Category: Islamic Stories

Mahatma Gandhi went from city to city, village to village collecting funds for

the Charkha Sangh. During one of his tours he addressed a meeting in Orissa.

After his speech a poor old woman got up. She was bent with age, her hair

was grey and her clothes were in tatters. The volunteers tried to stop her,

but she fought her way to the place where Gandhi Ji was sitting.

“I must see him,” she insisted and going up to Gandhi Ji touched his feet.

Then from the folds of her sari she brought out a copper coin and placed it at his feet. Gandhi Ji

picked up the copper coin and put it away carefully. The Charkha Sangh funds were under the

charge of Jamnalal Bajaj. He asked Gandhi Ji for the coin but Gandhi Ji refused.

“I keep cheques worth thousands of rupees for the Charkha Sangh,” Jamnalal Bajaj said laughingly

“yet you won’t trust me with a copper coin.” “This copper coin is worth much more than those

thousands” Gandhi Ji said. “If a man has several lakhs and he gives away a thousand or two,

it doesn’t mean much.”

But this coin was perhaps all that the poor woman  “Overlook and forgive the weakness of

possessed. She gave me all she had. That was very  generous people, because if they fall

down, Allah gives his hand in their hands

generous of her. What a great sacrifice she made. That is

and helps them….” Imam Ali (AS)

why I value this copper coin more than a crore of rupees.

An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor.

Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided something different.

He called young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, “It is time for me to step down

and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you.”

The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. “I am going to

give each one of you a seed today. One very special seed. I want you

to plant the seed, water it and come back here after one year from

today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge

the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next

emperor!”

One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and

excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the

seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After

about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that

were beginning to grow.

Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still

nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn’t have a plant, and he felt

like a failure. Six months went by, still nothing in Ling’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed.

Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn’t say anything to his friends,

however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for

inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But honest about what

happened, Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot

to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths.

They were beautiful in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the

other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, “Hey nice try.”

When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to

hide in the back. “What great plants, trees and flowers you have grown,” said the emperor. “Today,

one of you will be appointed the next emperor!” All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the

back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was

terrified. “The emperor knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!”

When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. “My name is Ling,” he replied. All the

kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked

at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, “Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!” Ling

couldn’t believe it. Ling couldn’t even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor? Then the

emperor said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it,

water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds, which would not grow.

All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the

seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one

with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will

be the new emperor!”

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust.

“Remember your graves because your

If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.

way passes over it. You will be dealt with

If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.

as you deal with others, you will reap what

If you plant perseverance, you will reap victory.

you sow, and what you send today will

If you plant consideration, you will reap harmony.

meet you tomorrow.” Imam Ali (AS)

If you plant hard work, you will reap success.

If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.

If you plant openness, you will reap intimacy.

If you plant patience, you will reap improvements.

If you plant faith, you will reap miracles.

But

If you plant dishonesty, you will reap distrust.

If you plant selfishness, you will reap loneliness.

If you plant pride, you will reap destruction.

If you plant envy, you will reap trouble.

If you plant laziness, you will reap stagnation.

If you plant bitterness, you will reap isolation.

If you plant greed, you will reap loss.

If you plant gossip, you will reap enemies.

If you plant worries, you will reap wrinkles.

If you plant sin, you will reap guilt.

So be careful what you plant now, It will determine what you will reap tomorrow, The seeds you

now scatter, Will make life worse or better, your life or the ones who will come after. Yes, someday,

you will enjoy the fruits, or you will pay for the choices you plant today.

One day some wise men, who were going about the country trying to find answers to some of the

great questions of their time, came to Nasreddin’s district and asked to see the wisest man in the

place. Nasreddin was brought forward, and a big crowd gathered to listen.

The first wise man began by asking,

“Where is the exact center of the world?”

“It is under my right heel,” answered Nasreddin.

“How can you prove that?” asked the first wise man.

“If you don’t believe me,” answered Nasreddin,

“measure and see.”

The first wise man had nothing to answer to that,

so the second wise man asked his question.

“How many stars are there in the sky?” he said.

“As many as there are hairs on my donkey,”

answered Nasreddin.

“What proof have you got of that?”

asked the second wise man.

“If you don’t believe me,” answered Nasreddin, “count the hairs on my donkey and you will see.”

“That’s foolish talk,” said the other. “How can one count the hairs on a donkey?”

“Well,” answered Nasreddin, “How can one count the stars in the sky? If one is foolish talk,

so is the other.” The second wise man was silent.

