Islamic Stories

THE TRUE TREASURE A burglar scaled the wall of Maalik ibn Deenaar's house one night and easily managed to get inside. Once inside the house, the thief was disappointed to see that there was nothing inside actually worth stealing. The owner of the home was inside at the time, he was busy performing prayer. Realizing that he was not alone, Maalik quickly ended his prayer and turned around to face the thief. Without showing any sign of being shocked or afraid, Maalik calmly extended greetings of peace and then said, "My brother, may Allah forgive you. You entered my home and found nothing that is worth taking, yet I do not want you to leave my home without taking away some benefit." He stood up, went to another part of the room, and came back with a jug full of water. He looked into the eyes of the burglar and said, "Make ablution and perform two units of prayer, for if you do so, you will leave my home with a greater treasure than you had initially sought when you entered it." Much humbled by Maalik's manners and words, the thief said, "Yes, that is a generous offer indeed." After making ablution and performing two units of prayer, the burglar said, "O Maalik, would you mind if I stayed for a while, for I want to stay to perform two more units of prayer?" Maalik said, "Stay for whatever amount of prayer Allah decrees for you to perform now." The thief ended up spending the entire night at Maalik's house. He continued to pray until the morning. Then Maalik said, "Leave now and be good." But instead of leaving, the thief said, "Would you mind if I stayed here with you today, for I have made an intention to fast the day?" Maalik said, "Stay as long as you wish,". The burglar ended up staying for a number of days, praying during the late hours of each night and fasting throughout the duration of each day. When he finally decided to leave, the burglar said, "O Maalik, I have made a firm resolve to repent for my sins and for my former way of life." Maalik said, "Indeed, that is in the Hand of Allah." The man did mend his ways and began to lead a life of righteousness and obedience to Allah. Later on, He came across another burglar he knew. [His friend] said to him, "Have you found your treasure yet?" He said, "My brother, what I found is Maalik ibn Deenaar. I went to steal from him, but it was he who ended up stealing my heart. I have indeed repented to Allah, and I will remain at the door [of His Mercy and Forgiveness] until I achieve what his obedient, loving slaves have achieved." MORAL This story gives us a glimpse of the simple lives the previous Imaams led, part of which was having a simple house and forsaking the worldly life and material possessions, so much so that if a thief entered he wouldn't find anything of value to steal. We also learn of the effect that being around righteous company has upon us, this is in accordance with the hadith of the Prophet (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) in which he said: “A man is upon the religion of his best friend, so let one of you look at whom he befriends.” (Narrated by Abu Hurayrah in Abu Dawud 4833)

IF YOU REALLY WANT TO DISOBEY ALLAH It is reported that a man once went to Ibraaheem ibn Adham and said, "O Abu Isḥaaq, I continually wrong my own self, and I turn away from everything that invites me to improve my way of life." Ibraaheem said, "If you can fulfil five conditions, then sinning will never harm you, and you can fulfil your desires as much as you want." The man exclaimed, "Tell me those conditions" Ibraaheem said, "As for the first, if you want to disobey Allah, then do not eat from His sustenance." The man said, "What then will I eat, for everything on the earth is from His sustenance?" Ibraaheem said, "Listen! are you being sensible when you eat from His sustenance while you are disobedient to Him?" The man said, "No. What is the second condition?" Ibraaheem said, "If you want to disobey Allah, then do not live in any of His lands." The man said, "This is even worse than the first. All that is in the East and West belong to Him. So where then will I live?" Ibraaheem said, "Listen! if you insist on disobeying Him while you eat from His sustenance and live in His lands, then at least look for some spot where He cannot see you, and disobey Him there." The man exclaimed, "O Ibraaheem! how can I do that, when He even knows the deepest secrets that are in the breasts of men? What is the fourth condition?" he asked desperately. Ibraaheem said, "When the angel of death comes to take your soul, then say to him, 'Give me some respite, so that I can repent sincerely and perform good deeds.'" The man said, "When the time comes, the angel will not accept that plea from me." Ibraaheem said, "Listen! if you cannot put off death in order to repent, then how do you expect to be saved?" The man asked, "Tell me the fifth condition." Ibraaheem said, "When the guardians of Hell-fire come to take you away on the Day of Resurrection, don't go with them" The man exclaimed, "They won't let me go!" Ibraaheem asked, "Then how do you expect to be saved?" The man replied, "Stop, stop! that is enough for me. I ask Allah to forgive me and I indeed repent to Him." The man then dedicated his life to the worship of Allah from that day. MORAL This story presents us with 5 conditions that if we fulfil them then we can be free to commit sin. However it soon becomes obvious that every condition is impossible to fulfil and therefore we should avoid sin to the best of our ability.

