Hidden under the tongue - the story oftwo slaves

Once a king purchased 2 slaves. One of them was very handsome while the other was very ugly.
The king asked the handsome slave to go andtake a bath. While he was away the king turned to the other slave and said"Your companion has given a very bad account of you, he said that you are a thief and of bad character. Is this correct?"
The slave replied that his companion was a handsome person, and hisexterior beauty must be reflected by inward beauty as well. He could not believe that such a beautiful man could tell a lie. He therefore said "If my companion has a bad opinion about me, there must certainly be something wrong with me. I am afraid he must be correct."
The king observed that beauty was only an Allah given gift, and it did not follow that a person who had a handsome face had a pure heart as well.
The king was greatly impressed with the character and intelligence of this slave. In the meantime, the first slave had returned from his bath.
The king sent the second slave (i.e. the ugly slave tohave a bath) and in his absence told the handsome slave that his fellow slave had given a bad account of him. On hearing this, the slave burst into invectives against his companion and said that he was a rascal and a liar.
The king thus came to theconclusion that the slave with a beautiful face had no inner worth while the slave with an ugly face had much inner worth.
The moral of the story is that beauty is only skin deep. All that glitters is not gold. "Every man is hidden under his own tongue" The tongue reveals the inner intelligence as well as inner vileness . "The safety of a man lies in holding his tongue"
Rasulullaah (s.a.w.s) said:" He who is silent is successful!"/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

The Merchant with four wives

There was a rich merchantwho had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the
most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He
took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best. He also
loved the3rd wife very much. He was very proud of her andalways wanted
to show off her to his friends. However, the merchant is always in
great fear that she might run away with some other men. He too, loved
his 2nd wife. She was a very considerate person, always patient and in
fact is the merchant's confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some
problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help
him out and tide him through difficult times. Now, the merchant's 1st
wife was avery loyal partner and hasmade great contributions in
maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the
household. However, the merchant did not love thefirst wife and
although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her. One day,
the merchant fellill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die
soon. He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, "Now I have 4
wives with me. But when I die, I'll be alone. How lonely I'll be!"
Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I loved you most, endowedyou with the
finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying,
will you follow me and keep me company?" "No way!" replied the 4th
wife and she walked away withoutanother word. The answercut like a
sharp knife rightinto the merchant's heart.
The sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you so much
for all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me
company?" "No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is so good over here! I'm
goingto remarry when you die!" The merchant's heartsank and turned
cold. He then asked the 2nd wife,"I always turned to you for help and
you've always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die,
will you follow me and keep me company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help you
out this time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only
send you to yourgrave." The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the
merchant was devastated.
Then a voice called out :"I'll live with you. I'll follow you no
matter where you go." The merchant looked up and there was his first
wife. She was so skinny, almostlike she suffered from malnutrition.
Greatly grieved, the merchant said, "I should have taken much better
care of you while I could have!"
Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives ....... The 4th wife is our
body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look
good, it'll never live with us when we die. Our 3rd wife? Our
possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others.
The 2nd wife is our family andfriends. No matter how close they had
been there for us when we're alive, the furthest they can stay by us
is up to the grave. BOTTOMLINE! "The 1st wife is in fact our soul,
often neglected in our pursuit of material wealthand sensual pleasure.
Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we
go. Perhaps it's a good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather
than to wait until we're on our death-bed to lament."

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3a] Are the angels superior or the Prophet and the righteous?

3a]
He also said:
Allah created Adam from clay; because He shaped him and breathed into
him the spirit He created for him, and instructed the angels to
prostrate to him, and He favoured himover them by teaching him the
names of all things and He created himwith His own hand and soon, he
and the righteous among his descendants are superior to the
angels,even though mankind was created from clay andthe angels from
light.
End quote from Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 11/95
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Allah, may He be glorified,created from inferior material that which
is superior to that which was created from something else. This is a
sign of His perfect power, may He be glorified. Hence Muhammad,
Ibraaheem, Moosa, 'Eesa, Nooh and the Messengers are superior to the
angels.The view of Ahl as-Sunnahis that the righteous among mankind
are superior to the angels, even though their substance is light and
the substance of mankind is dust.
End quote from as-Sawaa'iq al-Mursalah, 3/1002
He also said:
The righteous among mankind are superior to the angels, because the
worship of the angels is free from any contamination of the whims and
desires of the human nafs; it is done by beings that have nothing to
prevent, undermine or resist it. It is like breathing for the living.
As for the acts of worship of human beings, they aredone despite the
inclinations of their heartsand by suppressing their whims and desires
and going against their natural urges. So they are more perfect. Hence
most of the scholars said that humans were superior to the angels for
this reason and others.
End quote from Tareeq al-Hijratayn, 349-350
There are some scholars who highlighted a different approach to this
issue. Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Comparing angels to the righteous among mankind is a matter concerning
which there are differences among thescholars, each of whom quoted
texts to support his opinion. But the most correct view is that the
righteous among mankind are superior to the angels on the basis of the
final outcome becauseAllah, may He be glorified and exalted, will give
them reward the like of which cannot be attained by the angels as far
as we know. Rather the angels will be in the abode of thebelievers –
namely Paradise – and will enter upon them from every gate,
congratulating them(with the words): "Salamun Alaikum (peace be upon
you) for that you persevered in patience! Excellent indeed is the
final home!" [ar-Ra 'd 13:24 – interpretation of the meaning]. From
the point of view of their origin, the angels are superior because
they were created from light and their innate nature is to worship and
obey Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, and they have been given
the strength to do that. Allah, may He be exalted, says that among the
angels are the angels of Hell:
"over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobeynot,
(from executing) the Commands they receive from Allah, but do that
which they are commanded"
[at-Tahreem 66:6]
"And those who are near Him (i.e. the angels) are not too proud to
worship Him, nor are they weary (of His worship).
They (i.e. the angels) glorify His Praises night and day, (and) they
never slacken (to do so)"
[al-A'raaf 7:206].
This is the decisive view concerning this matter.
Indulging in discussion of this matter and seeking todetermine whether
the righteous among mankind or the angels aresuperior is a kind of
superfluous knowledge. Man has no need of understanding and learning
about this matter.
End quote from Fataawa Noor 'ala ad-Darb, 8/6
He is right, may Allah have mercy on him. This and similar matters are
things that people have no need to indulge in discussion of and enter
into disputes as to which group is superior and which group worships
more? It is a kind of superfluous knowledge and the Muslim has no need
to know which group is superior and more perfect. What the Muslim
should do is focus on putting his own affairs in order by obeying his
Lord.