The third wise man was becoming annoyed with Nasreddin and his answers, so he said, “You seem

to know a lot about your donkey, so can you tell me how many hairs there are in its tail?”

“Yes,” answered Nasreddin. “There are exactly as many hairs in its tail as there are in your beard.”

“How can you prove that?” said the other.

“I can prove it very easily,” answered Nasreddin. “You can pull one hair out of my donkey’s tail for

every one I pull out of your beard. If the hairs on my donkey’s tail do not come to an end at exactly

the same time as the hairs in your beard, I will admit that I was wrong.”

Of course, the third wise man was not willing to do this, so the crowd declared Nasreddin

the winner of the day’s arguments.

OLD GRAVE

One day, the Nasreddin said to his friends: “If I die, bury me in an old grave.” “Why”, asked his

friends. “Because”, he explained, “if the angels come, I’ll tell them that I died years before and have

already been questioned and then they will return the way they came.”

“If memory serves me correctly, I was wearing a little white tank top and a

short black skirt. I had been raised Orthodox Muslim, so I had never before

worn such revealing clothing while in my father’s presence. When we finally

arrived, the chauffer escorted my younger sister, Laila, and me up to my

father’s suite.

As usual, he was hiding behind the door waiting to scare us. We exchanged

many hugs and kisses as we could possibly give in one day. My father took a

good look at us. Then he sat me down on his lap and said something that I

will never forget.

He looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Hana, everything that God

made valuable in the world is covered and hard to get to. Where do you find

diamonds? Deep down in the ground covered and protected. Where do you

find pearls? Deep down at the bottom of the ocean covered up and protected in a beautiful shell.

Where do you find gold? Way down in the mine, covered over with layers and layers of rock.

You’ve got to work hard to get to them.”

He looked at me with serious eyes. “Your body is sacred. You’re far more precious than diamonds

and pearls, and you should be covered too.”

Source: More Than A Hero: Muhammad Ali’s Life Lessons Through His Daughter’s Eyes.

Shaykh Fath al-Mowsily relates, once I saw a young boy walking through the jungle. It appeared as

if he was uttering some words. I greeted him with Salaam and he replied accordingly. I inquired,

“Where are you going?” He retorted, “To the house of Allah

(Makkah).” I further asked, “What are you reciting?”

“The Qur’an” he replied. I remarked, “You are at a tender

age, it is not an obligation that you are required to fulfill.”

He said, “I have witnessed death approach people younger

than me and therefore would like to prepare if death was to

knock on my door.” I astoundingly commented, “Your steps

are small and your destination far.” He responded, “My duty

is to take the step and it remains the responsibility of Allah

to take me to my destination.” I continued to ask, “Where is

your provision and conveyance (means of transport).”

He replied, “My Yaqeen (belief) is my provision and

my feet’s are my conveyance.” I explained, “I am asking you regarding bread and water.”

He replied! “Oh Shaykh if someone invited you to his house, would it be appropriate to take your

own food?” I exclaimed, “No!” “Similarly, My Lord has invited His servant to His house, it is only

the weakness of your Yaqeen that makes us carry provisions. Despite this, do you think Allah will

let me go to waste?” “Never” I replied. He then left. Sometime later I saw him in Makkah. He

approached me and inquired, “Oh Shaykh are you still of weak belief?”

Source: Stories of the Pious by Shaikh Ahmad Ali.

AVERYPOWERFULSTORY

He remembered his grandmother’s warning about praying on time: “My son, you shouldn’t leave

prayer to this late time.” His grandmother’s age was 70 but whenever she heard the Adhan, she got

up like an arrow and performed Salah/Namaz/prayer. He, however could never win over his ego to

get up and pray. Whatever he did, his Salah was always the last to be offered and he prayed it

quickly to get it in on time. Thinking of this, he got up and realized that there were only 15 minutes

left before Salat-ul Isha. He quickly made Wudhu and performed Salat-ul Maghrib. While making

Tasbih, he again remembered his grandmother and was embarrassed by how he had prayed. His

grandmother prayed with such tranquility and peace. He began making Dua and went down to

make Sajdah and stayed like that for a while.

He had been at school all day and was tired, so tired. He awoke abruptly to the sound of noise and

shouting. He was sweating profusely. He looked around. It was very crowded. Every direction he

looked in was filled with people. Some stood frozen looking around, some were running left and

right and some were on their knees with their heads in their hands just waiting. Pure fear and

apprehension filled him as he realized where he was.

