Jewellery on Loan
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Once, there was a great ‘alim from Banu Isra’il. He loved his wife very much. One day, she passed away. This person was so grieved by this that he locked his door, and abstained from meeting with the people.
A woman heard about this so she went to him. She informed those who were guarding the entrance to his house that she wanted to ask him a question, and that it could only be answered by him. Saying this, she sat down stubbornly by the door.
The ‘alim was informed of this, and eventually permitted her to enter. She said, “I want to ask you a question about a serious matter. I have a neighbour from whom I borrowed some jewellery. I have been wearing it for quite some time now. But then my neighbour has asked for her jewellery back. The question I want to ask you is, do I have to return to her after all these years?”
The ‘alim replied, “Yes, you have to give it back to her.”
The woman replied, “That jewellery has been with me for a very long time. How can I just return it?”
The ‘alim replied, “In such a case, you should return it even more happily because it was out of her kindness that she allowed you to use it for such a long time.”
When he said this, the woman replied, “May the Lord have Mercy on you? Why, then, are you so sad? He had Loaned you something, and when He Wished, He Took it back because it Belongs to Him.” Upon hearing this, the ‘alim realised his error, and repented from it.
These three profiles of Muslim students who are pursuing Islam in spite of the negative media Islam is receiving is truly inspiring. I think negative coverage of the "ground-zero mosque" was blown out of proportion because it was an easy story for the media to cover. I also think that covering a fringe pastor in Florida as much as they did took the emphasis away from the spirit of the 9/11 anniversary, which should have focused on bringing the nation together.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your attempt to combat the stereotypes of muslims by featuring real people in your blog. I would hope that the extensive coverage would encourage people to look into Islam for themselves and disregard people who posted videos of blowing up the Qur'an. I live in Phoenix and I recently toured the mosque in Tempe where I discovered 600 to 700 people a week attend service there. So while the controversy may negatively affect some people, it encourages others like myself to explore the faith opportunities available.
Thank you. I hope you enjoy the postings. And I hope it makes a difference somewhere.
ReplyDeleteIslam of course means more than peace. It means the submission to the Reality that there is a God out there. A God Great enough that He has all the Accolades of Greatness and yet the Greatest aspect of God is that He is al-Lathif, the Subtle. He is aware of each and every aspect of us as His Creation. He Knows us to our Limits. And He is not a distant god.