Author: Danial Jaffri

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the purpose of

showing his son how the poor people live so he could be thankful for his wealth.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?” “It was great, Dad.”

“Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Oh yeah” said the son. “So what did you

learn from the trip?” asked the father.

The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they

have a creek that has no end.” “We have imported lanterns in our

garden and they have the stars at night.” “Our patio reaches to the

front yard and they have the whole horizon.” “We have a small

piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our

sight.” “We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.”

“We buy our food, but they grow theirs.” “We have walls around

our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.”

With this the boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, “Thanks dad for showing me how

poor we are.”

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated,

to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: “Daddy, may I ask you a question?”

DAD: “Yeah sure, what is it?” replied the man.

SON: “Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”

DAD: “That’s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?” the man said angrily.

SON: “I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?”

DAD: “If you must know, I make $20 an hour.”

“Oh,” the little boy replied, with his head down. Looking up, he said,

“Daddy, may I please borrow $10?”

The father was furious, “If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy

a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed.

Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior.”

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even

angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was

something he really needed to buy with that $10 and he really didn’t ask for money very often.

The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.

“Are you asleep, son?” He asked. “No daddy, I’m awake,” replied the boy.

“I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,” said the man. “It’s been a long day and

I took out my aggravation on you. Here’s the $10 you asked for.”

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. “Oh, thank you daddy!” He yelled.

Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

“Why do you want more money if you already have some?” the father grumbled.

“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied.

“Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow.

I would like to have dinner with you.”

Share this story with someone you like…. But even better, share $20 worth of time with someone

you love. It’s just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life.

We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who

really matter to us, those close to our hearts.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of

days.

But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to

think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family. An unwise investment indeed!

So what is the moral of the story???

Don’t work too hard…and you know what’s the full word of FAMILY?

FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER,(I)(L)OVE (Y)OU!

A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For many months he had admired a beautiful

sports car in a dealer’s showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was

all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had

purchased the car. On the morning of his graduation his father called him into his private study.

His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told

him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped

gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man opened

the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Holy Qur’an. Angrily, he

raised his voice at his father and said, “With all your money you give

me a Holy book?” and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book.

He never contacted his father again for long long time. Many years

passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a

beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he

should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day.

Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away,

and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care

things. When he arrived at his father’s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began

to search his father’s important papers and saw the still new Holy Qur’an, just as he had left it years

ago. With tears, he opened the Holy Qur’an and began to turn the pages. As he Read those words, a

car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Holy Qur’an. It had a tag with the dealer’s

name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his

graduation, and the words

A little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper, and he

handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on. After his mom dried her hands on an

apron, she read it, and this is what it said:

For cutting the grass: $5.00

For cleaning up my room this week: $1.00

For going to the store for you: $.50

Baby-sitting my kid brother while you went shopping: $.25

Taking out the garbage: $1.00

For getting a good report card: $5.00

For cleaning up and raking the yard: $2.00

Total owed: $14.75

Well, his mother looked at him standing there, and the boy could see the memories flashing

through her mind. She picked up the pen, turned over the paper he had written on, and this is what

she wrote:

For the nine months I carried you while you were growing

inside me: No Charge.

For all the nights that I’ve sat up with you, doctored and

prayed for you: No Charge.

For all the trying times, and all the tears that you’ve caused

through the years: No Charge.

For all the nights filled with dread, and for the worries I

knew were ahead: No Charge.

For the toys, food, clothes, and even wiping your nose:

No Charge.

When you add it up, the cost of my love is: No Charge.

When the boy finished reading what his mother had

written, there were big tears in his eyes, and he looked

straight up at his mother and said, “Mom, I sure do love you.”

And then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote:

“PAID IN FULL.”

A few years ago, at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or

mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash.

At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the

race to the finish and win. All, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the

asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They

slowed down and looked back. Then they all turned around and went back…..every one of them.

One girl with Down’s syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, “This will make it better.”

Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood,

and the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story.

Why? Because deep down we know this one thing: What matters in this life is more

than winning for ourselves. What matters in this life is helping others win, even if it

means slowing down and changing our course

A mother duck and her little ducklings were on their way

to the lake one day. The ducklings were very happy

following their mother and quack-quacking along the way.

