Qur'an; God increases
Hisblessings on those who are grateful. For example, God grants even
more health and power to those who render their thanks to God for the
good health and strength they have. God bestows even more knowledge
and propertyto those who are grateful for their knowledge or wealth.
This is because they are sincere people who are contented with what
God gives and are pleased with the blessings and who take God as their
friend. God relates this secret in the Qur'an as follows:
And when your Lord announced: "If you are grateful, I will certainly
give you increase, but if you are ungrateful, My punishment is
severe."' (Surah Ibrahim: 7)
Being grateful is also a sign of one's closeness toand love of God.
People who give thanks have the insight and capability to perceive the
beauties and blessings that God creates. God's Messenger, peace be
upon him, also referred to this when he said:
When God gives you property, the bliss of God's blessing and offering
must be reflected on you.
On the other hand, a disbelieving or ungrateful person will only see
the imperfections and faults even in the most beautiful environment,
and thus will be unhappy and discontented. Indeed, as a divine purpose
in God's creation, such people, always come across with seemingly
unfavorable events and unpleasant scenes. On the other hand, God
displays more of His bounties and blessings to those who have a
sincere and insightful outlook.
That God increases His blessings to those who are grateful is one of
thesecrets of the Qur'an. However, one needs to keep in mind that
sincerity is a prerequisite for being grateful. No doubt, one'sway of
showing his gratitude without turning sincerely to God and feeling the
inner peace of God's infinite mercy and compassion, which is solely
intended to impress people, would be sheer insincerity. God knows what
hearts harbor, and will bear witness to this insincerity. Those who
have insincere inner intentions may conceal itfrom other people, but
not from God. Such people may render their thanks with affected
manners when there is no affliction, but at times of hardship, it is
possible that they may readily lapse into ungratefulness.
It should be also noted that true believers remain grateful to God
even under harshest conditions. Someone looking from outside may see
the diminishing of some blessings believers enjoy. However, believers,
whoare able to perceive the good aspect of every event and situation,
see goodness in this too. For example, God states that He will test
people with fear, hunger and loss of wealth or life. In such a
situation, believers rejoice and feel grateful,hoping that God will
reward them with the gifts of paradise in return for the steadfastness
they displayed in this test.
They know that God does not impose on anyone more than he can bear.
The steadfastness and submission of such awareness lead them to
patience and gratitude. Therefore, it is an obvious attribute of
believers to show unwavering dedication and submission and God
promises to expand His blessings on His grateful servants both in the
life of this world and in the Hereafter.

Everything we perceive with our five senses is the interpretation of electric signals in our brains

Although some people may realize that images consist of
electricsignals in the brain, theymay also form the impression that
the other senses, touch for instance, are different. They may think
that when they touch or smell something they aremaking direct contact
with real matter. Again, however, they are actually perceiving nothing
more than electric signals in the brain.
When we touch something with our hands, we are not really touching
that object at all. A chemical bond is formed between atoms in a
constant state of motion. But these atoms never actually "touch" one
another. In physical terms, therefore, we have never touched anything
we think we have. As a result of this illusory sense of touch, the
atoms in our hands vibrate and initiate an electrical current. That
current then moves towards the touch center in our brains. It is then
"interpreted" whenit arrives. And this is a great miracle. In the same
way that the visualcenter interprets an incoming current as a yellow
rose, the touch center interprets the signals reaching it as soft, hot
or rough. Similar signals head from our mouths to the taste region in
the brain and form a sensation of flavor, sweetness or sourness. The
signals from the nose reaching the scent detection center in the brain
and set up a perception in the brain regarding the aroma of the object
in question. Sound from the ears reaches the brain in the form of
other electric signals, and we then in some way are convinced that the
person calling our names is our mother. Weenjoy the tunes set up
byelectrical signals forwarded to the brain from the ear, and have no
doubt that the ringtone is actually coming from the phone.
All this is an extraordinary miracle created by Allah.
But the sound we hear does not actually belong to the phone, and
neither doesthe sound of music comefrom our stereos. We experience the
sound of a telephone, the originalof which we can never see, the
original of which we can never hear unless Allah so wills.What we see
is not the yellow flower on the outside. That flower, its image, its
perfume and all its beauty, consists of electric signals reaching our
brains. And we have no evidence whether the image of this flower is
the same as the real flower on the outside. Peter Russell explains
this as follows:
If all that we ever know are the sensory images that appear in our
minds, how can we be sure there is a physical realitybehind our
perceptions?Is it not just an assumption? My answer is: Yes, it is an
assumption; nevertheless, it seems a most plausible one. [i]
There is no doubt that it is impossible for us to know whether the
images, sounds, smells and tastes that form in our brains actually
exist on the outside. On the basis of this, we can be sure of only one
thing; there is a world created especially for us in our brains. And
we can never know whether other people see this world in the same way
we do. We can only see the images, hear the sounds and taste the
flavors of a world created especially for us.We can have no direct
experience of anything else.
That being the case, we need to ask the following question: can
electric signals alone give rise to such a harmonious world?
Of course, not. Itis Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, Who creates the
world for us in all its reality, clarity and beauty. Allah bestows
onus a soul from His own spirit. It is the soul created by Allah that
perceives, enjoys and rejoices, and the electric signals are merely an
instrument.
[i] Peter Russell, From Science toGod "A Physicist's Journey into the
Mystery of Consciousness", New World Library, 2002, p. 47