Salahuddin Ayyubi

Although he loved peace, Salahuddin Ayyubi became one of the world’s greatest warriors. He was born in Tekrit in 1138 CE when his father Ameer Najmudin was the ruler of Tekrit. He was brought up by his noble father and talented uncle, Asad-ud-din Shirkhu. Salahuddin was a very intelligent and noble person. He loved peace and never enjoyed fighting battles. But all changed when Salahuddin was ordered to go to Egypt with his uncle. He went to Egypt many times with his uncle to fight two enemies, the Franks and the Batnids. After his uncle’s death, he became the commander and Vizier of Egypt. Salahuddin Ayyubi never lived in the palace. Instead, he lived in a small house near the mosque. Salahuddin had a great love for Islam and as the vizier and general of Egypt, he tried hard to root out the Crusaders. For this purpose, he maintained a strong army. He established peace and prosperity throughout the country. From the beginning, many prejudiced Egyptian ministers disliked him. When they saw he was winning the hearts of the Egyptian people they did many conspiracies against him but due to Salahuddin’s wisdom, they were defeated. When the Fatmid caliph Al Aziz died, Salahuddin became the ruler of Egypt. When Salahuddin took over Damascus the people opened the gates of the city to him and greeted him warmly.

The Crusaders were not happy by Salahuddin’s increasing power and success. Uniting their forces, they planned a decisive attack on Muslim area. Battle of Hittin took place. Muslims won under the leadership of Salahuddin. Thousands of Crusaders were arrested. Salahuddin treated the prisoners with tolerance.

In 1187 CE, Salahuddin conquered Jerusalem. Thousands of Crusaders were arrested. However, when their mothers, sisters, and wives appealed to Salahuddin, he released them. Many crusaders were ransomed. However, he paid for many of them. In addition, he provided them transport, etc. He allowed neither massacre nor looting. He gave free pardon to all citizens. He even arranged for their traveling. He granted freedom to Christians to leave the city if they paid a small tribute. Salahuddin paid it, himself, for about ten thousand poor people. His brother paid it for seven thousand people. Salahuddin also allocated one of the gates of the city for people who were too poor to pay anything that they leave from there.

On Friday 27th Rajab 583 AH, Salahuddin entered Jerusalem. After entering the city they went straight to the Mosque and cleaned it. Then for the first time in more then 80 years, the people of Jerusalem heard the Azan (call of prayer) from Al Aqsa Mosque.

source : http://www.albalagh.net/kids/history/salahudin.shtml

Becoming Muslim

Becoming Muslim

Dr. Kari Ann Owen, Ph.D.

July 4, 1997.

A salaam aleikum, beloved family.

"There is no god but Allah, and Muhammed is his messenger."

These are the words of the Shahadah oath, I believe.

The Creator is known by many names. His wisdom is always recognizable, and his presence made manifest in the love, tolerance and compassion present in our community.

His profound ability to guide us from a war-like individualism so rampant in American society to a belief in the glory and dignity of the Creator's human family, and our obligations to and membership within that family. This describes the maturation of a spiritual personality, and perhaps the most desirable maturation of the psychological self, also.

My road to Shahadah began when an admired director, Tony Richardson, died of AIDS. Mr. Richardson was already a brilliant and internationally recognized professional when I almost met him backstage at the play Luther at age 14.

Playwrighting for me has always been a way of finding degrees of spiritual and emotional reconciliation both within myself and between myself and a world I found rather brutal due to childhood circumstances. Instead of fighting with the world, I let my conflicts fight it out in my plays. Amazingly, some of us have even grown up together!

So as I began accumulating stage credits (productions and staged readings), beginning at age 17, I always retained the hope that I would someday fulfill my childhood dream of studying and working with Mr. Richardson. When he followed his homosexuality to America (from England) and a promiscuous community, AIDS killed him, and with him went another portion of my sense of belonging to and within American society.

I began to look outside American and Western society to Islamic culture for moral guidance.

Why Islam and not somewhere else?

My birthmother's ancestors were Spanish Jews who lived among Muslims until the Inquisition expelled the Jewish community in 1492. In my historical memory, which I feel at a deep level, the call of the muezzin is as deep as the lull of the ocean and the swaying of ships, the pounding of horses' hooves across the desert, the assertion of love in the face of oppression.

