Story Time - Verhalen met een boodschap.

[06-12345678]

Salaam u'alaikoem broeders en zusters,

Hier wil ik verhalen plaatsen met een boodschap ( en/of wijsheid) Insjallah zullen er we er allemaal wijzer van worden.

It's story time yallah!!

Hier het eerste verhaal:

The mother's hands

My mother was visiting, she asked me to go shopping with her because she needed a new dress. I don't normally like to go shopping and I'm not a patient person, but we set off for the mall together. We visited nearly every store that carried ladies' dresses, and my mother tried on dress after dress, rejecting them all. As the day wore on, I grew weary. Finally, at our last stop, my mother tried on a lovely blue three-piece dress. The blouse had a bow at the neckline, and as I stood in the dressing room with her, I watched as she tried, with much difficulty, to tie the bow. Her hands were so badly crippled from arthritis that she couldn't do it. Immediately, my impatience gave way to an overwhelming wave of compassion for her. I turned away to try and hide the tears that welled up involuntarily. Regaining my composure, I turned back to tie the bow for her.

Our shopping trip was over, but the event was etched indelibly in my memory. For the rest of the day, my mind kept returning to that moment in the dressing room and to the vision of my mother's hands trying to tie that bow. Those loving hands that had fed me, bathed me, dressed me, caressed and comforted me, and, most of all, prayed for me, were now touching me in the most remarkable manner.

Later in the evening, I went to my mother's room, took her hands in mine, kissed them and, much to her surprise, told her that to me they were the most beautiful hands in the world.

I can only pray that some day my hands, and my heart, will have earned such a beauty of their own.


"We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents: In pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth."
[Surah al-Ahqaf; 46: 15]

[06-12345678]

The Poor Man

It was a usual meeting. The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) was in his place and his companions gathered around him to hear the words of wisdom and guidance.

Suddenly a poor man in rags appeared, saluted the assembly:
"Salamun Alaikum" and finding a vacant place, comfortably sat down. The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) had taught them that all Muslims were brothers and in an assembly one should sit wherever one finds a place, regardless of any status.

Now, it so happened that this poor man sat next to a very rich man. The rich man felt disturbed and tried to collect the edges of his dress around himself, so that the poor man did not touch them. The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) observed this and addressing the rich man he said:
"Perhaps you were afraid that his poverty would affect you?"

"No, O Messenger of Allah," he said

"Then perhaps you were apprehensive about some of your wealth flying away to him?"

"No, O Messenger of Allah."

"Or you feared that your clothes would become dirty if he touched them?"

"No, O Messenger of Allah."

"Then why did you draw yourself and your clothes away from him?"

The rich man said: "I admit that was the most undesirable thing to do. It was an error and I confess. Now to make amends for it, I will give away half of my wealth to this Muslim brother so that I may be forgiven."

Just as he said this, the poor man rose and said: "O Prophet of Allah, I do not accept his offer."

People present were all taken by surprise. They thought the poor man was a fool. But he explained:
"O Prophet of Allah, I refuse to accept his offer because I fear that I might then become arrogant and ill treat my Muslim brothers the way he did to me."

[06-12345678]

The Stranger

"A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.

As I grew up I never questioned his place in our family. In my young mind, each member had a special niche. My brother, Yusuf, five years my senior, was my example. Samya, my younger sister, gave me an opportunity to play 'big brother' and develop the art of teasing. My parents were complementary instructors-- Mom taught me to love Allah, and Dad taught me to how to obey Him. But the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spell-bound for hours each evening. If I wanted to know about politics, history, or science, he knew it.

He knew about the past and seemed to understand the present. The pictures he could draw were so life like that I would often laugh or cry as I watched. He was like a friend to the whole family. He took Dad, Yusuf and me to our first major league baseball game. He was always encouraging us to see the movies and he even made arrangements to introduce us to several famous people.

The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn't seem to mind-but sometimes Mom would quietly get up-- while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places-- go to her room, read the Qur'an.

I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave. You see, my dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions. But this stranger never felt obligation to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our house-- not from us, from our friends, or adults. Our longtime visitor, however, used occasional four letter words that burned my ears and made Dad squirm.. To my knowledge, the stranger was never confronted. My dad was a teetotaler who didn't permit alcohol in his home - not even for cooking.

But the stranger felt like we needed exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often.

He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (probably too much too freely) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.

I know now that my early concepts of the man-woman relationship were influenced by the stranger.