STRONG INTEGRITY Ar-Rasheed, a first century ruler, once said to al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyaad, "Admonish me." Al-Fudayl said, "O Leader of the Faithful! Indeed your grandfather, Al-‘Abbaas, the uncle of the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), once went to the Prophet and said, 'O Messenger of Allah, appoint me to be a leader.' The Messenger of Allah said, 'My uncle, indeed, being a leader leads to sorrow, and regret on the Day of Resurrection. If you are able to go without ever being a leader, then do so!'" Ar-Rasheed was moved to tears, he said, "Give me more." Al-Fudayl looked at Ar-Rasheed and said, "O one who has a handsome face, if you are able to protect that face from the Hell-fire then do so. And beware of ever cheating or betraying your people." Being much moved by Al-Fudayl's words, Ar-Rasheed wanted to reward him. Ar-Rasheed asked, "Do you have any debts?" Al-Fudayl said, "To my Lord, yes, and He will hold me accountable for them." Ar-Rasheed said, "I am of course referring to debts to other human beings." After Al-Fudayl answered in the negative, Ar-Rasheed said to one of his assistants, "Give him 1000 dinars, which he can use to help his family." Al-Fudayl was greatly offended by these words and said, "SubḥanAllah! (How perfect Allah is) I am guiding you to safety and you want to reward me with this paltry, worldly sum!" He then left, having refused to take anything. MORAL: From this story we can learn some of the characteristics of a good ruler, one being that they kept the scholars close for advice and they were open to that advice. We also learn that if one can avoid being a leader then they should avoid it as mentioned in the hadith within the story. We also learn of the sincerity of Al-Fudayl in which he wanted to give advice purely for the sake of Allah and not for any wordly gain and that he valued knowledge of the hereafter far more than material possessions.

THE SIN THAT LED TO HIS REPENTANCE A righteous man was once asked to tell the story of the pivotal moment of his life, the moment in which he first began to apply the teachings of Islam, and the following was his answer: When I was a young man, I would not hesitate to perpetrate any sin that was made available to me. Then, one day, I saw a young woman who was perhaps the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Much tempted by her, I indicated to her that I wanted her to approach me. She seemed nervous, but I thought that she would probably agree to satisfy my sexual desires for money. She approached me with what seemed to be a great deal of apprehension, and when she actually stood before me, she looked extremely terrified. Feeling sorry for her, I said, 'Do not fear, for I will not harm you.' But my words did not lessen her terrible fright in the least; in fact, her situation worsened. She began to tremble like a palm tree leaf trembles with the wind. I said, 'Tell me your story.' She said, 'By Allah, o my brother, never before this day have I offered my body in this way. Dire need is what has driven me to this, for I have three daughters who have not eaten a single morsel of food for three days now. It was pity for them that brought me to this low point in my life.' For the first time in my life, I felt pity; her story moved me, and I no longer entertained the intention of taking advantage of her. After she told me where she lived, I took a great deal of money, clothing and food to her house. When I returned to my house, I told my mother what had happened. My mother knew that I had a book in which I would record all of my evil deeds, and so she said to me, 'My son, you are a man who has never performed a good deed except for the good deed that you performed today. I know that you have a book in which you record your evil exploits, go now and write in it your good deed.' I stood up, went to my book, opened it, and found that all of its pages were blank- except for the first page on which was written a single line. "...Indeed, good deeds remove the evil deeds..." Surat al-Hud [11:114] At that very moment, I raised my hands to the sky and said, 'By your Might and Majesty, never again will I disobey You.'" MORAL From this story we learn that a person can change at any point in their life, even if they seem to be some of the worst of people, hope should always remain in our hearts for them. We are also reminded of the blessings of Allah in which He causes our good deeds to be a cause of removing our past evil deeds as is mentioned in the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) in which he said: “And follow up a bad deed with a good deed and it will wipe it out.” (al-Tirmidhi)

