The daughter who would not lie

Umar (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) one night went in disguise with his companion Ibn Abbas (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) to check the condition of the people on the outskirts of Madinah. They strolled from one quarter to another. At last they came to a tribe where very poor people lived. While passing by a small hut, the Caliph overheard voices from inside. A mother was telling her daughter that the amount fetched by her that day on account of the sale of milk was very little. She told her that when she was young, and used to sell milk, she always mixed water with milk, and that led to considerable profit. She advised her daughter to do the same.FLOWER

 

The girl said,

“You diluted milk, when you were not a Muslim. Now that we are Muslims, we cannot dilute milk.”

The mother said that Islaam did not stand in the way of her diluting the milk. The daughter said, “Have you forgotten the Caliph’s order? He wants that the milk should not be diluted.”

The mother said, “What else should we do but dilute milk in order to survive?”

The daughter said,”Such living would not be lawful, and as a Muslim I would not do anything which is against the orders of the Caliph, and whereby other Muslims are deceived.”

The mother said, “But there is neither the Caliph nor any of his officers here to see what we do. Daughter you are still a child. Go to bed now and tomorrow I will myself mix the milk with water for you.”

The girl refused to fall in with the plan of her mother. She said,

“The Caliph may or may not be here, but his order is order, and it must be obeyed. My conscience is my Caliph. You may escape the notice of the Caliph and his officers, but how can we escape the notice of Allah and our own conscience?”

Thereupon the mother remained quiet. The lamp was extinguished and the mother and the daughter went to sleep.

The next day, Umar (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) sent a man to purchase milk from the girl. The milk was undiluted. The girl had kept her resolve. Umar (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) turned to Ibn Abbas (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) and said, “The girl has kept her resolve in spite of the demands of her mother. She deserves a reward. What reward should I give her?” “She should be paid some money” said Ibn Abbas (radhiAllahu ‘anhu).

Umar said,

“Such a girl would become a great mother. Her integrity is not to be weighed with a few coins; it is to be measured in the scale of national values. I shall offer her the highest award in my gift, and which shall also be in the highest interest of the nation.”

The Caliph summoned the daughter and the mother to his court. The mother trembled as she stood before the mighty ruler. But the girl faced Umar (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) with a calm repose, and there was an impressive dignity about her.

Then before the gathering, Umar (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) related how he had overheard the mother and the daughter, and how in spite of the pleads of the mother the daughter had kept he resolve.

Someone suggested that the mother should be taken to task. The Caliph said that ordinarily he would have punished the mother, but he had forgiven her for the sake of her daughter. Turning to the girl Umar (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) said,

“Islaam needs daughters like you, and as a Caliph of Islaam I wish to reward you by taking you as a daughter”.

The Caliph called his sons, and addressing them said:

“Here is a gem of a girl who would make a great mother. I desire that one of you should take this girl as wife. I know of no better bride than this girl of sterling character. In matters of wedlock, it should be the character, and not the stature in life that should count.”

Abdullah and Abdur Rahman (radhiAllahu ‘anhumaa) the elder sons of Umar (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) were already married. Asim (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) the third son was unmarried, so he offered to marry the girl.

Thereupon with the consent of the milkmaid and her mother Asim (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) was married to the girl, and the milkmaid became the daughter-in-law of the Caliph.

From this marriage was born a daughter, who became in due course the mother of Umar bin Abdul Aziz – who later became a Caliph.  Umar bin Abdul Aziz upheld standards of austerity and simplicity following in the footsteps of Umar the second Caliph of Islam. It is said that if ever there was a noble Caliph after the ‘Rightly Guided Caliphs’, such a man was Umar bin Abdul Aziz. He inherited the noble qualities of the milkmaid who married the Caliph’s son, and those of Umar Farooq (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) who had the eye to discern the noble and honest qualities in the girl.

Source: www.idealmuslimah.com

 

The story of Salman Al Farsi

This is a story of a seeker of Truth, the story of Salman the Persian, gleaned, to begin with, from  his own words:

I grew up in the town of Isfahan in Persia in the village of Jayyan. My father was the Dihqan or  chief of the village. He was the richest person there and had the biggest house. Since I was a child my father loved me, more than he loved any other. As time went by his love for  me became so strong and overpowering that he feared to lose me or have anything happen to  me. So he kept me at home, a veritable prisoner, in the same way that young girls were kept. The story Of Salman Al Farsi

I became devoted to the Magian religion so much so that I attained the position of custodian of  the fire which we worshipped. My duty was to see that the flames of the fire remained burning and  that it did not go out for a single hour, day or night.

My father had a vast estate which yielded an abundant supply of crops. He himself looked after  the estate and the harvest. One day he was very busy with his duties as dihqan in the village and  he said to me:

“My son, as you see, I am too busy to go out to the estate now. Go and look after matters there  for me today.”  Continue reading

The conversation between Abu Bakr & Ali (radee’Allaahu ‘anhuma)

It is recorded in Sunan ad-Daarimee, upon the authority of Abu Hurayrah (radee’Allaahu anhu) that both Abu Bakr (radee’Allaahu anhu) & Ali (radee’Allaahu anhu) arrived at the door of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhee wa aalehee wasalaam) & Abu Bakr (radee’Allaahu anhu) said, 

 “Ya Ali, you go first.”

 Ali (radee’Allaahu anhu) replied:Conversation between Ali and Abu bakr

“Please you go before me.”

Ali (radee’Allaahu anhu) then said:

“I will never go in front of a man of whom the Messenger (sallallahu alayhee wa aalehee wasalaam) said the sun never rises or sets on any better man than Abu Bakr (radee’Allaahu anhu).” 

Abu Bakr (radee’Allaahu anhu) replied:

“How can I go before whom the Messenger (sallallahu alayhee wa aalehee wasalaam) said the best woman (Fatimah, radee’Allaahu anha) was given to the best man.” 

Ali (radee’Allaahu anhu) then said;

“I will never enter before a person whom the Messenger (sallallahu alayhee wa aalehee wasalaam) said on the Day of Judgement a call will come from Almighty Allaah saying “O Abu Bakr! You & the ones that love you enter Jannaah!’” 

Abu Bakr (radee’Allaahu anhu) replied;

“I will never go before you because you will come rising on the Day of Judgement and it will be said that ‘he was a good man, a good brother & a good father.’” 

So Ali (radee’Allaahu anhu) then said:

“I will never go before you when the Prophet  (sallallahu alayhee wa aalehee wasalaam) said, ‘If the Eemaan of Abu Bakr (radee’Allaahu anhu) was placed on one side of the scale & the Eemaan of the Ummaah on the other the Eemaan of Abu Bakr (radee’Allaahu anhu) would outweigh it.’”  Continue reading

Abu Dahda’s garden

Here is a beautiful story of one companion (may Allah be pleased with him) who did not let go of his chance to get guaranteed reward in the Hereafter. A wonderful bedtime story too!

Abu Dahda (may Allah have mercy on him) was one of those people who found an opportunity to win what is greater than the heavens and the earth.

There was a companion of the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) who cultivated his garden next to the property of an orphan. The orphan claimed that a specific palm tree was on his property and therefore belonged to him. Abu Dahda's Garden

The companion rejected the claim,
 so the orphan boy went to the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) to complain.

The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) measured the two gardens and found that the palm tree did indeed belong to the companion.

The orphan erupted crying.

Seeing this, the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) asked the companion, “Would you give him the palm tree and for you is a palm tree in Jannah?”

However, the companion in his disbelief that an orphan would complain to the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam), missed the opportunity and went away angry. Continue reading