Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

The father was furious, “If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy

a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed.

Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior.”

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even

angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was

something he really needed to buy with that $10 and he really didn’t ask for money very often.

The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.

“Are you asleep, son?” He asked. “No daddy, I’m awake,” replied the boy.

“I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,” said the man. “It’s been a long day and

I took out my aggravation on you. Here’s the $10 you asked for.”

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. “Oh, thank you daddy!” He yelled.

Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

“Why do you want more money if you already have some?” the father grumbled.

“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied.

“Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow.

I would like to have dinner with you.”

Share this story with someone you like.... But even better, share $20 worth of time with someone

you love. It’s just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life.

We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who

really matter to us, those close to our hearts.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of

days.

But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to

think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family. An unwise investment indeed!

So what is the moral of the story???

Don’t work too hard...and you know what’s the full word of FAMILY?

FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER,(I)(L)OVE (Y)OU!

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the purpose of

showing his son how the poor people live so he could be thankful for his wealth.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?” “It was great, Dad.”

“Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Oh yeah” said the son. “So what did you

learn from the trip?” asked the father.

The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they

have a creek that has no end.” “We have imported lanterns in our

garden and they have the stars at night.” “Our patio reaches to the

front yard and they have the whole horizon.” “We have a small

piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our

sight.” “We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.”

“We buy our food, but they grow theirs.” “We have walls around

our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.”

With this the boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, “Thanks dad for showing me how

poor we are.”

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him

that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to

control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it

was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence....

Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the

father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his

temper. The day passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were

gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well,

my son, but look at the holes in the fence.”

The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.

You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry,

the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

Friends and loved ones are a very rare jewel, indeed.

They make you smile and encourage you to succeed.

They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they

always want to open their hearts to us. Water your

relationships with kindness… and they will grow. So be

careful little lips what you say…! And you won't chase

friendships away.

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson. The old

man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at

the table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas

rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped, the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.

The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. “We must do something about

Grandfather,” said the son. “I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the

floor.” So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while

the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was

served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfather’s direction, sometimes he had a

tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions

when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He

asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?” Just as sweetly, the boy responded, “Oh, I am

making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up.” The four-year-old

smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then

tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be

done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather’s hand and gently led him back to the family table.

For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family.

And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care

“Little Things Affect Little Minds”

any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the

tablecloth soiled.

Children are remarkably perceptive. Their eyes ever observe, their ears ever listen, and their minds

ever process the messages they absorb. If they see us patiently provide a happy home atmosphere

for family members, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives. The wise parent

realizes that every day the building blocks are being laid for the child’s future. Let’s be wise builders

and role models.

“Life is about people connecting with people, and making a positive difference.

Take care of yourself, and those you love, today, and everyday!”

A teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special relationship. The

father believed in encouragement. Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was

always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game.

This young man was the smallest of the class when he entered high school. His father continued to

encourage him but also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn’t want to.

But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there. He was determined to try his best

at every practice, and perhaps he’d get to play when he became a senior. All through high school he

never missed a practice or a game, but remained a bench warmer all four years. His faithful father

was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him. When the young man went

to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a “walk-on.”

Everyone was sure he could never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him

on the roster because he always puts his heart and soul to every practice, and at the same time,

provided the other members with the spirit and hustle they badly needed. The news that he had

survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father.

His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games. This

persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but he never got to

play in the game.

It was the end of his senior football season, and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before

the big play off game, the coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he

became deathly silent. Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, “My father died this morning.

Is it all right if I miss practice today?”

The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said, “Take the rest of the week off, son.

And don’t even plan to come back to the game on Saturday.” Saturday arrived, and the game was

not going well.

In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into

the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his

players were astounded to see their faithful team-mate back so soon.

“Coach, please let me play. I’ve just got to play today,” said the young man.

The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close

playoff game. But the young man persisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in.

“All right,” he said. “You can go in.” Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands

could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before, was doing

everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed, blocked and tackled

like a star. His team began to triumph.

The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all

the way for the winning touchdown. The fans broke loose. His team-mates hoisted him onto their

shoulders. Such cheering you’ve never heard!

Finally, after the stands had emptied and the team had

showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed

that the young man was sitting quietly in the corner all

alone. The coach came to him and said, “Kid, I can’t

believe it. You were fantastic!”

Tell me what got into you? How did you do it? He

looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said,

“Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my

dad was blind?” The young man swallowed hard and

forced a smile, “Dad came to all my games, but today

was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to

show him I could do it!”

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared; he sat and watched the

butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed

to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no

farther.

Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors

and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then

emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any

moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the

body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling

around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What this man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the

restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get

through the tiny opening were nature's way of forcing fluid from the body

of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it

achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If nature allowed us to go

through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong

as what we could have been. And we could never fly...

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to

see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers

came by and simply walked around it.

Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting

the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On

approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side

of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his

load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.