All of a sudden the mother duck saw a fox in the distance.

She was frightened and shouted, “Children, hurry to the

lake. There’s a fox!”

The ducklings hurried towards the lake. The mother duck

wondered what to do. She began to walk back and forth dragging one wing on the ground.

When the fox saw her he became happy. He said to himself, “It seems that

she’s hurt and can’t fly! I can easily catch and eat her!” Then he ran

towards her.

The mother duck ran, leading the fox away from the lake. The fox followed

her. Now he wouldn’t be able to harm her ducklings. The mother duck

looked towards her ducklings and saw that they had reached the lake. She was relieved, so she

stopped and took a deep breath.

The fox thought she was tired and he came closer, but the mother duck quickly spread her wings

and rose up in the air. She landed in the middle of the lake and her ducklings swam to her.

The fox stared in disbelief at the mother duck and her ducklings. He could not reach them because

they were in the middle of the lake.

Dear children, some birds drag one of their wings on the ground when an enemy is

going to attack. In this way they fool their enemies into thinking they are hurt. When

the enemy follows them this gives their children time to escape.

A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it

everyday. He climbed to the treetop, ate the apples, and took a nap under the shadow. He loved the

tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by, the little boy had grown up and he no

longer played around the tree every day.

One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad.

“Come and play with me”, the tree asked the boy.

“I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees any more”

the boy replied.

“I want toys. I need money to buy them.”

“Sorry, but I do not have money, but you can pick all my apples

and sell them. So, you will have money.”

The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and

left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples.

The tree was sad.

One day, the boy who now turned into a man returned and

the tree was excited.

“Come and play with me” the tree said.

“I do not have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter.

Can you help me?”

“Sorry, but I do not have any house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house.” So the

man cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the

man never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.

One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted.

“Come and play with me!” the tree said.

“I am getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?” said the man.

“Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.”

So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.

Finally, the man returned after many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I do not have anything for you

anymore. No more apples for you”, the tree said. “No problem, I do not have any teeth to bite” the

man replied.

“No more trunk for you to climb on.” “I am too old for that now” the man said.

“I really cannot give you anything, the only thing left is my dying roots,” the tree said with tears.

“I do not need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years,” the man replied.

“Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest, come sit down with me and rest.”

The man sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears.

This is a story of everyone. The tree is like our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with

our Mum and Dad. When we grow up, we leave them; only come to them when we need something

or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they

could just to make you happy.

You may think the boy is cruel to the tree, but that is how all of us treat our parents. We take them

for granted; we don’t appreciate all they do for us, until it’s too late. Wallahi, May Allah forgives us

of our shortcomings and may He guide us.

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.

“There are 5 things you need to know,” he told the pencil, “Before I send you out into the world.

Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.” One: “You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone’s hand.”

Two: “You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you’ll need it to become a better pencil.”

Three: “You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.”

Four: “The most important part of you will always be what’s inside.”

And Five: “On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.”

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart. Now replacing the place of the pencil with you. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

One: “You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God’s hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.”

Two: “You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but you’ll need it to become a stronger person.”

Three: “You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.”

Four: “The most important part of you will always be what’s on the inside.”

And Five: “On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.”

Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish.

Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant  and cannot make a change.

A milkmaid was on her way to the market to sell some milk from her cow. As she carried the large jug of milk on top of her head, she began to dream of all the things she could do after selling the milk. “With that money, I’ll buy a hundred chicks to rear in my backyard. When they are fully grown. I can sell them at a good price at the market.”

As she walked on, she continued dreaming, “Then I’ll buy

two young goats and rear them on the grass close by. When

they are fully grown, I can sell them at an even better price!”

Still dreaming, she said to herself, “Soon, I’ll be able to buy

another cow, and I will have more milk to sell. Then I shall

have even more money…” With these happy thoughts, she began to skip and jump.

Suddenly she tripped and fell. The jug broke and all the milk spilt onto the ground.

No more dreaming now, she sat down and cried.

Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.