Abid Iqbal Khari’s

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace.
That where there is hatred I may bring love,
That where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness,
That where there is discord, I may bring harmony,
That where there is error I may bring truth,
That where there is doubt I may bring faith,
That where there is despair I may bring hope,
That where there are shadows I may bring light,
That where there is sadness I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort that to be comforted,
To understand than to be understood,
To love than to be loved.
For it is by forgetting self that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven,
it is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.
Amen.

Few days back I called upon Atomic Scientist Sultan Bashir Mehmood and he introduced me a test he has developed and it has published in his book ‘The Irrufutable Challenge of The Reality”.   According to the scientist, the real purpose of a human being on earth is to try to become like God as much as possible on a human level. Man is vicegerent of God on earth. God took pride when he created man. Now man should try to develop divine and Godly qualities in him. We can evaluate ourselve by comparing our qualities with those of God. The test goes like this:
Allah is The embodiment of Absolute Kindness & Mercy. How kind you are?
Allah is The Absolute Love. How much you love?
Allah is The Supreme Creator, The Originator & Inventor. Do you also create and invent?
Allah is The Absolute Giver. Do you also give?
Allah is The Ultimate Source of Goodness. Do you also observe and spread goodness?
Allah is The Ever-forgiving and the Most Tolerant. What is your level of forgiving and tolerance?
Allah is The All-Knowing. Do you also love to seek knowledge?
Allah is The All-Wise. Do you also try to brush up your wisdom?
Allah is The Ever Seeing, Ever Listening. Do you also ever ready to listen and available to help?
Allah is The Absolute Just. Are you also fair and just in your speech and actions?

As ‘YOU’ are, so we were.
As ‘We’ are, so shall you be.

Every Friday afternoon, after the Jumma prayers, the Imam and his eleven year old son would go out into their town and hand out “PATH TO PARADISE”and other Islamic literature.

This particular and fortunate Friday afternoon, as the time came for the Imam and his son to go to the streets with their booklets, it was very cold outside, as well as pouring rain.

The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, ‘OK, dad, I’m ready!’

His dad asked, ‘Ready for what’ ‘Dad, it’s time we go out and distribute these Islamic books.’

Dad responds, ‘Son, it’s very cold outside and it’s pouring rain.’

The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, ‘But Dad, aren’t people still going to hell, even though it’s raining?’

Dad answers, ‘Son, I am not going out in this weather.’

Despondently, the boy asks, ‘Dad, can I go Please’

His father hesitated for a moment then said, ‘Son, you can go. Here are the booklets. Be careful son.’

‘Thanks, Dad!’

And with that, he was off and out into the rain. This eleven year old boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing everybody he met in the street a pamphlet or a booklet.

After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled wet and down to his VERY LAST BOOKLET. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a booklet to, but the streets were totally deserted.

Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the door bell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered..

He rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He waited but still no answer.

Finally, he turned to leave, but something stopped him.

Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch!

He rang again and this time the door slowly opened.

Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady. She softly asked, ‘What can I do for you, son?’ With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, ‘Ma’am, I’m sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that ALLAH REALLY LOVES AND CARES FOR YOU and I came to give you my very last booklet which will tell you all about God, the real purpose of creation, and how to achieve His pleasure.’

With that, he handed her his last booklet and turned to leave.

She called to him as he departed. ‘Thank you, son! And God Bless You!’

Next week on Friday afternoon after Jumma prayers, the Imam was giving some lectures.. As he concludes the lectures, he asked, ‘Does anybody have questions or want to say anything?’

Slowly, in the back row among the ladies, an elderly lady’s voice was heard over the speaker.

‘No one in this gathering knows me. I’ve never been here before. You see, before last Friday I was not a Muslim, and thought I could be. My husband died few years ago, leaving me totally alone in this world.. Last Friday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, i was contemplating suicide as i had no hope left.

So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home.. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck. Standing on that chair, so lonely and broken-hearted I was about to leap off, when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, I’ll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.

I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly….

I thought to myself again, ‘Who on earth could this be? Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me.’ I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder.

