11-12-2006, 12:55 PM
Here is a parable-poem that shows us the mercy and
forgiveness of Allah. Yet we fail to appreciate this.
Compare it with when we go wrong
There was once a man who was going to travel to a
dangerous land.....
He goes to the house of a man, well known for his
honesty.
He knocks on the door and tells him:
I'm giving you $1440 to keep with you as I am
travelling to a dangerous place.
When I get back, I only want $17 back."
The honest man stood their perplexed but agreed.
The next day, the traveller comes back to the honest
man's house and
asks him for $17. The honest man tells him that
he forgot and that he had spent it all.
The traveller forgave him since he knew that this man
is honest enough to give it back later.
The next day, the same man travels to the same
dangerous place and gives
the same honest man $1440 to keep and at the end
of the day, he will take $17 back. The traveller
returns from his
travels and asks the honest man for his $17. The
honest man
replies that he was so engrossed in having a good time
with his friends, that he
spent all the money again.
Once again, the traveller forgave him, knowing he
didn't do it on purpose.
This same incident starts to happen everyday,
whereby the honest man is given $1440 and is expected
to return only
$17 but fails to do so.
Later on, his child becomes sick and the doctor who
was going to give
the treatment tells the honest man that if he wishes
for his child to be
looked after, the fee was $1440.
The honest man starts to panic realising he can't
afford $1440.
It then struck him that the traveller used to give him
that same amount.
He runs to the traveller's house and asks him in
a panic for $1440.
The traveller told him that due to his feeble excuses,
he has stopped going
to his house as he has lost faith in his honesty.
The irony is, is that this story has once been
directly relevant to each and every single one of us.
It is quite remarkable that Allah (swt) gives us 1440
minutes each day and only
specifies 17 minutes of that back in prayer.
But due to the ignorance of people and the whisperings
of Shaitaan the accursed, we are
blinded towards the minute scale of what we are giving
back.
This story points out three things.
1. The importance of Salah and how little we have to
give back.
2. The mercy of Allah that he forgives us even after
such blunders.
3. The fact that we only realise how important
something is (in this case gift of wealth) until it is
gone.
I swear to you by time, that I have created – that all
of mankind is completely doomed. Except – those who
believe and do righteous deeds and recommend one
another to the truth and abstain from all kinds of
sins, evil deeds and recommend one another to
patience. (Quran)
Say (O Muslims): We believe in God and that which is
revealed unto Us and that which was revealed unto
Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the
tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received, and
that which the Prophets received from their Lord. We
make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him
we have surrendered
JazakAllahu Khayran
subhanaka allahummah wa bi hamdikaa - ash haddu an
laillaha illaaa anta, asagfirooka wa atoobu illayka.
wasalamualikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakathuhu