'Story of a 6 year old boy'

A 6 year old boy was in the market with his 4 year old sister....Suddenly the boy found that his sister was lagging behind.

He stopped and looked back. His sister was standing in front of a toy shop and was watching something with great interest.

The boy went back to her and asked,"Do you want something" The sister pointed at the doll.

The boy held her hand and like a responsible elder brother, gave that doll to her.The sister was very very happy...

The shopkeeper was watching everything and getting amused to see the matured behaviour of the boy...

Now the boy came to the counter and asked the shopkeeper,

"What is the cost of this doll, Sir !"

The shopkeeper was a cool man and had experienced the odds of life. So he asked the boy with a lot of love n affection,"

Well, What can you pay?"

The boy took out all the shells that he had collected from sea shore, from his pocket and gave them to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper took the shells and started counting as if he were counting the currency. Then he looked at the boy.The boy asked him worriedly,"Is it less?

"The shopkeeper said," No,No...

These are more than the cost. So I will return the remaining." Saying so,he kept only 4 shells with him and returned the remaining.

The boy, very happily kept those shells back in his pocket and went away with his sister...

A servant in that shop got very surprised watching all these. He asked his master," Sir ! You gave away such a costly doll just for 4 shells???

"The shopkeeper said with a smile," Well, For us these are mere shells. But for that boy, these shells are very precious. And at this age he does not understand what money is, but when he will grow up, he definitely will.

And when he would remember that he purchased a doll with the Shells instead of Money, he will remember Me and think that world is full of Good people. It will help him develop a positive attitude and he too in turn will feel motivated to be Good.

Lets try our bit to make this world a wonderful place for the generations to come.

Source:
https://web.facebook.com/doorwaytoheaven/

Are Muslims Allowed to Celebrate Valentine's Day?

Celebrating the Valentine Day is not permissible as per my knowledge because:

Firstly: it is an innovated holiday that has no basis in the Sharee`ah.

Secondly: it calls to love and passion.

Thirdly: it calls to keeping one's heart busy with nonsense matters which contradict the guidance of the righteous predecessors, may Allah be pleased with them.

So it is not permissible that anything from the signs of that holiday takes place on that day, whether it relates to eating, drinking, clothing, giving gifts, or other than that.

It is incumbent upon the Muslim to be proud of his religion and that he does not blindly follow every crier.

The Prophet (Peace be upon Him) has advised us that if we love somebody we should let them know (of course we know the forbidden relationships are not included in this advise). He (Peace be upon Him) said it generally and did not ask us to do it 'on such and such a day'. Prophet (Peace be upon Him) didn't ask us to do it only once a year but as often as we can. So are we going to obey him (Peace be upon Him) or Mr. Valentine?

[Surah An-Nisa' Ch:4 V:59]

"O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result."

(A Muslim can’t deny the Hadith of The Prophet (s.a.w). He has been instructed to do so by Allah (s.w.t) Himself. If we don’t agree with Hadith then we are not Muslims since a Muslim testifies that ‘There is no god but Allah And Muhammad (s.a.w) is His Messenger’ by believing in Qur’an but not the Hadith of the Prophet (s.a.w) we only ‘Testify that there is no god but Allah’ whereas we don’t testify that Muhammed (s.a.w) is His messenger. A Muslim needs to follow the teachings of Allah’s Messenger as commanded.)

(Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Dress, Volume 7, Book 72, Number 780)"

Narrated Nafi':

"Ibn Umar said, The Prophet said, 'Do the opposite of what the pagans do. Keep the beards and cut the moustaches short.' Whenever Ibn 'Umar performed the Hajj or 'Umra, he used to hold his beard with his hand and cut whatever moustaches. Ibn Umar used to cut his moustache so short that the whiteness of his skin (above the upper lip) was visible, and he used to cut (the hair) between his moustaches and his beard. 

(Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Virtues and Merits of the Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions, Volume 4, Book 56, Number 668)" 

Narrated Abu Huraira:

"Allah's Apostle said, 'The Jews and the Christians do not dye (their grey hair), so you shall do the opposite of what they do (i.e. dye your grey hair and beards).' 

[Saheeh Hadeeth: Related by Ahmad (no. 1945), from ’Uqbah Ibn ’Aamir (radiyallaahu ’anhu). It was authenticated by al-Albaanee in Saheehul-Jaami’ (no. 8192)]

The Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) also said, 

“The day of al-Fitr, and the day of an-Nahr (sacrifice), and the days of Tashreeq (the three days after an-Nahr) are FOUR days of ’EiD (festivity); and they are days of eating and drinking.”