When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes, for there on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life. His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to you! The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long been dead TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice, ‘Ma’am, I just came to tell you that ALLAH REALLY LOVES AND CARES FOR YOU!’

Then he gave me this booklet, Path To Paradise that I now hold in my hand.

As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this book. Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn’t be needing them any more.

You see? I am now a Happy Vicegerent of the One True God. Since the address of your congregation was stamped on the back of this booklet, I have come here to personally say THANK YOU to God’s little angel who came just in the nick of time and by so doing, spared my soul from an eternity in hell.’

There was not a dry eye in the mosque. The shouts of TAKBIR..ALLAH AKBAR.. rented the air.

Imam-Dad descended from the pulpit to the front row where the little angel was seated….

He took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

Probably no jama’at has had a more glorious moment, and probably this universe has never seen a father that was more filled with love and honor for his son… Except for One. This very one…

“Don’t insist on going where you want to go. Ask the way to the spring.” ~ Rumi
We may not always know what is in our best interest. Many times we may not succeed in achieving some position. As it is said, ‘Man proposes, God disposes’. It happens so because God has some better plans for us but we may not comprehend it because of our limited understanding.

The real message of the act of Imam Hussain (Alaihe Salam) is to stand up against bad system of Government, to stand up for justice, to stand up for islamic democracy, to stand up for peace and equality. Now we have to think and ponder whether we are following his way to seek the will of God?

There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He’s very proud of her and always wanted to show off her to his friends. However, the merchant is always in great fear that she might run away with some other men.

He loved his 2nd wife too. She is a very considerate person, always patient and in fact is the merchant’s confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out in difficult times.

Now, the merchant’s 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However, the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, “Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I die, I’ll be alone. How lonely I’ll be!”

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, “I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and accompany me?” “No way!” replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.

The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant’s heart. The sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife, “I have loved you so much for all my life. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and accompany me?” “No!” replied the 3rd wife. “Life is so good over here! I’m going to remarry when you die!” The merchant’s heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, “I always turned to you for help and you’ve always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?” “I’m sorry, though I am very sad that you are going away. But I can’t help you out this time!” replied the 2nd wife. “At the very most, I can only send you to your grave.” The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devastated.

Then a voice called out : “I’ll leave with you. I’ll follow you no matter where you go.” The merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the merchant said, “I should have taken much better care of you while I could have !”

Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives

a. The 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it’ll leave us when we die.

b. Our 3rd wife ? Our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others.

c. The 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for us when we’re alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

d. The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material, wealth and sensual pleasure.

Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it’s a good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until we’re on our deathbed to lament …

O, Lord,
Make me an instrument of Thy Grace.

Where there is hate, let me sow love.
Where there is darkness, light
Where there is sadness, joy
Where there is doubt, faith. And,
where there is despair, hope.

O, Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek,
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as understand,
To be loved as to love for.

It is in giving that we receive.
It is in forgiving that we are forgiven.

(Anonymous)

The man whispered “God, speak to me”
And a meadowlark sang.
But the man did not hear.

So the man yelled “God speak to me!”
And the thunder rolled across the sky.
But the man did not listen.

The man looked around and said “God let me see you”
And a star shone brightly.
But the man did not notice.

And the man shouted “God show me a miracle”
And a life was born.
But the man did not know.
So, the man cried out in despair.
“Touch me God and let me know that you are here!”
Whereupon God reached down and touched the man.
But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.
(Author Unknown)

Moral: Don’t miss out on a blessing because it isn’t packaged the way you expect.

The real potential of a man lies inside.

Khawja Hasan Basri said: “He who has attained contentment requires nothing; he who has sought retirement from the world found peace; he who has trodden his passion and lust under foot got freedom; he who has rid himself of jealousy attained friendship and he who has lived with patience for a little while, gained an eternal abode.” In fact these are the traits which make a man “the second to God“, which make a human being “the super being” and make him eternal on the surface of the universe.

What do you think of the servant “ghulam” who does not obey his master? Surely you will think him a fool. What about our creator? We keep ignoring him in our all matters and put him only to swear, then how come we can expect Him to take care of our matters. Make Him your priority and He will make you His priority. Take one step towards Him, and He will take ten steps to help you out.