The hands rebellion

One fine day, out of the blue, the hands suddenly decided that they were not satisfied with their lot. They compared themselves with the feet, the body parts that were most similar to themselves, and they questioned the different treatment meted out to each of them.

"Why do the feet get to do all the hard walking and we are pampered up here", the right hand questioned. "Is our strength being looked down upon? Does everyone think that we can't support the body like the feet? We want to do rough and tough jobs, we want to prove that we are just as strong as the feet"

"We want to lead like the feet!", the left hand proclaimed. "We hands are similar to the feet, what they can do, we should be able to do just as well. We too can walk and lead the body as they do"

And the list goes on with their rebellious demands to things like wanting coarse hair, demanding to enter (the smelly insides of) shoes, and refusing to hold a pen ("let the feet write for a change"). 

The other organs refused vehemently - which is understandable.  "Are you nuts!?" the brain exclaimed. "If we stood on you two, all the blood would pool in the head and suffocate me". 

"Do you want me to regurgitate all the food and acid inside me!?", the stomach disagreed. 

"Yeah, and give me reflux disease, and cause oesophageal cancer!?", the oesophagus continued.

Only the feet didn't say anything. Having the weight of the whole body lifted from them was not exactly a problem, even if they think that it will be weird switching places with the hands.

As a result of the hands rebellious and loud 'Brachio-ism' (brachio- denotes the arm) movement, the whole body had to suffer the hands' outlandish demands. The body stood on the hands.

The hand managed to support the body with some effort, and got in a few steps before fatigue set in. Despite that, they were persistent and they would have continued their misadventure if the whole body hadn't suddenly shut down.

As a result of their abnormal posture - the head being below - all the blood pooling into the brain caused a loss of consciousness. Everyone (or rather body parts/organs) was affected. The hands buckled and the body fell, comatose. Result of the hands rebellion against its nature.

Lessons:

1. Man and woman are similar, but not the same. We are equal in the eyes of Allah. The only thing differing each of us is our taqwa.

2. The one saying that there is a difference between men and women are the feminists, and the male chauvinists. Nowhere in Islam is a difference in status dogmatised.

3. The BURDEN of leadership is a B.U.R.D.E.N, not a source of pride. Men who wear it like a mantle of pride are those male chauvinists who mistreat women. And those women who view it as a pre-requisite for respect are those feminists who degrade the value and honor of women, inherently Granted to them by Allah.

4. Indeed men are given a position 'a level above women' - they are inherently given the ability and the will to lead and to protect. But then women are honored three levels above men - thrice our mother, then our father. 

5. Those who wish to be what they are not do not seek justice. They are the ones perpetrating injustice on themselves. They degrade their inherent value, they throw away their honor and seek disgrace and Divine retribution.

Playing with life and death

In the middle of a busy day at work, Hassan suddenly thought about his good friend Rahim. After work, he called up Rahim, and their other good friend Faris to plan a get together. The three of them went to university together, and although they were from different educational backgrounds, and had never stayed in the same hostel, they were the best of friends that best friends could have. Allah Brought them together with the bond of Islam. After graduating, they each went their separate ways. Hassan and Faris worked in Kuala Lumpur and often hung out together even after getting married. Rahim moved to Kelantan, and it has been a while since they last met, all three of them together. They planned to meet in Kelantan.

On the day that they were supposed to meet Rahim, Faris got a call from his cousin telling him that his uncle was sick. His uncle lives in Terengganu and his house was on the way to Rahim’s place. Hassan suggested they postpone their get together for one day, and visit Faris’ uncle before meeting up at Rahims place. It’s just one day after all they thought. Visiting Faris’ sick uncle was their responsibility as Muslims, and as blood relations.  

Hassan and Faris visited Faris’ uncle and stayed at his house for the night. They went to Kelantan early the next day. When they arrived at Rahims house, it was full of people.

With tears in her eyes, Nabilah, Rahims wife told his friends that Rahim was no longer with them. He passed away just that morning after performing the Subuh prayers.

And they thought a one day detour would make no difference.

Lessons:

1. Death can come for us at any moment.
2. We often act as though we know that this and that person will not be dying anytime soon. Unintentionally maybe, and certainly not being presumptuous, but we do tend to act so, inadvertently. We do NOT know when death will come!
3. We should always be prepared to meet death. When our time comes, there will not be a moments postponing for us to make last minute preparations.  

Quack wants to be a doctor

Quack wanted to be a doctor. He was a very smart student, and always got straight A’s in all his exams, so it was no problem for him to get into a good medical school. But the funny thing is, when he got into medical school, Quack never once passed an exam. He wouldn’t just fail the exams, he would fail them terribly and horribly. And it’s not that he wasn’t hard working, certainly not! Day and night Quack read his medical books. When his friends were still dreaming, he would wake up to read, and when they slept at night, he would continue to stay awake reading.