His heart was about to burst. It was the Day of Judgment. When he was alive, he had heard many

things about the questioning on the Day of Judgment, but that seemed so long ago. Could this be

something his mind made up? No, the wait and the fear were so great that he could not have imag-

ined this. The interrogation was still going on. He began moving frantically from people to people

to ask if his name had been called. No one could answer him. All of a sudden his name was called

and the crowd split into two and made a passageway for him. Two people grabbed his arms and led

him forward. He walked with unknowing eyes through the crowd. The angels brought him to the

center and left him there. His head was bent down and his whole life was passing in front of his

eyes like a movie. He opened his eyes but saw only another world. The people were all helping oth-

ers. He saw his father running from one lecture to the other, spending his wealth in the way of

Islam. His mother invited guests to their house and one table was being set while the other was

being cleared.

He pleaded his case; “I too was always on this path. I helped others. I spread the word of Allah.

I performed my Salah. I fasted in the month of Ramadan. Whatever Allah ordered us to do, I did.

Whatever he ordered us not to do, I did not.” He began to cry and think about how much he loved

Allah. He knew that whatever he had done in life would be less than what Allah deserved and his

only protector was Allah. He was sweating like never before and was shaking all over. His eyes were

fixed on the scale, waiting for the final decision. At last, the decision was made. The two angels with

sheets of paper in their hands, turned to the crowd. His legs felt like they were going to collapse. He

closed his eyes as they began to read the names of those people who were to enter Jahannam/Hell.

His name was read first. He fell on his knees and yelled that this couldn’t be, “How could I go to

Jahannam? I served others all my life, I spread the word of Allah to others.” His eyes had become

blurry and he was shaking with sweat. The two angels took him by the arms. As his feet dragged,

they went through the crowd and advanced toward the blazing flames of Jahannam. He was yelling

and wondered if there was any person who was going to help him. He was yelling of all the good

deeds he had done, how he had helped his father, his fasts, prayers, the Qur’an that he read, he was

asking if none of them would help him. The Jahannam angels continued to drag him. They had got-

ten closer to the Hellfire. He looked back and these were his last pleas. Had not Rasulullah [saw]

said, “How clean would a person be who bathes in a river five times a day, so too does the Salah

performed five times cleanse someone of their sins?” He began yelling, “My prayers? My prayers?

My prayers?”

The two angels did not stop, and they came to the edge of the abyss of Jahannam. The flames of the

fire were burning his face. He looked back one last time, but his eyes were dry of hope and he had

nothing left in him. One of the angels pushed him in.

He found himself in the air and falling towards the

flames. He had just fallen five or six feet when a hand

grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. He lifted

his head and saw an old man with a long white beard.

He wiped some dust off himself and asked him,

“Who are you?” The old man replied, “I am your prayers.”

“Why are you so late! I was almost in the Fire! You

rescued me at the last minute before I fell in.”

The old man smiled and shook his head. “You always

performed me at the last minute, and did you forget?”

At that instant, he blinked and lifted his head from

Sajdah. He was in a sweat. He listened to the voices

coming from outside. He heard the adhan for Salat-ul

Isha. He got up quickly and went to perform Wudhu.

“Say Your Prayers Before Prayers For You Are Said.”

“Namaz Parh Is Se Pehle Ke Teri Namaz Parhi Jaye.”

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair and his beard cut

as always. He started to have a good conversation with the

barber who attended him. They talked about so many things on

various subjects.

Suddenly, they touched the subject of God. The barber said:

“Look man, I don’t believe that God exists as you say so.”

“Why do you say that?”

Asked the client. Well, it’s so easy; you just have to go out in

the street to realize that God does not exist. Oh, tell me, if God

existed, would there be so many sick people? Would there be

abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither

suffering nor pain. “I can’t think of a God who permits all of

these things.” The client stopped for a moment thinking but he

didn’t want to respond so as to prevent an argument.

The barber finished his job and the client went out of the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with a long hair and beard (it seems

that it had been a long time since he had his cut and he looked so untidy). Then the client again

entered the barbershop and he said to the barber: “know what? Barbers do not exist.”

“How come they don’t exist?” asked the barber. “Well I am here and I am a barber.” “No!” – the

client exclaimed. “They don’t exist because if they did there would be no people with long hair and

beard like that man who walks in the street.”

“Ah, barbers do exist, what happens is that people do not come to us.” “Exactly!” – Affirmed the

client. “That’s the point. God does exist, what happens is people don’t go to Him and do not look

for Him that’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and the Lord

told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin.