I felt the birth of a story within me, and the drama took form as I began to learn of an Ottoman caliph's humanity toward Jewish refugees at the time of my ancestors' expulsions. Allah guided my learning, and I was taught about Islam by figures as diverse as Imam Siddiqi of the South Bay Islamic Association; Sister Hussein of Rahima; and my beloved adopted Sister, Maria Abdin, who is Native American and Muslim and a writer for the SBIA magazine, IQRA. My first research interview was in a halal butcher shop in San Francisco's Mission District, where my understanding of living Islam was profoundly affected by the first Muslim lady I had ever met: a customer who was in hijab, behaved with a sweet kindness and grace and also read, wrote and spoke four languages.

Her brilliance, coupled with her amazing (to me) freedom from arrogance, had a profound effect on the beginnings of my knowledge of how Islam can affect human behavior.

Little did I know then that not only would a play be born, but a new Muslim.

The course of my research introduced me to much more about Islam than a set of facts, for Islam is a living religion. I learned how Muslims conduct themselves with a dignity and kindness which lifts them above the American slave market of sexual competition and violence. I learned that Muslim men and women can actually be in each others' presence without tearing each other to pieces, verbally and physically. And I learned that modest dress, perceived as a spiritual state, can uplift human behavior and grant to both men and women a sense of their own spiritual worth.

Why did this seem so astonishing, and so astonishingly new?

Like most American females, I grew up in a slave market, comprised not only of the sexual sicknesses of my family, but the constant negative judging of my appearance by peers beginning at ages younger than seven. I was taught from a very early age by American society that my human worth consisted solely of my attractiveness (or, in my case, lack of it) to others. Needless to say, in this atmosphere, boys and girls, men and women, often grew to resent each other very deeply, given the desperate desire for peer acceptance, which seemed almost if not totally dependent not on one's kindness or compassion or even intelligence, but on looks and the perception of those looks by others.

While I do not expect or look for human perfection among Muslims, the social differences are profound, and almost unbelievable to someone like myself.

I do not pretend to have any answers to the conflicts of the Middle East, except what the prophets, beloved in Islam, have already expressed. My disabilities prevent me from fasting, and from praying in the same prayer postures as most of you.

But I love and respect the Islam I have come to know through the behavior and words of the men and women I have come to know in AMILA (American Muslims Intent on Learning and Activism) and elsewhere, where I find a freedom from cruel emotional conflicts and a sense of imminent spirituality.

What else do I feel and believe about Islam?

I support and deeply admire Islam's respect for same sex education; for the rights of women as well as men in society; for modest dress; and above all for sobriety and marriage, the two most profound foundations of my life, for I am 21 1/2 years sober and happily married. How wonderful to feel that one and half billion Muslims share my faith in the character development marriage allows us, and also in my decision to remain drug- and alcohol-free.

What, then, is Islam's greatest gift in a larger sense?

In a society which presents us with constant pressure to immolate ourselves on the altars of unbridled instinct without respect for consequences, Islam asks us to regard ourselves as human persons created by Allah with the capacity for responsibility in our relations with others. Through prayer and charity and a commitment to sobriety and education, if we follow the path of Islam, we stand a good chance of raising children who will be free from the violence and exploitation which is robbing parents and children of safe schools and neighborhoods, and often of their lives.