However, no matter how hard he tried, however many times he read and re-read his books - even memorizing them by heart! - and despite his naturally extraordinary mind, he could never pass an exam.

This is because his books were in Japanese, and Quack didn’t understand a word of Japanese. 

Lesson:

1.       Just reading the Quran without understanding it is not going to make you a Muslim, no matter how many times you repeat it, or how beautifully you can recite it - even if you memorize every word of it and know how many letters it contains and whatnots. 

2.        The purpose of the Quran is to shape us (mankind) into Muslims…Just as the purpose of medical books is to shape doctor wannabes into doctors. If you just blindly read, but not understand a word of what you read, then the purpose is lost.

3.       Read, understand, and practice the (teachings in the) Quran. 

Place of Repose

In this life, we toil over one hardship to throw ourselves into another hardship. Over again we repeat this cycle, never to end. The cycle of life, the cycle of hardship.

We cheer ourselves with the promise of a bright future. Comeuppance for hardship, struggle, blood, sweat and tears. A place of repose after the hard climb.

But reality is not as sweet as dreams, and hardship is not rewarded with repose. There is no awe-inspiring panorama, and soothing zephyr at the peak. 

What you find, and shall continue to find after every leg, over again, is another sheer climb worse than the last.

You will never find that 'easy' life that you believe hard work and success would promise. 

Because there is no repose in this life! If you search for it here (in this world) then you are searching for the sun in the night sky. 

But despair not, for a place of repose there is. Night is always followed by day, and the toils of this world shall be rewarded with repose in the next.

The true place of repose - the hereafter. If you but continue to search and strive for it.

And Allah is Most Fair to His believing slaves.

The story of the sailor wannabe

A sailor wannabe decided one day to look for a good ship to start his career with. He searched left and right, up and down, but to his dismay he found not a single ship. But he was strong of heart and did not give up. Year after year he looked for a ship, and every single time he was disappointed, until the day that he was too old to search anymore. And so to the very end, the sailor wannabe never found his ship, and never became a sailor… because he looked for a ship not in the docks and harbours where ships are to be found, but in the dry arid desert where ships never go. For all his lifelong efforts, and dear ambitions, the sailor wannabe never got what he dreamed, because he looked in the wrong place.

Lessons:

1.      If you look for something in a place where it definitely is not, then you definitely will not find it

2.      Peace and solace can only be found in servitude to Allah, it cannot be found elsewhere just as a ship can never be found in the desert. If you look for peace and solace in other places than complete servitude to Allah, then forever you will not find them.

  

The bee, the rabbit and the tigress

A rabbit while taking a stroll through the forest saw a bee working whithered flowers to make its honey.

"Why do you confine yourself to these old and whithered flowers while there is a blooming orchard just pass those trees?" The rabbit asked.

"Indeed I should love to work those lush blooms save that they are the property of our Queen Sheeba, and the tigress has forbidden anyone from touching them" the bee replied.

"Bah" the rabbit scorned. "What of the little tigresses orders. I have knowledge that she is on a hunt on the other side of the jungle and will not be back for a few days. Work her forbidden flowers all you will for she cannot know" the rabbit encouraged the bee to break the rules.

The bee was hesitant initially, but the rabbit was its superior in size and wisdom. With the rabbits assurance and encouragement, it dared to go against the tigresses law.

Unfortunately for the bee and his accomplice the rabbit, Queen Sheeba had not gone for her usual hunt yet. She was lying among the flowers, and caught them in the act of breaking her rules and desecrating her flowers.

The tigress caught each of them in either one of her paws.

"How dare you break my laws and desecrate my orchards" she roared at them.

"Please oh mighty Queen" the bee snivelled. "I was but following the words of the rabbit for he is my superior in size and wisdom"

"Then ask him now for protection from my wrath" the tigress growled, and she snapped the rabbits neck first before crushing the bee between her paws.

Lessons:

1. Do not follow the words of mere humans against the Words of Allah when His Laws are clear.

2. Some arrogant humans may speak slightly of Allahs Laws, as if they have knowledge and power. They do NOT.

3. Know that if you follow the words of mere humans who foolishly go against divine laws, these blasphemers will not be able to help you against The Almighty's Wrath.

The bee, the rabbit and the tigress

Success

The world and all its content are the sole and absolute property of Allah Most Great,

What He Gives us we should receive with gratitude,

What He does not Give (though we may desire it) we should accept with humble subservience,

And trust in our Lords Judgment, His Benevolence for the believing servant,

Believe that the path He is Guiding us through,

Is the best for us.

The presumptuous monkey

A long rainy season caused the rivers to overflow and flood the jungle. Many of the animals that lived on the ground had to climb up the trees to avoid the rising water.

The ground animals did not know how to live on the tree tops so they asked the monkey to teach them. The monkey has lived on the tree tops for all his life and he knew everything about it.