The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. So, this the man

did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to

sun down; his shoulders set squarely against the cold,

massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all of

his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and

worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary

(Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into

the weary mind: “you have been pushing against that rock for

a long time, and it hasn’t moved.” Thus, giving the man the

impression that the task was impossible and that he was a

failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the

man. Satan said, “Why kill yourself over this?”

“Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough.”

That’s what he planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled

thoughts to the Lord. “Lord,” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my

strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock

by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

The Lord responded compassionately, “My Servant, when I asked you to serve Me and you

accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you

have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push.

And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really

so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands

are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard.

Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to

have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to

exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. Now I, my servant, will move the

rock.” At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what

He wants, when actually what God wants is just a simple obedience and faith in Him. By all means,

exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves mountains.

When everything seems to go wrong just P.U.S.H!

When the job gets you down just P.U.S.H!

When people don’t react the way you think they should just P.U.S.H!

When your money is “gone” and the bills are due just P.U.S.H!

When people just don’t understand you just P.U.S.H!

P + U + S + H = Pray + Until + Something + Happens

Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. One day the child asked God, “They tell me

you are going to send me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so small and

helpless?” God replied, “Among the many angels I have chosen one for you. She will be waiting for

you and will take care of you.”

Said child, “But tell me here in Heaven I don’t do anything else but sing and smile. That’s what I

need to be happy!” God replied, “Your angel will sing for you every day. And you will feel your

angel’s love and be happy.”

And, said the child, “How am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me, if I don’t

know the language that men talk?” “That’s easy”, God said, “Your angel will tell you the most

beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will

teach you how to speak.” The child looked up at God saying, “And what am I going to do when I

want to talk to you?” God smiled at the child saying, “Your angel will teach you how to pray.”

The child said, “I’ve heard on earth there are bad men. Who will protect me?” God replied, “Your

angel will defend you, even if it means risking life!” The child looked sad, saying, “But I will always

be sad because I will not see you anymore.” God replied, “Your angel will always talk to you about

me and will teach you the way to come back to

me, even though I will always be next to you.”

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven,

but voices from earth could already be heard.

The child in a hurry, asked softly, “Oh God, if

I am about to leave now please tell me my angel’s

name!” God replied, Your angel’s name is of no

MOTHER!

importance… you will simply call her

It was a wintry morning with much snow falling coupled with the blowing of a strong cold wind. It was not easy to come out in the open air. Yet one could see people rushing to their work and students with books in their hands hastening to their schools.

In one of the mosques in Hamadan – Iran, religious students were assembling in order to attend a morning class. It was an important school of Islamic theology and the tutor was also a very great learned one. His discourses were indeed very thought-provoking and so were his students quite intelligent.

The tutor was none else but the world famous and a great Persian thinker and philosopher ‘lbn Sina’, popularly known in Europe as Avicenna. His lectures and writings on various science subjects had become the standard text books for hundreds of years in the universities of Europe. Students admired his deep philosophical thinking. They felt honoured to sit in his class and hear his inspiring lectures.

That cold morning, students had already assembled in the mosque and were still anxiously awaiting the arrival of their learned tutor. They were wondering if the intense cold weather that day had delayed his coming.

A few minutes had passed when suddenly the students witnessed the graceful arrival of ‘lbn Sina’, their great learned tutor. They felt very happy and stood up as a mark of reverence and respect for him. He sat down at his usual place and exchanged greetings with his students. He commenced his discourse in his usual lucid manner that held his students spellbound. He also gave satisfactory answers to their questions.

Among the students was one very young and enthusiastic by name ‘Bahman Yar’. He was much more close and attached to ‘lbn Sina’ the learned tutor. He was also the foremost among the clever and advanced students of the class. Every time he listened to the lectures of his tutor, he became more and more fascinated with his deep philosophy and knowledge on every subject. He would say to his class-mates: “I wonder why our tutor ‘lbn Sina’ does not claim to be a prophet despite his supreme intelligence and magic personality”

It is said that one day by chance ‘lbn Sina’ was standing at a baker and loaf-seller shop. His attention was drawn to a very smart young boy who was displaying signs of much intelligence. The boy was saying to the baker: “My mother is requesting for a little fire.” The baker responded: “Have you brought any pot to carry the fire?” “No! But I know how to carry it”, replied the boy instantly. So saying he applied some ash over his palm and stretched his hand to the baker who placed a piece of burning firewood over his palm. Without any hesitation, the boy took it and went home.