As I look back, I believe it was Allah's Mercy that the stranger did not influence us more. Time after time he opposed the values of my parents. Yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave. More than thirty years have passed since the stranger moved in with the young family on Morningside Drive. He is not nearly so intriguing to my Dad as he was in those early years. But if I were to walk into my parents' den today, you would still see him sitting over in a corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

His name you ask?

We called him TV.

It makes you think, doesn't it . . .

[06-12345678]

The Needy One

Shaykh Sa'eed ibn Musfir tells the following account.....

I was walking out of the Haram (the Ka'bah in Makkah) when I saw a man begging from everyone that passed by him.

Just then a man who had parked his tinted Mercedes excessively close to the Haram in a designated VIP parking walked passed the beggar on his way to his car. As he pulled the keys out and the alarm did the 'whup whup', the beggar raised his finger to the sky and said, "Please, for the sake of Allah!"

Trying to end the moment and avoid a dip into the pocket, the Mercedes man said back, "Allah will provide!" The beggar said back, "What! Did you at any moment think that I thought YOU were my provider! I'm not asking for your provision, I KNOW Allah will provide for me."

Shaykh Misfir continues.The two stood there staring at one another for a moment and then the Mercedes tinted windows came up and the man drove away.

A needy African sister who was sitting nearby on the street selling textiles was moved by the incident. She did not have much, but from what she did have,she pulled out 1 riyal and placed it in the hands of that beggar. He smiled and went on his way.

Meanwhile the Mercedes man could not drive on with the choke of guilt. He turned the car around and made his way through the crowd to the place where the incident had happened.

Shaykh Misfir says...
I saw with my own eyes as he pulled out a 10 riyal bill from his briefcase to give to the beggar. But he looked left and right and could not find him.

What was he to do? He had already pulled out the bill to give for the sake of Allah and was not going to put it back. So he found the nearest person he thought was worthy of the bill, placed it in her lap and went on his way.

The 10 riyals sat in the lap of the sister that had given the beggar!


Abu Hurairah (RadiAllahu anhu) reported that Rasulullah (saw) has said that Allah's injunction is:
" O my servants ! Spend and you will be given."
[Sahih al-Bukhari, Muslim]

Abdullah bin Abbas (adiAllahu anhu) reported that Rasulullah (saw) has said that
"Charity does not diminish wealth".
[Tibrani]

[06-12345678]

The Gosspier

A woman repeated a bit of gossip about a neighbor. Within a few days the whole community knew the story. The person it concerned was deeply hurt and offended.

Later the woman responsible for spreading the rumor learned that it was completely untrue. She was very sorry and went to a wise old Ustadh to find out what she could do to repair the damage.

"Go to the marketplace," he said, "and purchase a chicken, and have it killed. Then on your way home, pluck its feathers and drop them one by one along the road." Although surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told.

The next day the wise man said, "Now go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me."

The woman followed the same road, but to her dismay, the wind had blown the feathers all away. After searching for hours, she returned with only three in her hand.

"You see," said the old Ustadh, "it's easy to drop them, but it's impossible to get them back.

So it is with gossip. It doesn't take much to spread a rumor, but once you do, you can never completely undo the wrong."

[06-12345678]

A Walk by the River

Once there was a small house near to a river bank. There were three people living in the house. A man his wife and his old father. The man was very happy with his wife and they had good life. But his father was very old and sick and often used to be a trouble for both of them whole day and night.

During day they had to serve him food and medicine and at night he used to cough up a lot. That's why they were not able to sleep properly. This routine kept on going for sometime.


One night the man and his wife discussed something in their room and then the man came out and he asked his father to ride on his back.

The father asked "O my son where are you taking me to?"

The man replied "Dad! I want you to take out for a change since it's been long time you didn't see the world outside of the house".

The father was riding on back of his son tightly and the son started walking towards river unless he reached near the river. The father thought his son would stop on edge of the river and let him enjoy the natural scene.

But the son entered into the river unless he reached deep into the water, where water was touching his chest.

The son was about to throw his father in the water that suddenlly father asked his son to stop for a bit.

The son froze where he was.

The father said "O my son I knew why and where you were going to take me, but before you throw me in the river I want to tell you something. The place where you are standing right now is exactly the place where I threw my father in the river. So please throw me in a little bit deeper water, so when it comes your turn then your son has to walk a little bit more...


"Thy Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honour. And out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: My Lord! Bestow on them Thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood. Your Lord knows best what is in your hearts: If you do deeds of righteousness, verily He is Most Forgiving to those who turn to Him again and again (in true penitence)"
[surah al-Isra: 23]