What have we prepared for it?

This is a topic that many of us choose to ignore... maybe its because we do not want to face up to the fact that all the pleasures and temporary enjoyments and dealings of this world are sure to come to an end sooner than we may expect or plan! The important thing to remember is that the only guarantee we have in life is that we will for sure die and meet our Lord and we will be made to answer for every word we have spoken every action we have done or not done! This time could come sooner than we think... we have evidence of it all around us every second of the day with babies, children, teenagers, young and old even those still in their mothers wombs dying yet with all of this we do not take heed we do not learn! Read the story and ponder and think on what direction you yourself are going on and remember its not too late yet to make a change, improvments but when the time comes when you take yoru last breath thats when your time literally has run out!


Her cheeks were worn and sunken, and her skin hugged her bones. That didn't stop her because you could never catch her not reciting Qur'an. She was always vigil in her personal prayer room that our father had set up for her. Bowing, prostrating, raising her hands in prayer, was the way she was from dawn to sunset and back again; boredom was for other people.
As for me, I craved nothing more than fashion magazines and novels. I treated myself to videos until the trips to the rental place became my trademark. It’s a saying that when something becomes habit, people tend to distinguish you by it. I was negligent in my responsibilities and my salah was characterized by laziness.
One night, after a long three hours of watching, I turned the video off. The adhan rose softly in the quiet night. I slipped peacefully into my blanket.
Her voice called me from her prayer room.
"Yes? Would you like anything Noorah?" I asked.
With a sharp needle she popped my plans.
"Don't sleep before you pray Fajr!"
Agghh! “There's still an hour before Fajr. That was only the first adhan,” I said.
With those loving pinches of hers, she called me closer. She was like that even before the fierce sickness shook her spirit and shut her in bed.
"Hanan, can you come sit beside me."
I could never refuse any of her requests; you could touch the purity and sincerity in her. "Yes, Noorah?"
"Please sit here."
"Alright, I’m sitting. What's on your mind?"
With the sweetest mono voice she began reciting:
Every soul shall taste death and you will merely be repaid your earnings on the Day of Resurrection.
She stopped thoughtfully. Then she asked, "Do you believe in death?"
"Of course I do,” I replied.
"Do you believe that you shall be responsible for whatever you do, regardless of how small or large?"
"I do, but Allah is Forgiving and Merciful, and I’ve got a long life waiting for me."
"Stop it Hanan! Are you not afraid of death and its abruptness? Take a look at Hind. She was younger than you but she died in a car accident. Death is age-blind and your age could never be a measure of when you shall die."
The darkness of the room filled my skin with fear. "I'm scared of the dark and now you made me scared of death. How am I supposed to go to sleep now? Noorah, I thought you promised you'd go with us on vacation during the summer break."
Her voice broke and her heart quivered.
"I might be going on a long trip this year Hanan, but somewhere else. All of our lives are in Allah’s hands and we all belong to Him."
My eyes welled and the tears slipped down both cheeks. I pondered my sisters grizzly sickness. The doctors had informed my father in private that there was not much hope Noorah was going to outlive the disease. She wasn't told, so I wondered who hinted to her. Or was it that she could sense the truth?
"What are you thinking about Hanan?" Her voice was sharp. "Do you think I am just saying this because I am sick? I hope not. In fact, I may live longer than people who are not sick. How long are you going to live Hanan? Perhaps twenty years? Maybe forty? Then what?" Through the dark she reached for my hand and squeezed gently. "There's no difference between us; we're all going to leave this world to live in Paradise or agonize in Hell. Listen to the words of Allah:
Anyone who is pushed away from the Fire and shown into Jannah will have triumphed.
I left my sister's room dazed, her words ringing in my ears:
“May Allah guide you Hanan - don't forget your prayer.”
I heard pounding on my door at eight o'clock in the morning. I don't usually wake up at this time. There was crying and confusion. O Allah, what happened?
Noorah’s condition became critical after Fajr; they took her to the hospital immediately.
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon.
There wasn't going to be any trips this summer. It was written that I would spend the summer at home.
It felt like an eternity had gone by when it was one o'clock in the afternoon. Mother phoned the hospital.