‘lbn Sina’ was rather amazed to see the intelligence and courage of this boy. He thought of having him for special training and education under his personal care. The proposal was communicated to the parents who agreed and entrusted the boy to his full care. Thus ‘Bahman Yar’ since then was staying at no other place except at the house of his tutor and care-taker, ‘lbn Sina’. They were all the time to be seen together. The boy being highly intelligent derived the best of the knowledge that his tutor could impart.

Years passed and ‘Bahman Yar’ grew up not only in age but also in knowledge and understanding under the patronage of his tutor. The learned tutor was also very proud of this most capable student.

It was one of the coldest nights of the wintry season. Midnight had passed and the snow-falling was very heavy. Both ‘lbn Sina’ and ‘Bahman Yar’ were sleeping in one room under warm thick blankets. The light in the room was already extinguished but the student was still asking intricate questions on some deep subjects. The tutor was replying in his usual impressive manner. Fascinated by the supreme knowledge and deep philosophy of his tutor, he again made the suggestion which he had made before:

“Oh my learned tutor!” he pleaded, “with all this high status of knowledge that you enjoy and being master of all the sciences, why not declare yourself a prophet? Sir! Don’t you think that you even excel some of the previous prophets in knowledge and your status today is unparalleled in the world! Should you decide to claim prophethood, no one would dare challenge you. Let me assure you that I shall be the first to offer my allegiance and would serve you with full faith.”

Since ‘Bahman Yar’ was still young and immature, his above proposal to his tutor was rather emotional than logical. ‘lbn Sina’ smiled but did not give any reply.

That night the cold weather had become extreme and there was heavy snow-falling. Both were already fast asleep. It was past midnight and suddenly ‘lbn Sina’ woke up and raised his head out of the warm blanket. Incidentally he was very thirsty and the water-mug in the room was empty. So he decided to wake up his student to go out and bring him some water.

“Oh ‘Bahman Yar’! My son ‘Bahman Yar’! Please wake up and bring me some drinking water from outside”, he said repeatedly.

“Why is there no water in the water-mug near your goodself, Sir?” asked ‘Bahman Yar.’

“No!” replied ‘lbn Sina.’

‘Bahman Yar’ raised his head and saw heavy snowfall outside. The thrilling sound of the strong cold wind also made him nervous to go out. Again ‘lbn Sina’ grumbled:

“Oh ‘Bahman Yar’! Why the delay? Bring me some water, I am too thristy.”

‘Bahman Yar’ dared not come out of the warm blankets to face the cold weather outside the room. He was, therefore, putting forward lame excuses to his tutor.

“Oh my respected tutor! It is harmful for you to drink water now that you have just come out of the warmth of thick blankets. It is better you go to sleep again till the early morning which is not far off”, said ‘Bahman Yar’.

“My son! Bring me water, I am too thirsty. I myself am a medical expert and know better what is harmful than you do. I am unable to sleep, please bring me some water from outside”, again appealed ‘Ibn Sina’

In response ‘Bahman Yar’ again put forward excuses and argued that he would catch cold and fall sick if he were to go out in that extreme cold weather. So saying he went back to sleep.

There was dead silence everywhere and no sound of anything was to be heard. Outside it was still pitch dark except the first light of Subhe Sadiq (true dawn) in the eastern horizon had commenced to appear. Suddenly the silence broke with a melodious voice of a muezzin – caller to prayer from the top of a minaret at the nearby mosque. After reciting some verses of the, Holy Qur’an, the muezzin in a loud voice said, “Allaho Akber” – Allah is the Greatest. “Ash-hado an la ilaha illallah” – I bear witness that there is no god except Allah.

Both the tutor and his student quietly listened to the melodious voice of the muezzin. The call to prayers then proceeded to the words “Ash-hado anna Muhammadan Rasoolullah” – I bear witness that Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah. On hearing this, ‘Ibn Sina’ thought of taking the opportunity of responding to the repeated proposal made to him by ‘Bahman Yar’. He said:

“Listen to me, oh my son ‘Bahman Yar’. Now I wish to reply to your repeated suggestion”. The student sat up to hear attentively of what his learned tutor abruptly wanted to say. ‘Ibn Sina’ then proceeded:

“You have been suggesting to me several times to claim prophethood, that people would put full faith in me and that you would be the first one to do so. Now look, you have been my close student for several years and benefited from me a great deal, yet you did not think it prudent to obey me by coming out of your warm bed for a moment and bring me water that I badly needed to quench my thirst. Instead you chose to put forward lame excuses.”

