Wednesday, January 18, 2006

The Price of IMAAN

Several years ago an imaam moved to London. He often took the bus from
his home to the downtown area. Some weeks after he arrived, he had
occasion to ride the same bus. When he sat down, he discovered that the
driver had accidentally given him twenty pence too much change. As he
considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'you better give the twenty
pence back. It would be wrong to keep it'.

Then he thought, 'oh forget it, it's only twenty pence. Who would worry
about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company already gets too much
fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a gift from Almighty Allah
and keep quiet'.

When his stop came, the Imaam paused momentarily at the door, then he
handed the twenty pence back to the driver and said:

"Here, you gave me too much change."

The driver with a smile replied:

"Aren't you the new Imaam in this area? I have been thinking lately
about going to worship at your mosque. I just wanted to see what you would
do if I gave you too much change."

When the Imaam stepped off the bus, his knees became weak and soft. He
had to grab the nearest light pole and held for support, and looked up
to the heavens and cried:

"Oh Allah, I almost sold Islam for twenty pence!"


Bottomline: We may never see the impact our actions have on people...
Sometimes we are the only knowledge of the Quran someone will read, or
the only Islam a non-Muslim will see. What we need to provide, Insha
Allah is an example for others to see. Be careful and be honest everyday,
because you never know who is watching your actions.

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