Army of Elephants

The following incident is mentioned in Surah Feel of the Holy Quran and it happened during the period of the birth-year of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Abraha Al-Ashram was the governor of Yemen on behalf of the king of Ethiopia. He (Abrahah) thought to build a house (like the Kabah at Makkah) in Sana (the capital of Yemen) and call the Arabs to perform the pilgrimage there in Sana instead of the Kabah in Makkah, with the intention of diverting the trade and benefits from Makkah to Yemen. He presented his idea to the king of Ethiopia who agreed to it. So the house (church) was built and he named it Al-Qullais; there was no church of its like at that time. Then a man from the Quraish tribe of Makkah came there and was infuriated by it, so he relieved his nature (stools and urine) in it, soiled its walls and went away. When Abrahah Al-Ashram saw that, he could not control his anger and raised an army to invade Makkah and demolish the Kabah. He had in that army thirteen elephants and amongst them was an elephant called Mahmud which was the biggest of them. So that army proceeded and none amongst the Arab tribes that faced them (fought against them) but was killed and defeated, till it approached near Makkah. Then there took place negotiations between Abrahah Al-Ashram and the chief of Makkah (Abdul Muttalib bin Hashim, the grandfather of the Prophet), and it was concluded that Abrahah would restore the camels of Abdul Muttalib which he had taken away, and then he (Abrahah) would decide himself as regards the Kabah. Abdul Muttalib ordered the men of Makkah to evacuate the city and go to the top of the mountains along with their wives and children in case some harm should come to them from the invading oppressors. Then that army moved towards Makkah till they reached valley Muhassir. While the army was marching towards Makkah, in the middle of the valley, suddenly it was overtaken by flocks of birds, flocks after flocks, air-raiding that army with small stones slightly bigger than a lentil seed. There never fell a stone on a soldier except it dissolved his flesh and burst it into pieces. So they perished with a total destruction. Abrahah Al-Ashram fled away while his flesh was bursting into pieces till he died on the way (back to Yemen). Such was the victory bestowed by Allah, (the All-Majestic, All-Powerful) to the people of Makkah and such was the protection provided by Him for His House (Kabah in Makkah).

Source: Extracted from Tafsir of Surah Feel (Surah 105) by Ibn Kathir as found in Translation of the Noble Quran by Muhammad Muhsin Khan.

The story of the rose sent to the caliph Harun Rashid

The story of the rose sent to the caliph Harun Rashid

There is a story that Charlemagne sent a most perfect rose as a gift to the caliph Harun Rashid.

He gave it to his gardener and told him to plant it with great care and as soon as the first rose came from it to bring it to him. The gardener carefully planted the rose in a beautiful part of the garden.

The next day a crow came and ate the rose. Trembling, the gardener told the news to Harun Rashid. He told the gardener not to worry for the punishment of the crow will be the same as that of the rose.

A few days later a snake came upon the crow and killed him. The gardener told the news to the caliph who again told him that the fate of the snake will be the same as the crow.

The next day the gardener was working in the garden when he spotted the snake. He picked up an axe and killed the snake. The caliph told him that his fate would be the same.

As it happened the gardener did something wrong and was thrown in jail. The day he was to be hanged he requested to see Harun Rashid.

He reminded the caliph of the rose, the crow and the snake and said that if the caliph would show forgiveness toward him, then he would save himself from a like fate.