The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the

king indicating that the gold was for the person who

removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant

learned what many others never understand.

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to

improve one’s condition.

A Wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the

shepherd and his dogs. But one day it found the skin of a sheep that had been

flayed and thrown aside, so it put it on over its own pelt and strolled down

among the sheep. The Lamb that belonged to the sheep, whose skin the Wolf

was wearing, began to follow the Wolf in the Sheep’s clothing; so, leading the

Lamb a little apart, he soon made a meal off her, and for some time he

succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoying hearty meals.

Appearances are deceptive.

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped

off the train in Boston and walk timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University

President’s outer office.

The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at

Harvard and probably didn’t even deserve to be in Cambridge.

“We want to see the president,” the man said softly.

“He’ll be busy all day,” the secretary snapped.

“We’ll wait,” the lady replied.

For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged

and go away. They didn’t and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the

president, even though it was a chore she always regretted.

“Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they’ll leave,” she said to him.

He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn’t have the time

to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer

office.

The president, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.

The lady told him, “We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was

happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a

memorial to him, somewhere on campus.”

The president wasn’t touched.... He was shocked.

“Madam,” he said, gruffly, “we can’t put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and

died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery.”

“Oh, no,” the lady explained quickly. “We don’t want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to

give a building to Harvard.”

The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, and then

exclaimed, “A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over

seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard.”

For a moment the lady was silent.

The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now.

The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, “Is that all it

costs to start a university? Why don’t we just start our own?”

Her husband nodded.

The president’s face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. Mr.

and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to

Palo Alto, California where they established the University that

bears their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a son that

Harvard no longer cared about.

You can easily judge the character of others by how

they treat those who they think can do nothing.

A son and his father were walking on the mountains.

Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: “AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!”

To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: “AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Curious, he yells: “Who are you?”

He receives the answer: “Who are you?”

And then he screams to the mountain: “I admire you!”

The voice answers: “I admire you!”

Angered at the response, he screams: “Coward!”

He receives the answer: “Coward!”

He looks to his father and asks: “What’s going on?”

The father smiles and says: “My son, pay attention.”

Again the man screams: “You are a champion!”

The voice answers: “You are a champion!”

The boy is surprised, but does not understand.

Then the father explains: “People call this ECHO,

but really this is LIFE.”

It gives you back everything you say or do.

Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.

If you want more love in the world,

create more love in your heart.

If you want more competence in your team,

improve your competence.

This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life;

Life will give you back everything you have given to it.”

“Your life is not a coincidence. It’s a reflection of you!”

A group of frogs were hopping contentedly through the woods, going about their froggy business,

when two of them fell into a deep pit. All of the other frogs gathered around the pit to see what

could be done to help their companions. When they saw how deep the pit was, the rest of the

dismayed group agreed that it was hopeless and told the two frogs in the pit that they should

prepare themselves for their fate, because they were as good as dead.

Unwilling to accept this terrible fate, the two frogs began to jump with all of their might. Some of

the frogs shouted into the pit that it was hopeless, and that the two frogs wouldn’t be in that

situation if they had been more careful, more obedient to the froggy rules, and more responsible.

The other frogs continued sorrowfully shouting that they should save their energy and give up,

since they were already as good as dead. The two frogs continued jumping as hard as they could,

and after several hours of desperate effort were quite weary.

Finally, one of the frogs took heed to the calls of his fellows. Spent and disheartened, he quietly

resolved himself to his fate, lay down at the bottom of the pit, and died as the others looked on in

helpless grief. The other frog continued to jump with every ounce of energy he had, although his

body was wracked with pain and he was completely exhausted.

His companions began a new, yelling for him to accept his fate, stop the pain and just die.

The weary frog jumped harder and harder and - wonder of wonders! Finally leapt so high that he

sprang from the pit. Amazed, the other frogs celebrated his

miraculous freedom and then gathering around him asked,

“Why did you continue jumping when we told you it was

impossible?” Reading their lips, the astonished frog

explained to them that he was deaf, and that when he saw

their gestures and shouting, he thought they were cheering

him on. What he had perceived as encouragement inspired

him to try harder and to succeed against all odds.

This simple story contains a powerful lesson. Your encouraging words can lift someone up and help

him or her make it through the day. Your destructive words can cause deep wounds; they may be

the weapons that destroy someone’s desire to continue trying - or even their life. Your destructive,

careless word can diminish someone in the eyes of others, destroy their influence and have a lasting

impact on the way others respond to them.

WEAKNESS OR STRENGTH?

Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take, for example, the story of

one 10-year-old boy who decided to study Judo despite the fact that he

had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese Judo Master Sensei.

The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three

months of training the master had taught him only one move.

“Sensei,” the boy finally said, “Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?”

“This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,”

the Sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the Sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy

easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time,

his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match.

Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared

to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out.

He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.

“No,” the Sensei insisted, “Let him continue.”