And Allah knows best.

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3]Are the angels superior or the Prophet and the righteous?

3]
Do the angels worship Allah better and more perfectly than the
Prophets themselves?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The angels are honoured slaves and do not disobeyAllah in what He
commands them to do; they do whatever they are commanded. Allah
created them and made their innate nature one of obedience and worship
ofHim. Some of them are appointed in charge of the revelation, some
are appointed in charge of provision, some are appointed in charge of
the mountains and some are created to worship, pray, and glorify and
remember Allah.
At-Tirmidhi (2312) narrated, in a report which he classed as
hasan,that Abu Dharr said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) said: "Verily I see what you do not see and I
hear what you do not hear. The heaven is creaking and it should creak,
for there is no space in it the width offour fingers but there is an
angel there, placing hisforehead in prostration toAllah."
Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi
In the hadeeth of the Isra'(Prophet's Night Journey) it says: "Then
the Much-Frequented House (al-bayt al-ma'moor) was raised up for me,
and I asked Jibreel (about it). Hesaid: 'This is the Much-Frequented
House. Every day seventy thousand angels enter it and when they depart
from it, they never return to it.'"
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3207) and Muslim (164).
At-Tabari narrated in his Tafseer (21/127) from Ibn Mas'ood (may Allah
be pleased with him) that he said: Among the heavens is one in which
there is nospace the size of a handspan but on it there is the
forehead of an angel or his foot standing there. Then he recited the
words: "Verily, we (angels), we stand in rowsfor the prayers (as you
Muslims stand in rows for your prayers). Verily, we (angels), we are
they whoglorify (Allah's Praises i.e. perform prayers)" [as-Saffaat
37:165-166].
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in as-Saheehah,1059
Such worship is beyond the capabilities of any human being, and they
are not able to do it. The angels do not slow down or become tired, as
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"But if they are too proud (to do so), then there are those who are
with your Lord (angels) glorify Him night and day, and never are they
tired"
[Fussilat 41:38].
What is instilled in humanbeings is human nature, including the
Prophets and Messengers of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
them); theyare different from the angels in their attributes and
natures.
The angels are able to do feats of worship that no human is able to do.
But the fact that their worship is greater does not mean that they are
superior to the Prophets; the Prophets are to be viewed on the basis
that they are human beings with human nature. It is because they have
risen to such a high status in obedience to their Lord that they have
a particular virtue and sublime position, so muchso that more than one
of the scholars has said that the righteous among mankind are of a
higher status than the angels, because the angels do nothave any
inclination towards evil or disobedience, whereas the righteous among
mankind have these inclinations, but they resist them and overcomethem
in order to obey Allah.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah was asked about those who obey Allah
among the ummah of Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him): are they superior to the angels?
He replied:
It was proven that 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr said: The angels said: O Allah,
You have created the sonsof Adam, and they eat anddrink and enjoy life
in the world; create for us the Hereafter as you created the world for
them. He said: I shall not do that. They asked Him again andHe said: I
shall not do that. Then they asked Himagain two or three times and He
said: By My Glory, Icannot regard the righteous among the descendants
of the one whom I have created withMy own hand as being like one to
whom I said: Be! And he was (i.e., the angels). This was narratedby
'Uthmaan ibn Sa'eed ad-Daarimi.
It was narrated from 'Abdullah ibn Salaam that he said: Allah has not
created any creation dearer to Him that Muhammad. It was said tohim:
Not even Jibreel and Mika'eel? He said to the one who asked him: Do
you know what Jibreel and Mika'eel are? Jibreel and Mika'eel are
subjugated creations like the sun and the moon. Allah has not created
anyone who is dearer to him than Muhammad (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him).
I do not know of any one among the Sahaabah whodisagrees with that.
This is the well-known view among those who claim to belong to Ahl
as-Sunnah, the companions of the four imams and others, namely (the
view that) the angels and close friends of Allah (awliya') are
superior to the angels.
End quote from Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 4/344

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