Welcome Ramadan

Ramadan

Fasting is another unique moral and spiritual characteristicof Islam. Literally defined, fasting means to abstain"completely" from foods, drinks, intimateintercourse and smoking, before the break of thedawn till sunset, during the entire month of Ramadan,the ninth month of the Islamic year. But if we restrictthe meaning of the Islamic Fasting to this literalsense, we would be sadly mistaken. WhenIslam introduced this matchless institution, itplanted an ever-growing tree of infinite virtueand invaluable products. Here is an explanationof the spiritual meaning of the Islamic Fasting: Itteaches man the principle of sincere Love: becausewhen he observes Fasting he does it out of deeplove for God. And the man who loves God truly isa man who really knows what love is. Itequips man with a creative sense of hope and anoptimistic outlook on life; because when he fastshe is hoping to please God and is seeking His Grace Itequips man with a creative sense of hope and anoptimistic outlook on life; because when he fastshe is hoping to please God and is seeking His Grace Itcultivates in man a vigilant and sound conscience;because the fasting person keeps his fast in secretas well as in public. In fasting, especially, thereis no mundane authority to check man's behavioror compel him to observe fasting. He keeps it toplease God and satisfy his own conscience by beingfaithful in secret and in public. There is no betterway to cultivate a sound conscience in man. Itindoctrinates man in patience and selflessness,as through fasting, he feels the pains of deprivationbut he endures them patiently Itis an effective lesson in applied moderation andwillpower. Fastingalso provides man with a transparent soul, a clearmind and a light body. Itshows man a new way of wise savings and sound budgeting Itenables man to master the art of Mature Adaptability.We can easily understand the point once we realizethat fasting makes man change the entire courseof his daily life. Itgrounds man in discipline and healthy survival Itoriginates in man the real spirit of social belonging,unity and brotherhood, of equality before God aswell as before the law. Itis a Godly prescription for self-reassurance andself-control. Now,someone may be tempted to raise the objection: Ifthis is the case with the Islamic institution offasting, and if this is the picture of Islam inthis aspect, why are the Muslims not living in autopia? To such an objection we can only say thatMuslims have lived in and enjoyed a utopia in acertain epoch of their history. The realizationof that utopia was a phenomenon of a unique achievementin the history of man. We say unique, because noreligion or social system other than Islam has everbeen able to realize its ideals in reality. Thereason why the Islamic utopia is not being establishednowadays is manifold and easily explicable. Butto restrict our discussion to the institution offasting we may say that some Muslims, unfortunatelyfor them, do not observe the fast or, at best, adoptthe attitude of indifference. On the other hand,some of those who observe it do not realize itstrue meaning and, as a result, derive very littlebenefit out of it or, in fact, no benefit at all.That is why some Muslims today, do not enjoy thereal privileges of fasting. Ithas already been indicated that the period of obligatoryfasting is the month of Ramadan. The daily periodof observance starts before the break of the dawnant ends immediately after sunset. Normally thereare accurate calendars to toll the exact time, butin the absence of such facilities one should consultone's watch and the sun's positions, together withthe local newspapers, weather bureau, etc. FastingRamadan is obligatory on every responsible and fitMuslim. But there are other times when it is recommendedto make voluntary fasting, after the Traditionsof Prophet Muhammad. Among these times are Mondaysand Thursdays of every week, a few days of eachmonth in the two months heralding the coming ofRamadan, i.e., Rajab and Sha'ban, six days afterRamadan following the 'Eid-ul-Fitr Day. Besides,it is always compensating to fast any day of anymonth of the year, except the 'Eid Days and Fridayswhen no Muslim should fast. However,we may repeat that the only obligatory fasting isthat of Ramadan - which may be 29 or 30 days, dependingon the moon's positions. This is a pillar of Islam,and any failure to observe it without reasonableexcuses is a grave sin in the sight of God. WhoMust Fast? FastingRamadan is compulsory upon every Muslim, male orfemale, who has these qualifications: Tobe mentally and physically fit, which means to besane and able. Tobe of full age, the age of puberty and discretion,which is normally about fourteen. Children underthis age should be encouraged to start this goodpractice on easy levels, so when they reach theage of puberty they will be mentally and physicallyprepared to observe fasting. Tobe present at one's permanent settlement, your hometown, one's farm, and one's business premises, etc.This means not to be on a journey of about fiftymiles or more Tobe fairly certain that fasting is unlikely to causeyou any harm, physical or mental, other than thenormal reactions to hunger, thirst, etc. ExemptionFrom Fasting Thesesaid qualifications exclude the following categories: Childrenunder the age of puberty and discretion. Insanepeople who are unaccountable for their deeds. Peopleof these two categories are exempted from the dutyof fist, and no compensation or any other substituteis enjoined on them. Menand women who are too old and feeble to undertakethe obligation of fast and bear its hardships. Suchpeople are exempted from this duty, but they mustoffer, at least, one needy poor Muslim an averagefull meal or its value per person per day. Sickpeople whose health is likely to be severely affectedby the observance of fast. They may postpone thefast, as long as they are sick, to a later dateand make up for it, a day for a day. Travelersmay break the fast temporarily during their travelonly and make up for it in later days, a day fora day Pregnantwomen and women breast-feeding their children mayalso break the fast, if its observance is likelyto endanger their own health or that of their infants.But they must make up for the fast at a delayedtime, a day for a day. Womenin the -period of menstruation (of a maximum often days or of confinement (of a maximum of fortydays).; They must postpone the fast till recoveryand then make up for it, a day for a day. Itshould be understood that here, like in all otherIslamic undertakings, the intention must be madeclear that this action is undertaken in obedienceto God, in response to His command and out of loveof Him. Thefast of any day of Ramadan becomes void by intentionaleating or drinking or smoking or indulgence in anyintimate intercourse, and by allowing anything toenter through the mouth into the interior partsof the body. And if this is done deliberately withoutany lawful reason, this is a major sin which onlyrenewed repentance can expiate. Ifanyone, through forgetfulness, does something thatwould ordinarily break the fast, 0a observance isnot nullified, and his fast stands valid, providedhe stops doing that thing the moment he realizeswhat he is doing. Oncompletion of the fast of Ramadan, the special charityknown as Sadagat-ul-Fitr (charity of ' Fast-breaking)must be distributed before 'Eid-ul-Fitr (approximately),seven dollars per head. GeneralRecommendations Itis strongly recommended by Prophet Muhammad to observethese practices especially during Ramadan: Tohave a light meal before the break of the dawn,known as Suhoor. Toeat a few dates or start breaking the fast by plainwater right after sunset, saying this prayer Allahhumma laka sumna, wa 'ala rizqika aftarna. (O God!for Your sake have we fasted and now we break thefast with the food You have given us). Tomake your meals as light as possible because, asthe Prophet put it, the worst thing man can fillis his stomach. Toobserve the supererogatory prayer known as Taraweeh. Toexchange social visits and intensify humanitarianservices. Toincrease the study ant recitation of the Qur'an. Toexert the utmost in patience ant humbleness. Tobe extraordinarily cautious in using one's senses,one's mind and, especially, the tongue; to abstainfrom careless gossip and avoid all suspicious motions.

