TRUE TOUCHING STORIES
crawling towards the mosque
On the road to Dubai, my husband stopped at a small mosque to offer
the Asr prayer. As I sat in the car, I saw a figure approaching from the
direction of a small group of houses. It took some time before I realised it was
a man, crawling towards the mosque. He wore rubber sandals on his hands. His
lower body dragged on the hard, rocky ground. The sweltering heat was beating
down hard on his body. By the time he reached the courtyard of the mosque, I
could see he was
soaked and his face was flushed. Many men passed him on their way to the prayer,
perhaps accustomed to seeing him everyday. One man came out of a shop and
watched him for a while. He went back into the shop and came out with a cold
drink. He opened it for the crawling man and they sat together for a minute. I
heard them talking as the man who
offered him the cold drink requested that he would help the crawling man to make
it up the stairs to the mosque. He was concerned about making it on time, so he
excused himself and continued his slow, laboured journey to the prayer.
I did not watch him as he mounted the stairs. I could not imagine how to help
him. I was crying by then, remembering the Hadith of the Prophet (pbuh): "The
hypocrites find the Fajr and Isha prayers in congregation very oppressive. If
they could know the virtues of these two prayers, they would certainly join
them, even if they had to go crawling." (Bukhari, Muslim)
This man, who literally did crawl even in the heat of the day, did not find the
congregational prayer oppressive at all. May Allah reward all who struggle to
please Him and may He always remind us of our own weaknesses through such
people.
By: Um Yaqoob
Sincerity of a Six Years Old
There was a little girl (six years old) who was fasting in Ramadhan,
even though it is not obligatory on people below the age of puberty. She was in
school, and at lunch time, when all the other children went out to eat and have
lunch, she sat in the classroom, because she was fasting. Her (non-muslim)
teacher thought that she was too young to fast, and so said that it was not
necessary, and she could eat a little. The girl still didn't eat. Then the
teacher said: "Your parents are not here, it doesn't matter if you eat a
little". The girl replied: "I am not fasting for my parents, I am fasting for
Allah". This simple statement had such a profound effect on the teacher, that
later she accepted Islam.
The Position of Mother
The following is a touching story about a new Muslim and his mother.
Before he was a Muslim, he lived with his mother until he was about 18 years
old. Then he moved out of his home and lived in a different place on his own.
During those days, he met some Muslims and became a very close friend of them.
Eventually he himself became a Muslim after learning about the beautiful
religion of Islam from them. He made an effort every day tolearn more and more
about Islam. One day, he came to learn about the benefits of being good to one's
parents. He learned that a person who looks at his parents with the eyes of
obedience gets the reward of one accepted Hajj! After knowing this, he decided
to visit his mother whom he did not visit for many years. He bought some flowers
and fruits for her on his way. His mother was very pleased to see him after so
long. He started spending lots of time with his mother on a regular basis.
During his visits, he would stare at his mother and tears would roll down from
his eyes. The mother noticed this happening many times and asked him one day the
reason why he visits her so much all of a sudden and why he cries. He told her
about how he became a Muslim and that the position of a mother in Islam is very
high. He also told her about the reward he gets for looking at her. But while
looking at her, he cries because the mother is not a Muslim and would not be
able to save herself if she dies in this state. The mother immediately
recognized the beauty of Islam and became a Muslim.
Student And Professor
A young man, a student in one of the universities, was one day
taking a
walk with a Professor, who was commonly called the student's friend,
from his kindness to those who waited on his instructions.
As they went along,they saw lying in the path a pair of old shoes,
which they supposed to belong to a poor man who was employed in a field
close by,and who had nearly finished his day's work. The student turned to the professor, saying: "Let us play the man a
trick: we will hide his shoes, and conceal ourselves behind those bushes,
and wait to see his perplexity when he cannot find them."
“My young friend," answered the professor, "we should never amuse
ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give
yourself a much greater pleasure by means of this poor man. Put a coin in each
shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how this affects him."
The student did so and they both placed themselves behind the bushes
close by. The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field
to the path where he had left his coat and shoes.
While putting on his coat he slipped his foot into one of his shoes,
but feeling something hard, he stooped down to feel what it was, and
found the coin. Astonishment and wonder were seen upon his countenance. He
gazed upon the coin, turned it around, and looked at it again and
again.He then looked around him on all sides, but no person was to be seen.
He now put the money into his pocket, and proceeded to put on the other
shoe; but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin.His feelings overcame him; he fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven
and uttered aloud a fervent thanksgiving in which he spoke of his wife
who was sick and helpless, and his children without bread, whom this
timely bounty, from some unknown hand,would save from perishing.The student stood there deeply affected, and his eyes filled with
tears. "Now," said the professor, "are you not much better pleased than if
you had played your intended trick?"The youth replied, "You have taught me a lesson which I will never
forget.I feel now the truth of these words, which I never understood before:"It's more blessed to give than to receive."
Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas(R.A.) reported that the Prophet(sallallahu
alaiyhi wassallam) said that encouraging good, prohibiting evil, lifting
the burden of the weak person and removing an offensive thing from a
path are all acceptable prayers to Allah. (IBN-E-MAJAH)