The Other Doors

The Other Doors
Our 4 year old son has some fairly serious health problems, so we are
"frequent fliers" at the local children's hospital. Two weeks ago, our
son was there for several days having surgery.
As stressful as that was for us, my visits to that hospital almost
always leave me feeling grateful. Why? Because of " the other doors ."
As I walk the corridors ofthat hospital, I pass doors leading to many
different departments. I pass the department where surgeons
reconstruct children's faces. I pass the department where specialists
treat children who have been tragically burned. I pass the department
where children with cancer spend their childhoods battling a disease
that terrifies most adults. Every day, people walk through those
doors. I keep walking.
Occasionally, I walk through a ward, past theroom of a dying child. I
look in at the child, unconscious amid a massof tubes and machines. I
see the family, staring blankly into space, grieving for what is to
come. I keep walking.
On the fourth floor, I pass the "catacombs" where parents with
children in ICU watch their days and nights stretch into weeks and
months, hoping against hope for good news. I keep walking.
It's late one evening, and I walk to the waiting room. Only one family
remains, and theirdoctor arrives from surgery. He begins to tellthem
about the patient'sinjuries....a shotgun blast,
self-inflicted....massive facial damage.... a dozen moreoperations to
come....a lifetime of disfigurement...a lifetime of asking"why?" I
sit, half-listening, considering the doors, this family will face in
the years ahead.
I stood up. I walk back tothe preschool ward, to the one door I seek.
Behind this door, our son is slowly recovering from surgery. And in a
strange way, I am grateful for the"situation" that we live with.
Because there are a hundred other doors in this place that are far
worse. And we could justas easily be in one of those rooms.
As you pray for strength to open the doors you face, be sure to thank
Allah Ta'ala for the doorshe has spared you.

Amazed By Muslim Women's Dress

Amazed By Muslim Women's Dress
An American Female Finds Islam
I am an American who grew up in a strict religious Christian family.
By the time I was 16 I became very devout and religious myself. The
church waslike a home away from home. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I had read and studied the Bible on a regular basis. All the while
Iwas noticing many errors in the Bible. Many conflicting stories. So I
would ask my grandmother or the pastor of the church about it, but
would never get a solid answer.
I was told to just brush it off and not worry about these little
details that weren't adding up. So for a time I did.
Later on in my early 20s I was appointed as Youth Pastor at mylocal
church. It was during this time that my biblical studies hadbecome
intense. The more I studied, the more questions I had.
Due to the lack of answers I was not getting from the church, I
decided to enroll into Bible College. "For sure I would find my
answers there," I often thought to myself. Again, no such luck.
Nothing could ease my mind andso I decided to step down from"Youth
Pastor". I felt I could no longer lead the youth since I was confused
and doubting things myself. I was the one in need of a leader. My
heart was crying out to find some peace in all this confusion.
One night I turned on the TV andhappened to flip straight to CNN.They
were reporting straight from Iraq. Then, there in the background I saw
the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.
She was adorned only in black from head to toe. She was so modest, and
to me that made her so beautiful. I knew that shewas a Muslim but I
didn't know what the religious beliefs of Muslims were.
I was more caught up in her clothing attire. It sparked my interest
more than anything. My heart immediately desired to be like her. Pious
and modest. So this is where my search began.
I immediately got online and searched "Muslim Woman Dress"& "Muslim
Woman Face Veil". This is when I came across the words " Hijab " and "
Niqab ". Wikipedia also referred to the women who wore it as Hijabis
or Niqabis.
These hijabis and niqabis were my newly-found role models. So I
immediately changed all my online nicknames to "hijabi" or"niqabi". It
had not occurred to me to investigate the beliefs of Islam yet. But it
was soon to come….
One afternoon my neighborhoodwas having a community cookout. I was
setting next to my closest neighbor and we somehow got on the subject
of religion.
He said "You know us Christians will probably be in trouble whenwe
stand before God?"
I just nodded in agreement but not really sure where he was going with this.
He said, "Yeah, you know those Muslims pray 5 times a day faithfully
and we Christians can barely make time to pray once a day."
More curiosity sparked!
I immediately excused myself and ran back to my home. I opened the
Computer and begansearching the Internet about Muslim beliefs. I was
amazed at their beliefs as it seemed to fit inline with mine.
But I wanted to be sure there were no surprises hidden in their
beliefs; you know nothing that was going to throw me for a loop if I
choose to convert.
The following weeks I drove to the closest mosque, which happened to
be 50 miles away, requesting information. I searched the Internet
into the wee hours of the morning reading all about Islam.
After a couple of months of researching and reading, I decided that I
want to convert. I drove back to the mosque and took the Shahadah! A
peace entered my heart and soul like never before. Subhanallah !