THREE MAN TRAPPED IN A CAVE ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Three men of a people before you, were on a journey when they were overtaken by a storm and therefore they took shelter in a cave. A rock slipped down from the mountain and blocked the exit from cave. One of them said: "The only way for deliverance left is to beseech Allah in the name of some virtuous deed." Thereupon one of them supplicated, "O Lord, my parents were very old, and I used to offer them their nightly drink of milk before my children and the other members of the family. One day I went astray far away in search of green trees and could return only after my parent had gone to sleep. When I had milked the animals and brought their nightly drink to them. They were fast asleep, but I did not like to disturb them, nor would give any part of the milk to my children and other members of the family till after my parents had their drink. Thus, with the vessel in hand, I awaited their awakening till the flush of dawn, while the children cried out of hunger at my feet. When they woke up, they had their drink. O Lord, if I did this thing seeking only your pleasure, then do relieve us of the distress wrought upon us by this rock." Thereupon, the rock moved a little but not enough to let them pass out. Then the second man supplicated: "O Lord, I had a cousin that I loved more passionately than any man could love a woman. I tried to seduce her but she would refuse, till in a season of great hardship due to famine, she approached me (for help) and I gave her one hundred and twenty Dinars on the condition that she would have sexual intercourse with me. She agreed, and when we got together and I was just going to have intercourse with her, she pleaded, 'Fear Allah, and do not break the seal unlawfully', whereupon I moved away from her, despite the fact that I desired her most passionately; and I let her keep the money I had given her. O Lord, if I did this thing seeking only your pleasure, then do move the distress in which we find ourselves." Again the rock moved a little but not enough to let them pass out. Then the third supplicated: "O Lord, I hired some labourers and paid them their dues, but one of them left leaving behind what was due to him. I invested it in business and the business prospered greatly. After a while, the labourer came back and said: 'O servant of Allah, hand over to me my wages.' I said to him: 'All that you see is yours; camels, cattle, goats and slaves." He said: 'Don't play joke with me, O servant of Allah.' I assured him: 'I am not joking.' So he took all of it sparing nothing. O Lord, if I did this seeking only for your pleasure, do relieve us of our distress." The rock then moved away, and all the three came out of the cave safe and sound. MORAL From the story within this hadith we learn of one of the permissible forms of tawassul, which is to ask Allah by your good deeds which you have done in the past. Note that every time one of the men mentioned his good deed, he put a condition on it that Allah judge whether it was performed sincerely, as a deed which is performed without sincerity will not be accepted by Allah. We also learn some of the noble types of deeds, which include looking after ones parents, avoiding a sin even when one is in the last seconds of committing it, and being careful and wise with responsibilities that are trusted to you.

Woe Onto You, O Deenaar  There is an interesting story related about Deenaar Al-‘Ayaar. Deenaar had a righteous mother who would constantly advise him to repent for his wayward, sinful existence, but as much as she tried, her words had no positive effect on him whatsoever. Then, one day, as he was walking by a graveyard, he stopped to pick up a bone. He was shocked to see how it crumbled and turned to dust in his hand. The sight of that bone had a profound effect on Deenaar. He began to think about his life and his past sins, and he then exclaimed, "Woe unto you, O Deenaar, you are going to end up like this crushed bone, and your body will turn into dust." All of his past sins then flashed before his eyes, and he made a firm resolve to repent. Turning his gaze towards the sky, he said, "My Lord, I now turn to you in complete submission, so accept me and have Mercy on me." With a completely changed heart and state of mind, Deenaar went to his mother and said, "Mother, what does a master do when he captures his slave who had run away from him?" She said, "[To punish him] the master provides him with coarse clothing and low-quality food; and he ties his hands and feet so that he does not make another attempt to escape." Deenaar said, "Then I want a garment made of coarse wool, low-quality barley, and two chains. Mother, do with me that which is done with a runaway slave. Perhaps my Lord will, upon seeing my humiliation and humility, have mercy on me." Seeing that her son was adamant and resolute in his request, she complied. At the beginning of every ensuing night, Deenaar would begin to cry and wail uncontrollably. And he would continue to repeat to himself the words, "Woe unto you, O Deenaar, do you have the power to withstand the Hell fire? How brazen you have been to have led a life that has made you deserving of the anger of the All-Mighty!" He would continue upon that state until the morning. Turning wan and pale, Deenaar's body slowly wasted away. Not being able to bear seeing him in that pitiable state, his mother said, "My son, be easy on yourself." He answered, "My mother, let me remain tied for a short while, so that perhaps I can achieve long-term comfort later on. For tomorrow, I will