"Yes. You can come and see her now." Dad's voice had changed, and mother could sense something had gone deathly wrong. We left immediately.
Where was that avenue I used to travel and thought was so short? Why was it so very long now? Where was the cherished crowd and traffic that would give me a chance to gaze left and right? Everyone, just move out of our way!
Mother was shaking her head in her hands crying as she made du'a for her Noorah. We arrived at the hospital’s main entrance. One man was moaning, while another was involved in an accident. A third man’s eyes were iced. You couldn’t tell if he was dead or alive.
Noorah was in intensive care. We skipped stairs to her floor. The nurse approached us. "Let me take you to her."
As we walked down the aisles the nurse went on expressing how sweet of a girl Noorah was. She somewhat reassured Mother that Noorah’s condition had gotten better than what it was in the morning. "Sorry. No more than one visitor at a time,” the nurse said.
This was the intensive care unit. Past the flurry white robes, through the small window in the door, I caught my sister’s eyes. Mother was standing beside her. After about two minutes, mother came out unable to control her crying. "You may enter and say salaam to her on the condition that you do not speak too long," they told me. "Two minutes should be enough."
"How are you Noorah? You were fine last night sister, what happened?"
We held hands; she squeezed harmlessly. "Even now, alhamdulillah, I'm doing fine."
"Alhamdulillah...but...your hands are so cold."
I sat on her bedside and rested my fingers on her knee. She jerked it away. "Sorry, did I hurt you?"
"No, it is just that I remembered Allah's words.”
Waltafatul saaqu bil saaq (One leg will be wrapped to the other leg [in the death shroud]).
"Hanan pray for me. I may be meeting the first day of the Hereafter very soon. It’s a long journey and I haven't prepared enough good deeds in my suitcase."
A tear escaped my eye and ran down my cheek at her words. I cried and she joined me. The room blurred away and left us two sisters to cry together. Rivulets of tears splashed down on my sister’s palm, which I held with both hands. Dad was now becoming more worried about me. I've never cried like that before.
At home and upstairs in my room, I watched the sun pass away with a sorrowful day. Silence mingled in our corridors. One after another, my cousins came in my room. The visitors were many and all the voices from downstairs stirred together. Only one thing was clear at that point – Noorah had died!
I stopped distinguishing who came and who went. I couldn't remember what they said. O Allah, where was I? What was going on? I couldn't even cry anymore.
Later that week they told me what had happened. Dad had taken my hand to say goodbye to my sister for the last time. I had kissed Noorah's head.
I remember only one thing while seeing her spread on that bed – the bed that she was going to die on. I remembered the verse she recited:
One leg will be wrapped to the other leg (in the death shroud).
And I knew too well the truth of the next verse:
The drive on that day will be to your Lord (Allah)!
I tiptoed into her prayer room that night. Staring at the quiet dressers and silenced mirrors, I treasured the person that had shared my mother's stomach with me. Noorah was my twin sister.
I remembered who I had swapped sorrows with, who comforted my rainy days. I remembered who prayed for my guidance and who spent so many tears for many long nights telling me about death and accountability. May Allah save us all.
Tonight is Noorah's first night that she shall spend in her tomb. O Allah, have mercy on her and illumine her grave. This was her Qur'an and her prayer mat. And this was the spring, rose-colored dress that she told me she would hide until she got married; the dress she wanted to keep just for her husband.
I remembered my sister and cried over all the days that I had lost. I prayed to Allah to have mercy on me, accept me and forgive me. I prayed to Allah to keep her firm in her grave as she always liked to mention in her supplications.
At that moment, I stopped. I asked myself what if it was I who had died. Where would I be moving on to? Fear pressed me and the tears began all over again.
“Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar…” The first adhan rose softly from the masjid. It sounded so beautiful this time. I felt calm and relaxed as I repeated the mu’adhin’s call. I wrapped the shawl around my shoulders and stood to pray Fajr. I prayed as if it was my last prayer, a farewell prayer, just like Noorah had done yesterday. It had been her last Fajr.
Now, and in sha Allah for the rest of my life, if I awake in the morning I do not count on being alive by evening, and in the evening I do not count on being alive by morning. We are all going on Noorah's journey. What have we prepared for it?