Blond with Blue eyes

Blond with Blue eyes
A True Story Of A Niqabi Sister In France
This is a story for us to reflect on...
After picking groceries in the supermarket, the Niqabi sister stood in
theline to pay. After few minutes, her turn came up at the checkout
counter. The checkout girl who was non Hijabi Arab Muslim girl started
to scan the items of the Niqabi sister one buy one and then she
lookedat her with arrogance and said :
" We have in France many problems, your Niqab is one of them!! We,
immigrants, are here for trade and not toshow our Deen or history! If
you want to practice your Deen and wear Niqab then go back to your
Arab country and do whatever you want!! "
The Niqabi sister stopped putting her grocery in the bag and took off
her Niqab from her face… The checkout girl was in total shock! The
Niqabi girl who was blond with blue eyes told her:
" I am a French girl, not an Arab immigrant! This is my country and
THIS ISMY ISLAM!! You born Muslims sold your Deen and we bought it
from you! "
End of story
This is a fact! Many revert Muslims have stronger faith than born
Muslims! SuhanAllah!
"Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being
something strange, so give glad tidings to the strangers." (Muslim)

Contentment is a Sign of Wealth

If people become content with the little they have, then there will be
no poor or deprived persons among them. If the slaveis content with
what Allaah The Almighty has given him, he will be powerful and in no
need of others, even if he does not possess a lot in this life.
Ash-Shaafi'i said, "I knew that contentment is the core of richness,
and I adhered to it, so I never stood at anybody's door, orbegged
anyone. Consequently, I became rich without a dirham, passing by
people as if I were a king."
The Prophet advised his Ummah (nation) to have contentment when he
said: "Be content with what Allaah has given you, and you will be the
richest person." He would supplicate to Allaah the Almighty,saying:
"Allaahuma qanni'ni bima razaqtani wa baarik li feeh wakhluf 'ala
kulli ghaa'ibatin li bikhayr [O Allaah, make me content with what You
have provided me, bless it for me and grant me good thing in
compensation for whatever I miss]."
A person who is content with what Allaah The Almighty provides him
enjoys tranquility, satisfaction and peace of mind ashe does not long
for what others have or desire what he does not possess. Accordingly,
Allaah The Almighty, as well as people, will love him, and the
following Hadeeth of the Prophet would apply to him: "Do not incline
to the worldly life and Allaah will love you. Have no desire for what
people possess, and people will love you."
Moreover, a slave cannot reach the degree of the thankful unless he
becomes content with the provision that he receives. This meaning is
indicated by the saying of the Prophet to Abu Hurayrah : "O Abu
Hurayrah! Be pious, and you will be the most worshipping person. Be
content, and you will be the mostthankful person. Love for people what
you love for yourself, and you will be a [true] believer." A content
slave, therefore, has a virtuous self as he does not hurt his pride
for the sake of a worldlygain that will soon vanish. Such people are
the ones whom AllaahThe Almighty praised in His Saying (which means):
{[Charity is]for the poor who have been restricted for the cause of
Allaah, unable to move about in the land. An ignorant [person] would
think them self-sufficient becauseof their restraint, but you will
know them by their [characteristic] sign. They do not ask people
persistently [or at all]. And whatever you spend of good - indeed,
Allaah is Knowing of it.} [Quran 2:273] Also, the Prophet gave us glad
tidings when he said: "Successful is the person who adopted Islam, has
been provided with what is just sufficient for his needs, and been
made content by Allaah with what He has given him." 'Umar ibn
Al-Khattaab said, "Greed is [in essence] poverty and despair [of what
others have] is richness. Anyone who despairs of[i.e., does not long
for] what is possessed by others, becomes in no need of that."
An amazing story in this regard ismentioned in the book of Al-Ihyaa',
Al-Khaleel ibn Ahmad Al-Faraaheedi refused to be the private tutor of
the son of theruler of Al-Ahwaaz. He brought out dry bread to show the
messenger of the ruler, and said, "As long as I find this, I am in no
need of Sulaymaan [the ruler]. Then, he said some poetic verses which
mean,
"Inform Sulaymaan that I enjoy ease and richness, although I have no wealth.
I keep my pride as I see no one die of hunger, or remain in the same
state all his life.
We realize that poverty lies in souls not in properties, as does richness."
Indeed, the Prophet was truthful when he said: "Richness is not the
abundance of wealth; rather it is self-contentment." O Allaah, make us
content with what You have given us and make us the most contented
people of what You have decreed to us of provisions!