So from the above authentic Hadith, we come to know that Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) clearly instructed us to not follow what the non-believers do and to create our own identity which is MUSLIM which is why he instructed us to keep beards as well. Other than that Prophet Muhammed (s.a.w) said in various different hadith that Muslims have only 2 celebrations and that is their EID , there is no valentines day, mothers day, fathers day etc etc. Every day should be a mothers day or a fathers day because Islam tells us the importance of Mother and Father which we can never estimate.

An Important Point to look upon:

A Muslim is not allowed to even meet a girl alone so how can we even think of celebrating The so called Valentines day? 

and still if many of you think that it's right to celebrate and these references from Sahih Hadith and Qur'an are not enough then you guys should read the ayat i'm posting below from Qur'an which says:

[Surah Al-‘A’raf Ch:7 V:179]

“They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear.”

Hope that's helpful.

And Allah (s.w.t) knows best.

A Milk Maid (great mother)

One night, Caliph Umar (radiAllahu anhu) as usual went in disguise with his companion Ibn Abbas to see the condition of the people. They strolled from one quarter to another. At last they came to a colony where poor people lived.

While passing by a small house, the Caliph (radiAllahu anhu) heard a whispering talk within. The mother was telling her daughter that the amount of milk fetched by her for sale that day was very little. She told her that when she was young, and used to sell milk, she always mixed water with milk, and that led to considerable profit. She advised her daughter to do the same.

The girl said, "You adulterated milk, when you were not a Muslim. Now that we are Muslims, we cannot adulterate milk." The mother said that Islam did not stand in the way of adulteration of milk.

The daughter said, "Have you forgotten the Caliph's order? He wants that the milk should not be adulterated." The mother said, "But the Caliph has forgotten us. We are so poor, what else should we do but adulterate milk in order win bread?"

The daughter said "Such a bread would not be lawful, and as a Muslim I would not do anything which is against the orders of the Caliph (radiAllahu anhu) , and whereby other Muslims are deceived."

The mother said, "But there is neither the Caliph nor any of his officers here to see what we do. Daughter you are still a child. Go to bed now and tomorrow I will myself mix the milk with water for you."

The girl refused to fall in with the plan of her mother. She said, "Caliph may or may not be here, but his order must be obeyed. My conscience is my Caliph. You may escape the notice of the Caliph and his officers, but how can we escape the notice of Allah and our own conscience." Thereupon the mother remained quiet. The lamp was extinguished and the mother and the daughter went to sleep.

The next day, Caliph Umar (radiAllahu anhu) sent a man to purchase milk from the girl. The milk was unadulterated. The girl kept her resolve.

Caliph Umar (radiAllahu anhu) turned to his companion and said, "The girl has kept her resolve in spite of the exhortation of her mother. She deserves a reward. What reward should I give her? She should be paid some money," said Ibn Abbas.

Caliph Umar (radiAllahu anhu) said, "Such a girl would become a great mother. Her integrity is not to be weighed with few coins; it is to be measured in the scale of national values. I shall offer her the highest award in my gift, and which shall also be in the highest interest of the nation."

The Caliph (radiAllahu anhu) summoned the daughter and the mother to his court. The mother trembled as she stood before the mighty ruler. But the girl faced the Caliph boldly and with great equanimity.

She was beautiful, and there was an impressive dignity about her. Then before the gathering, Caliph Umar (radiAllahu anhu) related how he had overheard the mother and the daughter, and how in spite of the exhortations of the mother the daughter had kept her resolve.

Someone suggested that the mother should be taken to task. The Caliph (radiAllahu anhu) said that ordinarily he would have punished the mother, but he had forgiven her for the sake of her daughter.

Turning to the girl the great Caliph (radiAllahu anhu) said, "Islam needs daughters like you and as a Caliph of Islam it devolves on me to reward you by owning you as a daughter."

The Caliph called his sons, and addressing them said, "Here is a gem of a girl who would make a great mother. I desire that one of you should take this girl as wife. I know of no better bride than this girl of sterling character. In matters of wedlock, it should be the character and not the stature in life that should count."

Abdullah and Abdur Rahman the elder sons of the Caliph (radiAllahu anhu) were already married. Asim the third son was yet unmarried, and he offered to marry the girl. Thereupon with the consent of the milkmaid and her mother Asim was married to the girl, and milkmaid became the daughter-in-law of the Caliph(radiAllahu anhu) .

From this union was born a daughter Umm Asim, who became in due course the mother of Umar bin Abdul Aziz. Umar bin AbdulAziz was elected as Caliph and served for a short period during 717 - 720.

While other Caliphs of the Ummayad dynasty reveled in luxury, Umar bin Abdul Aziz as a Caliph set up standards for austerity and simplicity following in the footsteps of Caliph Umar (radiAllahu anhu) , the second Caliph of Islam.