A trip to the Country!

Yet again another thought provoking story! Enjoy!


One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country ...
... with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people can be. 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."

No Charge for Love!

This story is so heart warming it bought tears to my eyes... Waranga the little boy in the story is called Khalifa just for you.... enjoy! Its good to remember when purchasing something let us not always think what we will gain from it but rather how we can help or be of benefit to others!

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell.
He painted a sign advertising for 4 pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of little boy called Khalifah.
"Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."
"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."
The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. "I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?"
"Sure," said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle. "Here, Dolly!" he called. Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran
Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight.
As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse.. Slowly another little ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up....
"I want that one," little Khalifah said, pointing to the runt. The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would."
With that little Khalifah stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands."
With tears in his eyes, farmer reached down and picked up the little pup. Holding it carefully handed it to the little boy.
"How much?" asked the little Khalifah.
"No charge," answered the farmer, "There's no charge for love".

The Donkey!

Nice story with a good lesson to be learnt!

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.Finally he decided that since the animal was old, it wasn't worth retrieving it.

He invited neighbors to come over and help him just fill in the hole. They all
grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realised
what was happening it cried even more.
Then, to everyone's amazement he went quiet.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished.
With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey would shake it off and take
a step up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel, he stepped up further.
Eventually the donkey stepped out of the well and trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and step out. Each of our troubles is a stepping-stoneand we can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping--never giving up! Shake it off and take that step up.
Remember the five simple rules to being happy:
Free your heart from hatred.
Forgive.Free your mind from worries - most never happen.
Live simply and appreciate what you have.
Give more.
Expect less.

The Finger Prayer!

I recevived this by email from a lovely friend of mine and thought it was quite nice so I felt like sharing it with anyone who happens to stroll across this blog! Please remember me in your duas!

The 5 finger prayer

1. Your thumb is nearest to you.
So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. Pray for your loved ones – family, friends – and pray for those that have gone before us. Ask Allah to guide your family and loved ones onto the straight path and pray for their forgiveness.

2. The next finger is the pointing finger.
Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. Pray for the Shaykhs and Ulama around the world – they need the support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers and ask Allah to guide you on the straight path.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger.
This reminds us of our leaders. These are the people who have made Islam what it is. Pray for blessings upon our beloved Prophet Sallalahu alayhi wa salam, His Companions and His Family. Pray for the Caliphs of then and now. These people shape our nations and guide public opinion. They need Allahs guidance.

4. The fourth finger is the ring finger.
This is the weakest finger on the hand. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them. Pray for all our brothers and sisters around the world and keep a special part of your Dua for the orphans worldwide. May Allah protect them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger, the smallest finger of all.
This is where we should place ourselves in relation to Allah and others. This little finger should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for everyone else, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

When you look at the palm of your hand, you see your fingers coming out… think of your palm as the Ummah, don't forget the Ummah in your Dua's and pray for Jannah for all. Pray for the forgiveness of all the ummah. Our Lord is Most Forgiving Most Merciful.

Be Gentle With Others part 2!

Well as promised I said Id blog about my own example of being gentle with others so here goes...
I work in an Islamic Book Shop and out side on our shop window for a time we had some notices up saying how we should work for peace and that our bookshop was open for all etc!

Anyways one day a rather angry lady came in and barged up to my counter accusingly saying to me....'Id just like to say one thing to you... you have notices up raving on about peace and how muslims are peaceful people then how come your trying to ban christmas thats awful, its terrible I dont try and ban your festivals so how can you really be peaceful and how can your religion really be such a peacful religion???'