“But think of this man who is now calling to prayers at the top of the minaret after coming out in the coldest weather and making ablution with cold water in the early hour of this morning. It is for no other purpose but in obedience to and respect for the command of Allah as conveyed by His apostle Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (S) some four hundred years ago.

“What a great difference there is between me and that Prophet sent by Allah!”

Basra is a big city and the main port of Iraq. It is situated at the mouth of river Euphrates.

There, in a big mosque, people used to assemble to discuss various subjects on Islamic rules and laws. A famous learned priest of Sunni sect by name Amr Bin Ubeid was once preaching on the subject of Imamat. He was surrounded by a big crowd of people who were asking various questions on the subject. Suddenly, a young and intelligent student of Islam by name of Hesham, entered the gathering and sat down in the first row. He addressed the priest saying that he was a stranger and would like to ask some questions. On getting the permission to do so, he asked the following:

Hesham: First, Sir! May I please know if you have eyes?

Amr: Young Boy! Is this a question to be asked?

Hesham: Whatever it may be, this is my question to which I shall appreciate your answer.

Amr: Alright! you are at liberty to ask, even though it is a foolish question.

Hesham: As I have already asked, Sir, may I please know if you have eyes?

Amr: Yes, I have.

Hesham: For what use are they?

Amr: With eyes, I can see faces of people and colour of various things.

Hesham: And you have a nose also?

Amr: Yes, I do have one.

Hesham: What is its function?

Amr: I smell the scent and odour by it.

Hesham: And do you have a mouth?

Amr: Yes I do have.

Hesham: For what use is it?

Amr: I can talk to people or taste food and drinks with it.

Hesham: Do you have ears?

Amr: Yes, I have two ears.

Hesham: What is their function?

Amr: I can hear voices by them.

Hesham: And do you have a mind?

Amr: Almighty has bestowed me with that also.

Hesham: What is its use?

Amr: With that I am able to distinguish things whatever is felt by the other senses like hands, eyes, ears, nose, tongue etc. In case of a difference, I am able to solve with its help. In case of doubt, I can dispel with it and be sure.

Hesham: So, does it mean that despite being sound and healthy, all these organs cannot function independently without the help of the mind.

Amr: No, No! none of the organs can function independently without the help of the mind.

Hesham: Why is it so? After all, are the organs perfect and strong enough to differentiate between things?

Amr: Young Boy! When any organ has some doubt about a thing which it smells, sees or tastes, it brings the matter to the mind and it is the mind which confirms the truth and removes the doubt.

Hesham: So, from what you have said, do you want me to understand that God Almighty has created and designed the mind to guide the organs and remove doubts.

Amr: Yes! It is so.

Hesham: So the mind is a necessity, otherwise the organs could not work independently.

Amr: Yes.

Hesham: Please Sir! Proclaim your opinion with fairness and justice on this point also. If Almighty has not left the organs of man’s body without the guidance of the mind, how is it possible that Almighty God could leave millions of His creatures without an IMAM to guide and solve their problems arising out of doubts and conflicts? Should not our common sense accept this fact?

On hearing this logic argument. and having no answer to give, Amr Bin Ubeid kept silent and went into deep thinking.

Hesham was a deeply learned person and one of the closest companions of Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a) from whom he had obtained his knowledge.

‘IMAM’ is an Arabic word which literally means ‘Leader’ or ‘Guide’. Any leader or guide can be good or bad, true or false. Therefore, it is essential for every Muslim to know what makes and who is a true and good Imam. The Holy Prophet has said: “If a man dies without recognising the Imam of his time, he dies the death of ignorance.”

It is of utmost importance that the Imam must be appointed by a Prophet under the command of God, nobody can be an Imam either by claiming to be so, by inheritance or by the wealth or power which he may have.

It is essential that an Imam possess certain characteristics and qualities so that a clear distinction can be made between a true and false Imam. Some of these are as under:

1. An Imam must be free from every defect – Physical as well as Mental;
2. He must be born of legal Marriage;
3. He must be Ma’sum (Infallible-Sinless) like the Prophet – from birth to death;
4. He must possess all knowledge and be the wisest of all human beings of his time;
5. He must know all the languages including those of animals also;
6. He must be able to perform miracles;
7. He must be bold, brave and most courageous;
8. He should be most generous and be able to help needy and weak persons.

In short, an Imam is the Holiest, most Pious of all – after the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S)