Touching Stories

Stay Sharp !

Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant, and he got it. The pay was really good and so were the work conditions. For that reason,the woodcutter was determined to do his best.

His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work. The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees.

"Congratulations," the boss said. "Go on that way!" Very motivated for the boss' words, the woodcutter try harder the next day,but he only could bring 15 trees. The third day he try even harder, but he only could bring 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees.

"I must be losing my strength", the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.

"When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" the boss asked. "Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees."

Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don't take time to sharpen the axe." In today's world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less happy than ever. Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay sharp?

There's nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But God doesn't want us to get so busy that we neglect the truly important things in life, like taking time to pray, to read. We all need time to relax, to think and meditate, to learn and grow.

If we don't take time to sharpen the axe, we will become dull and lose our effectiveness. So start today. Think about the ways by which you could do your job more effectively and add a lot of value to it.

I warmly greeted him and I was keen to know him. Until one day after Al-‘Asr (noon prayer), I stood chatting with a colleague outside the mosque while he was coming. He greeted him and they seemed to know each other; they were schoolmates. We all engaged in the conversation and I invited them to visit me in my house. They agreed to come the next day after Al-‘Asr.

I asked my friend about him, he told me that he was a good character. I wondered why he did not come to the mosque for days although he was living next door. My friend told me that this guy had some bad companions in work and when one of them called him, he did not come to the mosque or attend the prayers and his travels increased.

I prayed to Allah to make me a cause in his guidance and keep him away from his bad companions. I agreed with my friends to try to be his new friends and to go out with him as much as possible in order to keep him back from the bad companionship. The man loved us and our intimacy increased. Our friendship lasted for a long time; we used to go out together in the weekends without any previous plans. I have even frequently canceled a lot of my family’s dates for his sake, as to be a cause in the guidance of one man is better than the whole world.

The time passed and I had to move to a new house on the outskirts of the town. I could not call him for a while, as I did not have a phone there so we were separated for some time. Whenever I tried to call him in his house from any place, the answer was always, “he is not here”. I was informed later that he had returned to his bad companions, he deviated from Allah’s path and went astray after he had tasted the sweet taste of faith. He ignored his family and returned back to his bad behavior; leaving the congregational prayers, recitation of Qur’an, valuable books and good company. He listened to songs and he totally fell behind.

I repented his state and prayed to Allah for both of us. I have even asked some of the brothers to return back and go out with him, but after some time a received a sad call from a friend telling me that the guy was dead. I could not help but saying, “To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return”.

I wanted to know what has happened to him as I have tried to contact him many times but I failed to find him. My friend told me that he has traveled to the East of Asia with his bad companions and he has taken an over dose! “Over dose of what?” I asked. “Of DRUGS”, he replied. “ He died there and was put in a bier on the returned flight with a report stating the cause of his death”, he added.

I was filled with grief for his bad sad end and I realized that hearts are between the fingers of Allah, the most Merciful, He changes it as He likes. The man was not sincere in his repentance (tuba) so he could not proceed, he has even returned to his previous state. “ To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return”.

I raise my hands to the sky and supplicate from my entire heart saying: (Oh Allah, the Changer of hearts, makes my heart steadfast to Your religion).

Quoted from “Al-Zamn Al-Kadem” (The next period) written by Abd Al-Malik Al-Kasem (amended).

Have you seen dear brothers how the man may leave the right path after he tasted the sweet taste of faith and felt the love of Allah Almighty Who is true when He says, “And keep thy soul content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His face; and let not thine eyes pass beyond them, seeking the pomp and glitter of this Life; nor obey any whose heart We have permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us, one who follows his own desires, whose case has gone beyond all bounds”.(Al-Kahf: 28).

He reverted to Islam then died !

A man used to live in Saudi Arabia originally from India was a Siekh, and a Muslim Shaik ( Muhammad Farrag ) used to invite him a lot to Islam. He neither refused nor accepted the idea because of his family.

Then one day Allah opened his heart to Islam, he came to the shaik in his mosque to embrace Islam. The shaik was busy with his students and some Du’ah (Muslim missioners who invite people to the worship of Allah).

Sheik Muhammad did not know that the man wanted to enter in Islam so he did not give him any attention and he left the mosque with his students.

The man, who wanted to enter in Allah’s religion, remained standing at the door of the mosque watching the shaik and his students riding their cars and moving away. On that sight he could not prevent himself from crying and burst into tears. While he was standing weeping at the door of the mosque, a young man who lived in the same quarter passed by him.

He asked him about the reason of his crying and the Indian replied that he wanted to be a Muslim.

The young man (May Allah rewards him the best) took him to his house. He made him perform abulution (wudoo) and say the two testimonies (No god but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger). The Indian left after he said the testimony and it was about the dusk prayer (Al-Maghrib). Then he went to his room and suffered from a severe stomachache.

The young man came to shaik Muhammad and told him the whole story. The shaik repented what he had done though he was ignorant of the matter. He went to the Indian’s room, but his colleagues told him that he had died last night and he was then in the fridge of the Central Hospital. The shaik went with some Du’ah to the hospital to receive his corpse, but the hospital refused stating that the embassy had sent to his family in India and they would receive his corpse to be burnt there. The sheik objected saying that the man became a Muslim and there were witnesses on that, but still the hospital refused.

Sheik Muhammad went to Shaik Abd Al-Aziz Bin Baz (May Allah rest his soul and have mercy upon him) and told him the whole story. Shaik Abd Al-Aziz said that the Indian should not be given to his family as he became their brother in Islam; they should pray on his corpse and bury him there. He should not be given to the unbelievers. Sheik Abd Al-Aziz sent a copy of the subject to the emirate and requested an order to give the corpse to sheik Muhammad Farrag.

The emirate ordered the hospital to give the corpse to Shaik Muhammad and he received it. Some Du’ah washed the man and put him in his coffin. The funeral prayer coincided with Al-Goma’ah (the congregational prayer). Shaik Muhammad gave a wonderful oration on the one who embraced Islam then died without making one prostration to Allah. He stated in the first oration some similar examples from history, then he stated in the second one the story of the Indian man upon whom they would pray after Al-Goma’ah. The Muslims pray upon him, then they carried him upon their shoulders and they all went to the graveyard led by a lot of Du’ah and scholars.
It was a moving scene, May Allah accept (his deeds) and have mercy upon him.
Written by meteor at clouds site.

On the Authority of ‘Abdullah bin Mus’ud (May Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), the true and truly inspired said, “(The matter of Creation of) a human being is put together in the womb of the mother for forty days, and then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period, and then a piece of flesh for similar period. Then Allah sends an angel who is ordered to write four things. He is ordered to write his (i.e. the new creature’s) deeds, his livelihood, his (date of) death, and whether he will be blessed or wretched (in religion). Then the soul is breathed into him. By Allah who is no God but Him, a man amongst you may do (good) deeds till there is only a cubit between him and paradise and then what has been written for him decides his behavior and he starts doing (evil) deeds characteristic of the people of the (Hell) Fire so he enters it. And similarly a man amongst you may do (evil) deeds till there is only a cubit between him and the (Hell) Fire, and then what has been written for him decides his behavior, and he starts doing deeds characteristic of the people of Paradise so he enters it.” Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.