be waiting a long time before my Majestic Lord, and I do not know whether He will order me to go to places of beautiful shade or to places of unspeakable horror." She said, "My son, at least rest for a while." He replied, "It is not present rest or comfort that I am seeking out. Mother, it is as if I see you and other people being led tomorrow towards Paradise, while I am being led towards the Hell-fire along with his inhabitants." She left him then, and he returned to crying, worshipping, and reciting the Qur'an. One night, as he was reciting the Qur'an, he came across these verses: "So, by your Lord, We shall certainly call all of them to account, for all that they used to do." [Surah Al-Ḥijr 15:92-93]. As he contemplated the meanings and implications of these verses, he cried with such intensity that he fainted. His mother rushed to him and tried very hard to revive him, but he wouldn't respond. She thought he had died. Looking into the face of her son, she said, "O my beloved one, O the joy of my heart, where shall we meet again?" In fact, Deenaar still had some life left in him, and hearing his mother's words, he answered with a faint voice, "My mother, if you do not find me on the wide plains of the Day of Resurrection, then ask Maalik, the Custodian of Hell-fire about me." He then made a croaking sound and died. After she finished washing his body, Deenaar's mother prepared him for his funeral. She then went out and made the announcement, "O people, come to the funeral prayer of one who has been killed by [fear of] the Hell-fire." People began to come from all directions. It is said that during that era, no greater gathering came together and no amount of tears were shed as much as on that day. On the same night that his funeral was held, one of Deenaar's friends saw him in a dream, attired in a green robe. Deenaar was prancing around in Paradise, all the while reciting the verse: "So, by your Lord, We shall certainly call all of them to account, for all that they used to do." [Surah Al-Ḥijr 15:92-93] During the dream, his friend heard him say, "By His Might and Majesty, He asked me [about my deeds]. Having mercy on me, He forgave me and pardoned me [my sins.] Lo! Convey news of this to my mother."

Appreciating Allah's Blessings Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "There were three Israelites, a vitiligo stricken man, a bald man, and a blind man. In order to test them, Allah sent an angel to them." The angel came to the man afflicted with vitiligo and said, "What would you like most?" He said, "A good complexion and good skin, and riddance of that for which people have considered me unclean." Then the angel passed his hand over him, and his uncleanness disappeared from him, and he acquired a good complexion. Now the angel said, "And what would you like most to have?" He said, "Camels." So he was given a she-camel in her tenth month of pregnancy. He said, "May Allah bless it for you." Then the angel came to the bald man and said, "What would you like most?" He said, "Nice hair, and riddance of this condition for which people dislike me." Then the angel passed his hand over him, and his baldness disappeared as he acquired a full head of hair. Now the angel said to him, "And what would you like to have?" He said, "Cattle." So he was given a pregnant cow. And he said, "May Allah bless it for you." Then the angel came to the blind man and said, "What would you like most?" He said, "That Allah may restore my vision so I might see people." So the angel passed his hand over him and Allah restored his eyesight. Now the angel said, "And what would you like to have?" He said, "Sheep." So he was given a pregnant ewe. The former two animals gave birth, and so did this latter one; eventually one of the men had a valley full of camels, one had a valley full of cattle, and one had a valley full of sheep. Then the angel came to the man afflicted with vitiligo in disguise and said, "I am a poor man, at the end of my rope on my journey, without recourse this day except to Allah and to you. I ask you by the One who gave you a good complexion, good skin, and wealth for a camel whereby I may make it to the end of my journey." But the man said, "I have many obligations." Then the angel said, "I seem to know you. Weren't you a man afflicted with vitiligo, shunned by society as unclean, impoverished? And Allah had given to you?" He said, "I simply inherited this wealth, grown generation after generation." The angel said, "If you are a liar. May Allah restore you to your prior condition." Then the angel came to the man who was bald in disguise and spoke to him as he had to the former man afflicted with vitiligo. And the bald man replied as had the former man afflicted with vitiligo. So the angel said, " If you are a liar. May Allah restore you to your prior condition." Then the angel also came to the man who was blind and said, "I am a poor man, on the road, at the end of my rope on my journey, with no resort this day but to Allah and to you. I ask you-by the One who restored your vision-for a sheep to tide me over on my way." The man said, "I used to be blind, but Allah restored my