A Beautiful Story of Abu Hanifa's Parents

Here is another beautiful story I got during the winter camp about a week ago...

There was a man, let's say his name was Fulan. He worked for someone who had an apple field. One day, he was so hungry that he took one apple from the field and ate it. Afterwards, he regretted what he had done. The apple was not his, thus he felt really bad about it. He went to his boss and apologized. His boss didn't want to forgive him. Fulan never gave up, he came every day to apologize. The answer he got was still the same, "No." 

After many times apologizing, he finally got different answer from his boss, "I will forgive you if you do one thing for me." Fulan immediately said, "Anything, sir. I will do anything to get your forgiveness."  "Marry my daughter!" Fulan couldn't believe what his boss had said. He surely didn't mind at all. He asked for forgiveness, but he got more than that. His boss hadn't finished what he wanted to say, "But my daughter is blind, ugly, stupid, and disabled." The news shocked Fulan. After a while, he made his decision, "If that's the only thing I could do to get your forgiveness, then I will do it, sir."

Fulan didn't get a chance to see his potential wife until the wedding day came. On the day, she came to the wedding, and she didn't look like what his father said. She's a beautiful lady, not blind, not disabled, etc. She's normal. Fulan was surprised as he didn't expect such a beautiful lady. He talked to her, "You're not like what your father said about you at all. Why did he have to lie?" The lady said, "For a long time my father had been looking for a good husband for me. He finally found you. He's impressed of how you felt so guilty and regretted over a small thing, and never gave up to ask for his forgiveness. He knew that you're the one, you have a good character."

They got married and had one son, whose name is Abu Hanifa. He was one of the greatest Islamic scholars. Masha Allah. :)

source of the picture above: www-staff.lboro.ac.uk.

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The Greatness of Salam

Here I want to tell you a simple and beautiful story I got when I attended a winter camp about a week ago. The winter camp was organized by Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS). It is an organization that consists of Student Islamic Societies of many universities across UK and Ireland. 

First of all, I'd like to explain briefly what salam means to those who don't know about it. Salam (Arabic) means a greeting that muslims say to one another when they meet. Greeting in Islam (salam) is "Assalamu'alaikum", which means "Peace be upon you", and then you answer "Wa'alaikum salam" ("Peace be upon you too"). The complete version of salam is "Assalamu'alaikum warrahmatullahi wabarakatuh" ("Peace be upon you and so may the mercy of Allah and His blessings"). The greatness of salam is that for those who say salam to other muslims, they will be rewarded a palace in heaven.

Let's start the story. One day there was a gathering at Umar's house (Umar bin Khattab RA is one of the companions of Prophet Muhammad's SAW). In the middle of gathering, Ali bin Abu Thalib (cousin of Prophet Muhammad's SAW and one of his companions as well) came. Instead of saying salam, he asked Umar to say salam first. Other people there asked Ali, "Why did you ask Umar to say salam? Shouldn't it be you that say salam because you just came?" Ali answered, "I know, but I want him to get a palace in heaven. That's because I love Umar very much."

Awh..

That's such a short and simple story, but somehow went into my heart deeply. What Ali did is simply sweet.. :)

ps: The conversation above might not be exactly like that, just want the message of the story delivered.

source of the picture above: jalansemut.wordpress.com.

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"Map", Me, and a Stranger

One day I had to go to Blanchardstown, north part of Dublin (I live in south Dublin). In order to go there, I needed to take bus no.39 from Trinity College Dublin (TCD). While I was waiting for the bus, I checked its timetable once again to make sure that I didn't miss the bus. I had already printed it out so I had it in my hand. 

While I was looking at the timetable, somebody approached me. "Are you OK?", he asked me. At first, I didn't realize that he was talking to me, and then he asked me further, "What can I help you?". "Oh, I'm OK. I'm just checking the bus timetable.", I said to him when I realized that he was talking to me. "I thought you're holding a map and trying to figure out where to go.", he responded further. I smiled, "You're so kind. Thanks."

That small experience seemed like nothing, but to me it had put smile on my face. Making someone smile doesn't always need a big effort. Sometimes, something that is considered as nothing to some people could mean something to others. :)

source of the picture above: easyvectors.com.

 

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Age shouldn't stop you from being healthy..

This morning I went to a shop to buy milk and bananas. The shop's not far from my house, reachable by 5 minute walking. After getting what I needed, I stepped outside the shop and stopped for a while to arrange the 2L milk and 5 bananas in my hands since I didn't bring any plastic bag. Just for your information, a plastic bag here is not free. It costs you 22 cents.

While I was arranging my groceries, my eyes glimpsed something interesting not far from where I was standing. An elderly lady stopped at the traffic light, waiting for it to turn green. She looked very old, 60-70ish years old! I could tell from her hair color and the wrinkles on her face. What's interesting about that? Wait.. She was not driving or waiting to cross the road. She was cycling! Wearing a sport wear and a pair of comfortable sport shoes, she looked so energetic, not different to young people. When the traffic light turned green, she started pedaling again, enthusiastically! 

Witnessing that, no wonder the life expectation in this country (or other western countries) is high. People here understand the importance of maintaining health. They not only understand, but also apply it in their daily life. 

Your health is your responsibility. If you care about your health, you should have a serious commitment taking care of your health every day. Start from a small thing, start yourself, and start now! From this experience, I learned that regardless of your age, you're in charge of your own health. Do not let your age stand in your way of having a healthier life. Live healthier and feel younger! ;)

source of the picture above: http://aliki-ka.blogspot.com. 

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