AL-QUR'AN - THE GREAT AND HOLY BOOK

AL-QUR'AN - THE GREAT AND HOLY BOOK About a hundred years ago, England had a powerful Prime Minister. He was a Christian to a high section of the Anglican Church. His name was Gladstone. One day in the year 1882, he was speaking in the British Parliament on how to weaken the power of Muslims in Egypt so that the British could continue to rule over them. At one stage he raised a copy of the Holy Qur'an in his hand and said that so long as this book remained with the Muslims in that country and they respected and followed it, the British would never be able to dominate them. He added that the only solution was to try and separate the Holy Qur'an from the Muslims of Egypt. At the end of the speech; a committee was formed to decide upon ways and means of carrying out Gladstone's recommendation. The committee resolved to send some experts to Egypt who would launch a campaign which would weaken the faith of people and make them suspicious of the truth of the Holy Qur'an. The aim was to discourage people to refer to the Holy Book and gradually make them turn against the Islamic way of life. In the course of this political and vicious programme, a learned man by the name of Dunlop was sent to Egypt as a teacher. He prepared many books containing lessons which were nothing but propaganda in disguise. One of the lessons on history was based on showing how Egypt was lagging behind and was not making progress because of Islam and the Qur'an. It alleged that people of Egypt were much more civilized prior to the coming of Islam. Such ill-intentioned programme first succeeded to a small extent in influencing the youths at schools. Then the Holy men of Al-Azhar university protested to the authorities and demanded that an end be put to it. Now let us find out what are the qualities of this book which the enemies wished to remove from the Muslims. The Holy Book is known as Al-Qur'an which means 'The Reading', the reading of the Prophet of Islam who never went to any school. Prophet Muhammad (s) had retired to a cave on Mount Hira not far from Mecca. One day Angel Jibrail (Gabriel) came to him and said "Read". The Holy Prophet said: "What should I recite?" Jibrail said: "Read in the name of thy Lord, who created; created man out of a mere clot of congealed blood; read; and thy Lord is most bountiful; He who taught (The use of) pen; taught man that which he did not know". The Holy Qur'an as word of God, the Almighty, as revealed to his Prophet Muhammad (s) This book gives guidance for our daily life. It appeals to our power of reasoning, and exhorts us to follow the commands of Allah. It is a living miracle of Prophet Muhammad (s), the last of the Prophets who came from God. It is not surprising at all that this Holy Book has remained intact for the last 1400 years. And it shall remain so till the Day of Judgement, for Allah has taken it on himself to protect it. "Surely we have sent down the reminder (The Qur'an) and we will most surely be its guardian (Sura Al-Hijr -verse 9) The Qur'an is divided into 114 chapters (Suras). There are in it 6226 verses (Ayats) containing 99,464 words made up of 330,110 letters. Imam Ja'far Sadiq (a) has said that one should at least recite 50 Ayats everyday. Let us, therefore, value and respect this Great Book by reading it with understanding and follow its teachings.

CARE FOR ANIMALS

CARE FOR ANIMALS

A man once came to Prophet Muhammad (s) carrying with him his belongings and a box. He said, "O Prophet! While I was passing through a jungle, I heard the voice of some bird's babies. I took them and put them in this box. The moment I did that, their mother came fluttering round my head."

And the Prophet said, "Put them down". When the man put the box on the ground, the mother of the young birds joined them. Seeing this, the Prophet asked the man who now had a look of surprise on his face, "Are you surprised by the affection of the mother towards her young? I swear by Him (Almighty Allah) who has sent me, surely, God is more loving to his servants than the mother to these young birds. Return these baby birds to the place from where you took them, and let their mother be with them."

"Fear God with regard to animals", said the Prophet of Islam, "ride them when they are fit to be ridden, and get off their backs when they are tired; surely, there are rewards for being kind and gentle to animals, and for giving them water to drink."

Islam has taught that in the eyes of Allah, animals also have rights in the same way as man has. They should not be treated badly, tortured or left to starve without food or water.

Imam Ali (a) had some ducks under his care in his house. At the time of his death, he had given particular advice to his sons to take good care of those animals, or to set them free if it was not possible to look after them properly.

The Holy Qur'an has also guided us by telling us that, in the eyes of God there is no difference between the human world and the animal world.

"There is no beast on earth, nor bird which flieth with its wings, but they are nations like you - unto the Lord shall they return".
The Prophet of Islam was once performing ablution (Wudhu) for prayers from a pot of water. A cat passed there and turned its eyes at the pot of water with a thirsty look. The Prophet realised at once that the cat was very thirsty, so he stopped the ablution (Wudhu) and placed the pot before the cat.

Only after the cat had fully quenched its thirst, did the Prophet resume the ablution (Wudhu). By this action, the Prophet has shown that quenching the thirst of even a small dumb animal is a noble act full of virtue and should be given first attention before one prepares for offering prayers to God.

Hazrat Hassan Al-Basri (ra)

Hazrat Hassan Al-Basri (ra) Impresses An Unbelieving Neighbour

Hazrat Hasan al-Basri once fell sick. His neighbour, an unbeliever, came to pay him a visit.

"O Imam," he exclaimed, "I detect a bad smell." The Imam told him it was caused by illness, but the neighbour insisted: "That is not the odor of sickness. It is a lavatory smell. For the love of Allah, tell me what it is!"
He had not noticed that sewage was leaking from his house into that of the Imam.

When the neighbour pressed him, the Imam finally said: "For some months your drain has been seeping through to our side. I tried to fix it, but without success."
His neighbour asked why he had not told him before, but the venerable Imam said: "I might have offended you."

The unbeliever was so impressed by this ethical refinement that he was ennobled with True Faith, for he recognized the Imam's morality as a ray of Islam.

from Irshad

by Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi

Anything for Allah

Anything for Allah

Khabaab (Radiallaho Anho) is one of those fortunate persons who offered themselves for sacrifice and suffering for the cause of Allah (Subhanahu wa Taala). He was the sixth or seventh person to embrace Islam and therefore, he suffered long. He was made to put on steel armor and lie in the sun to sweat. Very often he was made to lie flat on burning sand, which caused the flesh on his back to dissolve. He was the slave of a woman. When she came to know that he was visiting Rasulullah (Sallallaho Alaihi Wassallam), she used to brand his head with a hot iron rod. Umar (Radiallaho Anho) during his Caliph once asked him about the details of his suffering after embracing Islam.

He showed him his back, seeing which Umar (Radiallaho Anho) said, "I have never seen such a back before."

He said, "My body was dragged over heaps of burning coal and the blood and fat coming out of my back put out the fire."

When Islam spread and the Muslims conquered all the surrounding territory, he used to weep and say, "Allah (Subhanahu wa Taala) seems to be compensating us in this world for all our sufferings and perhaps nothing would be left for us as reward in the Akhirah".

Source: From the Book "Stories of the Sahabah" by Shaikh Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhalvi.

Such were the followers of the Prophet (peace be upon him) who were ready to give anything but their faith in Allah. On the other hand, we Muslims today are ready to sell our iman for little material gains!