eyesight. Take whatever you want, and leave what you will. For by Allah I will give you no trouble about anything you take today for the sake of Allah." The angel said, "Keep what you have; for you were only being tested. Allah is pleased with you, and displeased with the other two." MORAL From this story we learn that appreciating and giving thanks for the blessings that we receive is a huge part of Islam. We should recognise that everything we have is given to us from the bounty of Allah, we are not deserving of it, rather it is a blessing that has been given to us, to keep in mind that this is from Allah is something highly recommended as it will increase thankfulness and remove pride and arrogance. The story also reminds us of the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) in which he said: “None of you truly believes (in Allah and in His religion) until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself” [Bukhari and Muslim]

ONE AYAH CHANGE MY LIFE Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyaad was famous for his piety and worship, but he was not always a practising Muslim. In his early years, Al-Fudayl was an infamous highway robber; he would prowl in the night for victims on the road from Abu Ward to Sarakhas. Between these two cities was a small village in which lived a girl that Al-Fudayl was in love with. One night, out of desperation to be with her, Al-Fudayl climbed the wall of her home. As he was climbing over it, he heard a voice recite:"Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah..." (Surah Al-Ḥadeed 57, Ayah 16) At that moment, Al-Fudayl answered, "O my Lord, the time has indeed come." He returned from where he came and sought refuge near a travelling party on the main road. They were busy engaging in a serious discussion. Al-Fudayl heard one of them say, "Let us continue our journey now." Another answered, "No, not until the morning, for Al-Fudayl is lurking on the road somewhere out there, just waiting to rob us." Having heard the entire conversation, Al-Fudayl thought to himself, "I go around in the night to sin, while a group of Muslims remain here because they fear me. Indeed I feel that Allah has brought me here to them only so that I can reform my character. O Allah, I indeed repent to you!" MORAL What we can learn from this story is that no matter how sinful a person is, there is always a chance that they may turn back to Allah in repentance. Since we do not know peoples futures we should hope for their guidance. Sometimes the worst of people can become the best of people as what happened with many of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him].

The Boy and the King  Ṣuhaib (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "There lived a king before you and he had a court magician. As he (the magician) grew old, he said to the king: "I have grown old, so send me a boy in order to teach him magic." The king sent him a boy to serve the purpose. And on his way (to the magician) the boy met a monk to whom he listened and he liked [his speech]. It then became his habit that on his way to the magician, he would meet the monk and stay with him and when he arrives at the magician [late], the magician used to beat him because of this delay. He complained about this to the monk who said to him: "When you feel afraid of the magician, say: Members of my family had delayed me. And when you fear your family, say: The magician delayed me." It so happened that there came a huge beast and it blocked the way of the people, and the boy said: "I will know today whether the magician or the monk is better." He picked up a stone and said: "O Allah, if the monk is dearer to You than the magician, bring about death to this beast so that the people be able to move about freely." He threw that stone at it and killed it and the people began to move about freely. He then came to the monk and told him the story. The monk said: "Son, today you are superior to me. You have come to a stage where I feel that you would be soon put to a trial, and in case you are put to a trial, do not reveal anything about me." The boy began to heal those born blind and the vitiligo stricken and he, in fact, began to cure people from all kinds of illnesses. When a courtier of the king who had gone blind heard about him, he came to him with numerous gifts and said: "If you cure me, all these things will be yours." He [the boy] said: "I myself do not cure anyone. It is Allah, the Exalted, Alone Who cures; and if you affirm faith in Allah, I shall also supplicate to Allah to cure you." This courtier affirmed his faith in Allah and Allah cured him. He came to the king and sat by his side as he used to sit before. The king said to him, "Who restored your eyesight?" He [the boy] said: "My Lord." Thereupon he [the king] said: "Do you have another lord besides me?" He [the boy] said:"My Lord and your Lord is Allah." So the king tortured him until he told him about the boy. The boy was thus summoned and the king said to him: "O boy, it has been conveyed to me that you have become so much proficient in your magic that you cure the blind and the vitiligo stricken and