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard.

Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament.

He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and Sensei reviewed every move in each and every match.

Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

“Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”

“You won for two reasons,” the Sensei answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most

difficult throws in all of Judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your

opponent to grab your left arm.”

The boy’s biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and the Lord

told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin.

The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. So, this the man

did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to

sun down; his shoulders set squarely against the cold,

massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all of

his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and

worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary

(Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into

the weary mind: “you have been pushing against that rock for

a long time, and it hasn’t moved.” Thus, giving the man the

impression that the task was impossible and that he was a

failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the

man. Satan said, “Why kill yourself over this?”

“Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough.”

That’s what he planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled

thoughts to the Lord. “Lord,” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my

strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock

by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

The Lord responded compassionately, “My Servant, when I asked you to serve Me and you

accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you

have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push.

And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really

so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands

are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard.

Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to

have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to

exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. Now I, my servant, will move the

rock.” At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what

He wants, when actually what God wants is just a simple obedience and faith in Him. By all means,

exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves mountains.

When everything seems to go wrong just P.U.S.H!

When the job gets you down just P.U.S.H!

When people don’t react the way you think they should just P.U.S.H!

When your money is “gone” and the bills are due just P.U.S.H!

When people just don’t understand you just P.U.S.H!

P + U + S + H = Pray + Until + Something + Happens

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular

bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the

world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not

be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the

time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with

someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington,

an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be

accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration,

and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their

dream bridge.

The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site

took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain

damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.

“We told them so.”

“Crazy men and their crazy dreams.”

“It’s foolish to chase wild visions.”

Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the

Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap

Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his

mind was still as sharp as ever.

He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted

by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the

windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and

the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.

It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could

do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly

developed a code of communication with his wife.

He touched his wife’s arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the

engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do.

It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.

For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm, until the

bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a

tribute to the triumph of one man’s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by

circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man

who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and

devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told

the engineers what to do.

Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible

physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.

Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to

what many others have to face.

The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that

dreams that seem impossible can be

realized with determination and

persistence, no matter what the

odds are.

Even the most distant dream

can be realized with

determination and persistence.

Once upon a time there was a water-bearer in India

who had two large pots, each hung on each end of a

pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots

had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect

and always delivered a full portion of water at the end

of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house,

the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer

delivering only one and a half pot full of water in his

master’s house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its

accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was

made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own

imperfection, and miserable that it was able to

accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water-bearer one day by

the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.” “Why?” asked the bearer.

“What are you ashamed of ?”

“I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my

side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have

to do all of this work and you don’t get full value from your efforts, the pot said. The water-bearer

felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the master’s

house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful

wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.

But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it

apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path,

but not on the other pot’s side?

That’s because have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower

seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered

them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table.

Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that

make our lives together so very interesting and warding. You’ve just got to take each

person for what they are and look for the good in them.

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair and his beard cut

as always. He started to have a good conversation with the

barber who attended him. They talked about so many things on

various subjects.

Suddenly, they touched the subject of God. The barber said:

“Look man, I don’t believe that God exists as you say so.”

“Why do you say that?”

Asked the client. Well, it’s so easy; you just have to go out in

the street to realize that God does not exist. Oh, tell me, if God

existed, would there be so many sick people? Would there be

abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither

suffering nor pain. “I can’t think of a God who permits all of

these things.” The client stopped for a moment thinking but he

didn’t want to respond so as to prevent an argument.

The barber finished his job and the client went out of the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with a long hair and beard (it seems

that it had been a long time since he had his cut and he looked so untidy). Then the client again

entered the barbershop and he said to the barber: “know what? Barbers do not exist.”

“How come they don’t exist?” asked the barber. “Well I am here and I am a barber.” “No!” - the

client exclaimed. “They don’t exist because if they did there would be no people with long hair and

beard like that man who walks in the street.”

“Ah, barbers do exist, what happens is that people do not come to us.” “Exactly!” - Affirmed the

client. “That’s the point. God does exist, what happens is people don’t go to Him and do not look

for Him that’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”

Shaykh Fath al-Mowsily relates, once I saw a young boy walking through the jungle. It appeared as

if he was uttering some words. I greeted him with Salaam and he replied accordingly. I inquired,

“Where are you going?” He retorted, “To the house of Allah

(Makkah).” I further asked, “What are you reciting?”

“The Qur’an” he replied. I remarked, “You are at a tender

age, it is not an obligation that you are required to fulfill.”

He said, “I have witnessed death approach people younger

than me and therefore would like to prepare if death was to

knock on my door.” I astoundingly commented, “Your steps

are small and your destination far.” He responded, “My duty

is to take the step and it remains the responsibility of Allah

to take me to my destination.” I continued to ask, “Where is

your provision and conveyance (means of transport).”

He replied, “My Yaqeen (belief) is my provision and