It is said that if ever there was a noble Caliph after the first four Rightly guided Caliphs, such a man was Umar bin Abdul Aziz. And he inherited the noble qualities of the milkmaid who married the Caliph's son, and those of Caliph Umar Farooq who had the eye to discern the nobler qualities of sterling character in a poor girl.

source: http://www.tariqjamil.org/Forum/true-stories/a-milk-maid/

Touching the Heart

Something to Remember:

Some time ago, a friend of mine punished his 3-year old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight, and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.” He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found that the box was empty. He yelled at her, “Don’t you know that when you give someone a present, there’s supposed to be something inside of it?” The little girl looked at him with tears in her eyes and said, “Oh Daddy it’s not empty. I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy”. The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged her forgiveness. My friend told me that he kept that gold box by his bed for years. Whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there. In a very real sense, each of us has been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

-Melinda Taylor-

The Story of a Pretty Woman

A man was walking through the marketplace one afternoon when, just as the ‘Muadhdhin’ began the call to prayer, his eye fell on a woman’s back. She was strangely attractive though dressed in fulsome black a veil over head and face and she now turned to him as if somehow conscious of his over-lingering regard and gave him a slight but meaningful nod before she rounded the corner into the lane of silk sellers. As if struck by a bolt from heaven, the man was at once drawn his heart a prisoner of that look forever.

In vain he struggled with his heart, offering it one sound reason after another to go his way – wasn’t it time to pray? But it was finished: there was nothing but to follow. He hastened after her, turning into the market of silks, breathing from the exertion of catching up with the woman. Who had unexpectedly outpaced him and even now lingered for an instance at the far end of the market. Many shops ahead.

She turned toward him and he thought he could see a flash of a mischievous smile from beneath the black Muslim of her veil, as she – was it his imagination? – beckoned to him. The poor man was beside himself. Who was she? The daughter of a wealthy family? What did she want? He quickened his steps and turned into the lane where she had disappeared. And so she led him, always beyond reach, always tantalizingly ahead, now through the weapons market, now the oil merchants’, now and the leather sellers; farther and farther from where they began the feeling within him grew rather than decreased.

Was she mad? On and on she led. To the very edge of the town the sun declined and set, and there she was, before him as ever. Now they were come, of all places to the ‘City of Tombs’.

Had he been in his normal senses? He would have been afraid, but indeed he now reflected. Stranger places than this had been a lovers tryst.

Had he been in his normal senses, he would have been afraid, but indeed, he now reflected, stranger places than this had seen a lovers’ tryst.

There were scarcely twenty cubits between them when he saw her look back, and, giving a little start, she skipped down the steps and through the great bronze door of what seemed to be a very old sepulcher. A soberer moment might have seen the man pause, but in his present state, there was no turning back, and he went down the steps and slid in after her.

Inside, as his eyes saw after a moment, there were two flights of steps that led down to a second door, from whence a light shone, and which he equally passed through. He found himself in a large room, somehow unsuspected by the outside world, lit with candles upon its walls.

There sat the woman, opposite the door on a pallet of rich stuff in her full black dress, still veiled, reclining on a pillow against the far wall. To the right of the pallet, the man noticed a well set in the floor.

“Lock the door behind you,” she said in a low, husky voice that was almost a whisper, “and bring the key.” He did as he was told. She gestured carelessly at the well. “Throw it in.”

A ray of sense seemed to penetrate for a moment through the clouds over his understanding, and a bystander, had there been one, might have detected the slightest of pauses.

“Go on,” she said laughingly, “You didn’t hesitate to miss the prayer as you followed me here, did you?” He said nothing.

“The time for sunset prayer has almost finished as well,” she said with gentle mockery. “Why worry? Go on, throw it in. You want to please me, don’t you?”

He extended his hand over the mouth of the well, and watched as he let the key drop. An uncanny feeling rose from the pit of his stomach as moments passed but no sound came. He felt wonder, then horror, then comprehension.

“It is time to see me…” she said, and she lifted her veil to reveal not the face of a fresh young girl, but of a hideous old crone, all darkness and vice, not a particle of light anywhere in its eldritch lines.

“See me well” she said. “My name is Dunya (This worldly life). I am your beloved. You spent your time running after me, and now you have caught up with me. In your grave. Welcome, welcome.”

At this she laughed and laughed, until she shook herself into a small mound of fine dust, whose fitful shadows, as the candles went out, returned to the darkness one by one…….

Moral of the Story:

The World appeals to you, intrigues you, because it is meant to do. What you see is just an hallucination. This World is nothing but a mere test for the mankind. You must set your priorities and keep the end in mind.