I remember thinking a few things...'errrm woah there calm down, I didnt try and ban christmas and Islam is peaceful'. But I took a few seconds and looked at this lady who looked very distressed and thought to myself now shouting back saying... What are you on about I didnt ban anything and yes Islam is peaceful was not going to get us anywhere so instead I calmy said... 'Ban Christmas who wants to ban christmas?' She replied... 'All Muslims do its in the paper I just read its and I think thats just awful how rude and mean is that' I said to her... 'Do you have this Newspaper? I can understand why your so upset as thats not a nice thing for anyone to do'. Suddenly she stopped and looked at me and I rememeber her head going slightly back as if she needed a to focus her glance on me. She then said she would go and get the paper and bring it to me. A few moments later she returned.... Showing me the Newspaper where there was an article of how some Muslims wanted to ban christmas celebrations etc. I looked at her and said... 'Im sorry but I dont want to ban christmas and I can understand how awful you must feel as if people tried to ban me celebrating Eid which is the Islamic festival I too would be very upset!' I then went on and said 'As Muslims we should not be banning any festival here anyway'. She was so taken aback with my response and said 'So you dont agree with this?' I said 'No I dont agree with it'. She then thanked me and said 'Im so happy you understand and I wish you all the best' She asked me my name and then said she would pop in and visit every time she went by. How her attitude had changed from an angry, accusing woman from when she first entered to a calm, polite, happy and friendly soul when she left.

What really touched me though was a week or 2 before the following Eid she came in and said to me 'Oh Im so glad I found you here you do remember me dont you? I just wanted to wish you a happy Eid in advance incase I dont come in next week' Allahu Akbar! Now from being angry about her festival being attacked she was now coming to wish me a happy Eid!

Then again Hajj was coming up and she was passing by and she came in and said 'Its your pligramage soon isnt it? Are you going?' I replied... 'No but I wish I could' she then smiled and said to me 'Insha'Allah you will go, I pray that you do go soon'. Again I was so shocked by her change of attitude. I remember thinking to myself and still do... I wonder if id handled it differently and been equally as angry back how things would be with this lady now?

I also make dua for Allah to open her heart to Islam ameen!

So everyone please be gentle with others even when they are mean ,rude, nasty to you stop and try and think what has made them behave like this and as a Muslim I need to respond in this best possible way. By the way please dont think im so wonderful all the time... so please remember to make dua for me to for Allah to increase me in patience and allow me to be gentle with others ameen!

Be Gentle with others!

This is yet again another lovely story from the time of the prophet (saw)! It holds a great lesson in it for us! Many of us today are quick to scold others for mistakes they make without thinking, without using wisdom and without having patience! Doing so rather than helping them correct themselves we just push them further away and make them feel, upset, angry and even resentful to the harsh advice we hae offered them! Sometimes we need to sit back and listen to them even if it sounds rude and impolite and then take the time to think 'what could have made them behave in this way'. Even if we cant think why... deal with them with patience no matter how hard or how wrong they may seem or how unfairly treated you may feel! I have my own example to share with you which I shall do so in a new post as this post is for you to learn from the best of teachers Muhammad ibn Abdallah the final Messenger and Prophet of Allah (saw)!

So read and on and please think of the lessons to be learnt and insha'Allah use them in future! My won story shall follow in a post or 2!


A Bedouin came to RasulAllah sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam and told him,
“Give me from what Allah gave you, not from the wealth of your mother nor from the wealth of your father.”

The Sahaabaa were furious at the man and stepped forward to discipline him for what he said.

RasulAllah sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam commanded everyone to leave him.
Then by the hand, RasulAllah sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam took the Bedouin home, opened his door and said,

“Take what you wish and leave what you wish.”
The man did so and after he was done, RasulAllah sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam asked him,

“Have I honored you?”
“Yes, by Allah,” said the Bedouin. “Ash hadu an laa ilaaha illAllah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadar RasulAllah.”