you do such and such." Thereupon he [the boy] said: "I do not cure anyone; it is Allah Alone Who cures," and the king took hold of him and began to torture him until he told him about the monk. The monk was summoned and it was said to him: "You should turn back from your religion." But he refused, and so the king sent for a saw, placed it in the middle of his head and cut him into two parts that fell down. Then the courtier of the king was brought forward and it was said to him: "Turn back from your religion." He, too, refused, and the saw was placed in the midst of his head and he was torn into two parts. Then the boy was brought to him and it was said to him: "Turn back from your religion. " But he refused. The king then handed him over to a group of his courtiers, and said to them: "Take him to such and such mountain; make him climb up that mountain and when you reach its peak ask him to renounce his Faith. If he refuses to do so, push him to his death." So they took him and made him climb up the mountain and he [the boy] supplicated: "O Allah, save me from them in any way you like, " and the mountain began to shake and they all fell down (dead) and that boy came walking to the king. The king said to him: "What happened to your companions?" He [the boy] said: "Allah has saved me from them." He [the king] again handed him to some of his courtiers and said: "Take him and carry him in a boat and when you reach the middle of the sea, ask him to renounce his religion. If he does not renounce his religion throw him (into the water)." So they took him and he [the boy] supplicated: "O Allah, save me from them." The boat turned upside down and they all drowned except the boy who came walking to the king. The king said to him: "What happened to your companions?" He [the boy] said: "Allah has saved me from them" and he said to the king: "You cannot kill me until you do what I command you to do." The king asked: "What is that?" He [the boy] said: "Gather all people in one place and tie me up to the trunk of a tree, then take an arrow from my quiver and say: In the Name of Allah, the Lord of the boy; then shoot me. If you do that you will be able to kill me." The king called the people in an open field and tied the boy to the trunk of a tree. He took out an arrow from his quiver, fixed in the bow and said: "I the Name of Allah, the Lord of the boy, " he then shot the arrow and it hit the boy's temple. The boy placed his hand upon the temple where the arrow had hit him and died. The people then said: "We believe in the Lord of this boy, We believe in the Lord of this boy." The king was told: "Do you see what you were afraid of, by Allah it has taken place; all people have believed." The king then commanded that trenches be dug and fire lit in them, and said: "He who would not turn back from his (the boy's) religion, throw him in the fire" or "he would be ordered to jump into it." They did so till a woman came with her child. She felt hesitant in jumping into the fire. The child said to her: "O mother! Endure (this ordeal) for you are on the Right Path."

You Have Guided Me To A Path You Know Not Yourselves The following story is narrated by ‘Abl-Waaḥid ibn Zaid: "We were on a sea vessel once, when the wind suddenly became stormy, and we were forced to leave the high seas and seek refuge on an island. We were surprised to see that we were not alone on the island; there standing before us was a man who was busy worshipping. We said to him 'What are you worshipping?' And he pointed to an idol, We said, 'We don't have a person on our ship that does as you are doing' The man asked, 'Then who is it that you worship?' We said, 'We worship Allah.' He asked, 'And who is Allah?' We said, 'He Whose Throne is in the Heavens and Whose dominion is in the heavens, the earth, and all that exists.' 'And how did you come to know that?' asked the man. 'He sent a messenger to us with clear proofs and miracles, and it was that messenger who informed us about Him.' 'And what has happened to your messenger?' 'When he finished conveying the message, Allah caused him to die,' we answered. 'Has he left you no sign?' the man asked. We said, 'He has left among us Allah's Book,'. 'Show it to me,' requested the man. When we showed him a copy of the Qur'an, he said, 'I cannot read it,' and so we read a part of it for him. He then cried and said, 'The One Whose speech this is must not be disobeyed.' Not only did the man then accept Islam, he also diligently learned its teachings and then put what he learned into practice. When the weather calmed down and we were ready to leave the island, he asked us if he could be a passenger on our ship. We of course agreed to have him join us, and it was a good thing that he came with us, for it gave us the opportunity to teach him a number of chapters of the Qur'an. At the end of the first evening of travel, all of us crewmen got ready to go to sleep. Our new passenger said, 'O people, the Lord that you guided me to, does He sleep?' We said, '...He is the Ever Living, the One who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber nor sleep overtake Him...' [Surah Al-Baqarah 2:255] He