At first the monkey was willing to teach the ground animals about life on the tree tops, where to sleep, where to look for food, and how to move around.

But after some time, the monkey became arrogant. You see, among the ground animals that now had to live on the tree tops was the Queen of the Jungle. Sheeba the animals called her and she was the biggest tigress in the whole jungle and she ruled over the other animals.

The presumptuous monkey felt big because he was needed by the Queen. He was the one teaching her about this and that, and she was the one asking him for help and advise. If she made a mistake, he could scold her although no animal dared raise their voice or even look with displeasure at her. And Sheeba had to accept all the criticism and scolding and belittling words that the presumptuous monkey threw at her, because she needed him to survive on the tree tops.

The presumptuous monkey took the Queens silence as a green light to treat the other animals slightly as well, and of course they too had to swallow it all in because they were on his turf and they needed his help.

The presumptuous monkey felt like he was the king of the jungle now. He felt so big and haughty and thought that he could treat the other animals however he liked and they can't do anything about it.

Of course this was true - until the water subsided.

The presumptuous monkey was feeling so full of himself that he did not notice the flood had ended. When he saw Queen Sheeba, he called to her roughly and talked to her with slight as he usually did.

This time the Queen had no reason to take his ugly attitude. She grabbed his skinny neck in her massive paws and pulled him to her jaws so that he could see clearly the deadly fangs inside.

"Do not presume that you can treat others as you like", she growled. "I swallowed in your attitude because I needed your help at the time, and there was nothing I could do about it. Now I am no longer at your mercy. I have no reason to take in your ugly attitude, and no reason to not crush you in my paws"

"You messed with the wrong animal" And with that, the foolish monkey who thought he could treat others as he liked because they needed him became Queen Sheeba's lunch.

Lessons:

1. Do not treat people slightly because they happen to need you and are at your mercy

2. Just because you have the upper hand over someone because they are on your turf, it does not mean that they are always your lesser. You never know who they might be elsewhere, and what they can do.

3. Treat everyone with respect regardless of anything - it is as simple as that.

4. If you treat someone sightly because you arrogantly believe you are their superior, be prepared to meet the consequences. There will befinitly be repercussions - don't doubt it.

The Aikido Girl

Alia was a good little girl who always listened to her parents and followed the teachings of Prophet Muhammad PBUH. She loved nothing more than to study the Quran because they are the Words of Allah Himself. While she was interested in learning the correct recitation of the Quran, her first interest was in the translation and the interpretation of the Quran, because that is the purpose of Allah Gifting man with it – to understand and to practice His Guidance.

Alia was very lucky because Allah Gave her good and pious parents. Although they were not able to study the Quran themselves when they were young, they wanted nothing more than to give that chance to their daughter. So they sent Alia to a special Quranic class in the evening after her normal public school ends.

One day as Alia was walking home from her Quran class, a group of hooligans happened to be making a lot of noise around the neighbourhood. She was afraid that they would disturb her as she was a girl walking all alone. She prayed to Allah to protect her from their eyes.

However the hooligans did notice her walking all on her own, and they began circling around her with their bicycles and taunting her.

The boys got off their bicycles and began closing in the circle around Alia. There were five of them, and all of them were boys bigger and stronger than her. But Alia was not afraid.

She was not afraid because she has Allah on her side, and she knew that He would Help her, as long as she was faithful to him.

Alia knew that Allah would not leave her alone in this situation, He would not allow these boys to do bad things to her.

“It is not ye who slew them; it was Allah: When thow threwest (a handful of dust), it was not thy act, but Allah’s. In order that He might Confer on thee believersa gracious benefit from Himself. For Allah is He Who Heareth and Knoweth (all things). That, and also because Allah is He Who makes feeble the plans and stratagems of the unbelievers”

[Surah al-Anfal 8 : 17-18]    

Alia remembered the verse from Surah al-Anfal that told of Allah’s Help for the prophet and the believers in the battle of Badar.

One of the boys grabbed Alia from behind, but then he was suddenly thrown into the air and fell on his friend.

The boys were so surprised that they all took a step back. The little girl who was smaller than any of them had not even moved.

Then they all came at her all  at once which was a big mistake.

Besides studying the Quran, Alia also learned Aikido. She had never learned to defend herself against five much bigger boys at the same time, but she knew that Allah would Help her. She prayed to Allah to give her strength, placed her trust 100% in Him, and unleashed her Aikido techniques.

Even Alia did not know that she could move like she did. The boys all went flying into the air without seeing what had hit them. They were so afraid of the tiny Alia that they scrambled to their bikes and took off as fast as they could.

Lessons:

1.   Place ALL your trust in Allah. He will NEVER leave you alone.

2.    Allah’s Plans will ALWAYS prevail over the schemes of the unbelievers.

3.    Don’t mess with a MUSLIMAH.