When the Sahaabaa heard of how the man changed, RasulAllah sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam taught them:
“Verily, the example of myself, you, and this Bedouin is that of a man who had his camel run away. The townspeople tried capturing the camel for him by running and shouting after the camel, only driving it further away. The man shouted, ‘Leave me and my camel; I know my camel better.’ Then he took some grass in his hand, ruffled it in front of the camel, until it came willingly. By Allah, had I left you to this Bedouin, you would have hit him, hurt him and he would have left without Islam and eventually have entered Hellfire.”

The Power of Non Violence!

This a really nice powerful story with good morals! For those of you who may have heard it before it will be a nice reminder and for all your first timers it will be a great lesson insha'Allah!


Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K.Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, in his June 9 lecture at the>University of Puerto Rico, shared the following story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban, South Africa, in the middle of the sugarplantations. We were deep in the country and had no neighbors, so my two sisters and I would always look forward to going to town to visit friends or go to the movies. One day, my father asked me to drive him to town for an all-day conference, and I jumped at the chance. Since I was going to town, my mother gave me a list of groceries she needed and, since I had all day in town, my father asked me to take care of several pending chores, such as getting the car serviced. When I dropped my father off that morning, he said, "I will meet you here at 5:00 p.m., and we will go home together." After hurriedly completing my chores, I went straight to the nearest movie theatre. I got so engrossed in a John Wayne double-feature that I forgot the time. It was 5:30 before I remembered. By the time I ran to the garage and got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting for me, it was almost 6:00. He anxiously asked me, "Why were you late?"
I was so ashamed of telling him I was watching a John Wayne western movie that I said, "The car wasn't ready, so I had to wait," not realizing that he had already called the garage.

When he caught me in the lie, he said: "There's something wrong in the way I brought you up that didn't give you the confidence to tell me the truth. In order to figure out
where I went wrong with you, I'm going to walk home 18 miles and think about it." So, dressed in his suit and dress shoes, he began to walk home in the dark on mostly unpaved, unlit roads.

I couldn't leave him, so for five-and-a-half hours I drove behind him, watching my father go through this agony for a stupid lie that I uttered. I decided then and there that I was never going to lie again. I often think about that episode and wonder, if he had punished me the way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all. I don't think so. I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing the same thing. But this single non-violent action was so powerful that it is still as if it happened yesterday.

That is the power of non violence!

The Story of an African King and His Friend!

The Story of an African King and His Friend

A story is told about a King in Africa who had a close friend that he grew up with. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) by remarking,
"This is good, Allah Almighty knows best"
One day the King and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the King. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the King fired it and his thumb was blown off.Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual,
"This is good! Allah Almighty knows best."
To which the King replied,
"No, this is NOT good!" and ordered his soldiers to put his friend into jail. About a year later, the King was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured the King and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake.As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the King was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So after untying the King, they chased him out of the village.When the King reached his Palace, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend.
"You were right" the King said, "It was good that my thumb was blown off."
And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened.
"I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this.
"No," his friend replied, "this is good…Allah Almighty knows best""What do you mean, `this is good'! How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"
The King's friend replied:
"Remember that the Almighty knows best and if I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you on that hunting trip."

"He knows what is before them and what is behind them: And to Allah go back all questions (for decision)"Qur'an: Surah Al Hajj 22:76

Do Not Judge Things or Events by its Immediate Outcome!Although the decisions of Allah Ta'alah may seem harsh to us, they are full of wisdom.

What goes around come around!

He almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road. But even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her. Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so ... was he going to hurt her ? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you. He said,
"I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm ? By the way, my name is Khalifa."
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Khalifa crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from Babylon and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid. Khalifa just smiled as he closed her trunk.. She asked him how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.
Khalifa never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Khalifa added, "And pray for me."
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight. A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The cash register was like the telephone of an out-of-work actor - it didn't ring much. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Khalifa. After the lady finished her meal, and the waitress went to get change for her hundred dinar bill, the lady slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin under which were four hundred dinar bills. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote:
"You don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you."
Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard. She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low,
"Everything is going to be all right. I love you, Khalifa."
Holy Quran says: "But he who gives to others more out of his own will then it is better for his own self..." (2:184) There is an old saying "What goes around comes around."