looked at us and said, 'It is indeed bad manners for a slave to sleep in the presence of his master.' With a great deal of energy and vigor, he then jumped up and began to pray; and his crying voice could be heard until the morning. When we reached a place called '‘Abaadaan [a place situated in present-day Iran], I said to my companions, 'This man is a stranger here, moreover, he is a new Muslim. We would do well to gather some money for him in order to help him out.' We gathered what we could, but when we tried to give him the money, he exclaimed, 'What is this!' We said, 'Money that you can spend on yourself.' He said, 'Subhan Allah (How perfect Allah is)! You have guided me to a way that you do not know yourselves. When I was living on a barren desert in the middle of the ocean, I worshipped other than Him, yet He did not allow me to go without; then how is it possible that He will make me be needy, when it is Him alone that I now worship? Indeed He is the Creator and the Provider.' He then left us and went on his way. A number of days passed before we heard any news of his whereabouts. We were told he was in such and such place and that he was extremely sick. When we reached him, we saw that he was on the verge of dying. After extending greetings of peace to him, I said, 'Do you need anything?' He said, 'The One Who brought you to the island when I did not know Him has provided me with all that I need,' he said. I sat down beside him, thinking that I could stay for a while and comfort him. I soon fell asleep, and saw a dream. In the graveyard of ‘Abaadaan I saw the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen. She was saying, 'Hasten his burial, for it is a long time now that I have been yearning for him.'I woke up with a start and found that he had just died. I washed his body and enshrouded him. That night, after the burial had taken place, I saw another dream. In it, he was looking very handsome, and the same girl was sitting on the bed. Sitting beside her, he continued to repeat the verse: "Peace be upon you for what you patiently endured. And excellent is the final home!" [Surah Al-Ra‘d 13:24]" Moral This story reminds us to try and perfect our reliance upon Allah alone as in accordance with the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)in which he said: "If you relied on Allah with a true reliance, He would provide for you the same as He provides birds: they set off in the early morning with empty stomachs and return back at the end of the day with full stomachs."

Moved by eloquent speech A righteous man said, "I once sat in the gathering of a preacher who spoke so well and with such eloquence that he moved everyone that was present into tears. Upon hearing the preacher mention the Hellfire and the punishment that Allah prepared for those who disobey Him, a young man who was present let out a loud cry, 'regrettably, my grief that I was disobedient to Allah. I have wasted my life, forgotten my death and done little in terms of good deeds.' He then faced the Qiblah and said, 'O Allah, I turn towards You this day (and this moment), repenting to You with a repentance that is not tainted by a desire for anyone other than You to see me worshipping You. So accept, in spite of my shortcomings. Forgive me and have Mercy upon me in my loneliness. My Lord, to You do I return with all of my limbs, sincerely from my heart. Utter ruin will be my lot if you do not accept me.' He then fell down unconscious. We tried to move him, but he wouldn't budge he was dead. May Allah have Mercy on him. Moral From this story we learn that anyone can change before their death and that what truly matters is how a persons life ends, not how it began. We also learn that eloquence has its place in Islam when it used to call people to good.

Honouring The Leader Of The Believers ‛Umar ibn al-Khaṭaab (may Allah be pleased with him), who sought little from this world and who very much disliked to see manifestations of richness or extravagance from his governors. On one occasion he visited the governor of Sham, Mu‛awiyah ibn abu Sufyaan (may Allah be pleased with them both), who gave a warm welcome to him and arranged for a very large convoy. ‛Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was amazed and said, "By Allah, he is the Kisra of the Arabs." ‛Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) became very angry indeed and reproached his governor for being extravagant. Mu‛awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) responded, "In our land, there are many spies from the enemy. Therefore, we must show them the dignity and power of the ruler so as to instill fear into their hearts. But if you order me, I will do so, and if you forbid me, I will abstain." ‛Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "If what you say is true, then it is the opinion of a very intelligent and wise man. And if it is false, then it is the deception of a very literate and civilized man." Mu‛awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), "Order me, O Leader of the Believers." ‛Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "I neither order you nor forbid you."