Prayer of a Sick Person

Prayer of a Sick Person

Imam Baihaqi has stated on the authority of Hadhrat Ali (ra) who stated: "Once, I was resent with the Prophet (peace be upon him). At that time, I had fallen so much sick that I prayed to Allah Almighty to grant me death if I am destined to die so that I may get relief from the sickness, otherwise, I may be restored to normal health from the sickness if I have to live for sometime. I, also, prayed for being granted patience if this sickness is a test for me from Allah Almighty." Hearing that, the Prophet beat Ali with his foot and observed: "Oh Ali! repeat what you were saying." Ali (ra) repeated his prayer. Then the Prophet prayed to Allah Almighty: "O Allah! Heal him from the sickness." Ali (ra) stated that he became healthy the same day and the pain never appeared again.

Source: From the book "The Miracles of the Prophet Muhammad" by Shaikh Ahmed Saeed Dehalvi.

The Carpenter

The Carpenter

A highly skilled carpenter who had grown old was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire.

The employer was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter agreed to this proposal but made sure that this will be his last project. Being in a mood to retire, the carpenter was not paying much attention to building this house. His heart was not in his work. He resorted to poor workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the job was done, the carpenter called his employer and showed him the house. The employer handed over some papers and the front door key to the carpenter and said "This is your house, my gift to you."

The carpenter was in a shock! What a shame! If he had only known that he was building his own house, he would have made it better than any other house that he ever built!

Our situation can be compared to this carpenter. Allah Ta'la has sent us to this world to build our homes in paradise by obeying His commands. Now, we have to decide how well we wish to build the homes where we will live forever.

Bilal : The First Muezzin

Many years ago in Mecca, there lived a slave called Bilal. Bilal’s master was a hard, cruel man called Umaya. He was wealthy and powerful. He demanded that all his slaves worship like him. Now, Umaya worshipped many idols.

One day, Umaya called Bilal, gave him a whip, and ordered him to beat another slave. ‘He says there is only one God,’ said Umaya, ‘and that every person is important. The whip will teach him a lesson.’ However, the sight of the whip did not frighten the slave. Endlessly he called out, ‘One God, only one God.’ His courage brought Bilal to believe also. He could not whip such a man.

Umaya was angry. Not only had Bilal disobeyed him. Now, he too stood in the courtyard shouting, ‘One God, only one God.’ Soon all the slaves would revolt. Bilal must be taught a lesson. Umaya ordered that his hands and feet be tied. Then Bilal was dragged outside the city wall to lie, without shelter, on the sands, under the scorching sun. But all the time he shouted, ‘One God, only one God.’

The shouting vexed Umaya. ‘Find a great, heavy rock,’ he ordered. ‘Place is on his chest. That will quieten him.’ It did. Under the weight of the rock Bilal could hardly breathe. But still, through dry, cracked lips he whispered, ‘One God, only one God.’

Now it happened that Abu Bakr, a follower of the Prophet, was passing by. Shocked, he went to Umaya to ask how anyone could treat another in that way. ‘He is my slave, I’ll do what I like with him,’ said Umaya. ‘If you do not like it, you can always buy him.’ So Abu Bakr bought Bilal and he, too, became a follower of the Prophet.

Bilal and the others decided to build a place where they could worship God. When it was finished they had to decide on the best way to call the people to prayer. Should they use a bell or a drum, a horn or maybe even a trumpet. But they could not agree. Then Abdullah, another of the Prophet’s followers spoke about a dream he had, in which he heard a man’s voice calling the people to prayer. All agreed this was a fine solution - just the human voice on its own. But who was to have this honour?

The Prophet placed his arm around Bilal’s shoulder. ‘Yours shall be the voice, Bilal,’ he said. ‘The voice that praised God even from under a rock.’ ‘But what am I to call?’ said Bilal. ‘I don’t know what to say.’ ‘Praise God, tell the people Muhammad is his messenger and call them to prayer. That will be sufficient,’ answered the Prophet.

Bilal raced up the top of the mud roof of the mosque. He stood still, staring at the people down below. Then he threw back his head, raised his voice, and from deep inside him came the words that still echo, five times a day, in the towns and villages of Islam:

Allahu Akbar, God is most Great. I witness that there is no God but Allah. I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God. Come to prayer. Come to salvation.’

From R.E. Today (CEM)