2 Wolves

In a story from Native American folklore, a grandfather explains to his young grandson the inner struggle between good and evil.

"A battle goes on inside us all," the grandfather begins. "It is a battle between two wolves. One wolf is the embodiment of everything evil, like hate, anger, jealousy, resentment, greed, arrogance, lying, and selfishness. The other wolf is the embodiment of everything good, like love, joy, peace, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, compassion, truth, and faith."

The grandson thinks about those words and then asks, "Which wolf wins?"

The grandfather replies, "The one you feed."

Mohammadu Maccido

Salaam all,
I knew this wonderful man personally since before I was born meaning he was a close family friend to my family before I was born. He was one of the most gentlest, kindest, loving and peacful persons I had ever come across! I ask Allah to have mercy upon him and his family ameen. Please all make dua for him!


Muslim leader killed in crash was voice of calm in Nigeria


SOKOTO, Nigeria (AP) -- Mohammadu Maccido, the spiritual leader to tens of millions of Nigerian Muslims, was an important voice of moderation and calm in Africa's most-populous nation.
Maccido, the 19th sultan of Sokoto, was among 96 people killed Sunday when a Nigerian ADC airliner crashed shortly after takeoff in the capital, Abuja. Thousands of people trooped to Maccido's palace in the northwestern city of Sokoto, where his body was buried Sunday. He was 58.
President Olusegun Obasanjo, a Christian, was among those mourning the spiritual leader. "He lived for peace, worked for peace and died for peace," Obasanjo said.
Nigeria's 130 million people are roughly split between a predominantly Muslim north and Christian or animist south.
The sultan approves dates for the start and end of Muslim fasts and speaks on issues of religious policy in Nigeria, which gained independence from Britain in 1960.
Maccido was a direct descendant of the Islamic scholar Uthman Dan Fodio, who founded the Sokoto Caliphate that became one the largest pre-colonial states in Africa. Dan Fodio launched a campaign from Sokoto in 1804 that spread Islam across much of the northern half of Nigeria and parts of neighboring Niger, Cameroon and Benin.
Under colonial rule, the British worked as allies with the sultans, who have retained religious and political influence over Nigerian Muslims, who number at least 65 million.
The sultanate council usually meets within days to select a successor from among Dan Fodio's descendants, palace officials said, but no date has been set in this case. The choice will have to be approved by the elected governor of Sokoto state, Attahiru Bafarawa.
The new leader will emerge from the same tradition-bound and tightly knit class as the last, and is likely to be similar to Maccido in outlook. Because the new sultan will be a descendant of Dan Fodio, he will likely command the respect and influence wielded by Maccido.
Maccido often spoke in favor of peace in Nigeria, even as the country witnessed some of its worst bouts of sectarian violence.
Thousands were killed as the imposition of strict Islamic law by 12 predominantly Islamic states in the north increased friction with Christians and other non-Muslims. Through the tensions, which flared with the end of strict military rule in 1999, Maccido urged peace among all religious groups.
When immunization of children against polio was boycotted by large numbers in northern Nigeria in 2003 over baseless allegations by radical Muslim preachers that it was a ploy to sterilize people and spread AIDS, Maccido came out in support of the vaccine.
Vaccination programs resumed in 2004, but the boycott set back global eradication efforts, causing a polio outbreak that spread the disease across Africa and into the Middle East.
Maccido's official titles included leader of the faithful and head of the National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. He became the sultan in 1996, after his predecessor, Ibrahim Dasuki, was deposed by the then-military ruler Gen. Sani Abacha.
Maccido is survived by one wife -- one of three he married -- and many children. One of his sons, Mohammed, and a grandson also died in the crash.