good sToRY

There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He 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 too, loved his 2nd wife. 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 and tide him through 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 keep me company?" "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 keep me company?" "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, 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.

You are Strong... when you take your grief and teach it to smile.
You are Brave... when you overcome your fear and help others to do the same.
You are Happy... when you see a flower and are thankful for the blessing.
You are Loving... when your own pain does not blind you to the pain of others.
You are Wise... when you know the limits of your wisdom.
You are True... when you admit there are times you fool yourself.
You are Alive... when tomorrow's hope means more to you than yesterday's mistake.
You are Growing... when you know what you are but not what you will become.
You are Free... when you are in control of yourself and do not wish to control others.
You are Honorable... when you find your honor is to honor others.
You are Generous... when you can take as sweetly as you can give.
You are Humble... when you do not know how humble you are.
You are Thoughtful... when you see me just as I am and treat me just as you are.
You are Merciful... when you forgive in others the faults you condemn in yourself.
You are Beautiful... when you don't need a mirror to tell you.
You are Rich... when you never need more than what you have.
You are You... when you are at peace with who you are not.

the prophet and yOU

If you are a person who really love the Prophet (PBUH) then you should have his qualities :

1-Avoid lewdness which is every bad speech or action.

2-Don't speak loudly and lower your voice mainly in public places such as streets, mosques, parties… etc.,except if being a lecturer or advisor or being an Imam in a mosque.

3-Repel evil someone cause to you with that which is best. Forgive him and do not punish him or deserthim.

4-Don't reproach or insult your servant or your colleague or your son or your student or your wife becauseof a mistake or an uncompleted job.

5-Do your duties very well and do not diminish others' rights in order to prevent them from reprimandingyou.

6-Don't be laughing all the time and let your laugh be a nice smile.

7-Be always ready to help the weak, the indigent and the women without arrogance.

8-Helping your family in doing some of the house work even if it's something easy.

9-Wear the best of your clothes mainly for praying, on the celebration days (Aïd) .

10-Don't be prideful to eat on the ground, eat what is given to you, be satisfied with few of food anddon't criticize badly what you eat.

11-Joining workers and helping them in their work ( as helping in carrying dust or digging…etc.) as a signof humility and making the workers feel others’ sympathy and respect towards them.

12-Don't accept exaggerated praise from someone, but some words of thank that are equal to the workdone.

13-Avoid saying bad or aggressive statements even if you are joking.

14-Don't say something evil and don't commit it.

15-Don't attack your brothers evilly.

16-Speak in a correct way and let your words be nice and not hurting.

17-Decrease your jocks and don't say anything but the truth.

18-Be merciful to human beings and to animals so that Allah the Almighty keeps his mercy upon you.

19-Avoid avarice because it's repelled from Allah the Almighty and people.

20-Sleep early and wake up early starting your day with worshiping Allah, hard work and diligence.

21-Don't miss the prayers in group in the mosque.

22-Be aware of angriness and its bad results. If you become angry you should say: « Audhu Billahi MinaShaytan ar-Rajim’, which means, ‘I seek refuge from Satan, the devil »

23-Be aware that every single word you say is recorded ; try to be as quiet as possible.

24-When you recite the Quran you have to understand what you are reading and you should feel theverses. It's also recommended that you listen to the Holy Quran recited by others. The most importantthing you have to do, is to make the Quran your way of life which means to apply every single wordpractically.

25-Don't reject ''permissible'' perfumes offered to you and use them especially when you pray.

26-Use the siwak (miswak : stick of arak for cleaning teeth) mainly before prayers because it's verybeneficial.

27-Be courageous and say the truth even if it's against you.

28-Accept advice from anyone and never refuse it.

29-Treat your family with just, and be just in every single work you do.

30-Forgive the one who hurts you, and be patient so that Allah the Almighty forgives you.

31-You should love for the others what you love for yourself.

32-Don't forget to greet when entering and leaving your house and when you enter shops.

33-Use always the Islamic greeting form : « Assalamu Alaykom wa Rahmato Allah wa Barakatoh » which means :” Peace, blessing and mercy of Allah be upon you”

and don't change it with Good morning, Good night, Hi or welcome but you can say that after the firstone.

34-Pay attention to your clothes, appearance and personal cleanness.

35-Colour your grey hair in yellow or red and avoid the black colour as the Prophet ordered (PBUH).

36-Follow the Prophet’s teachings so that you will become one of those mentioned in this Hadith: TheProphet (PBUH) said : « There will be after you (talking to his companions) days of patience. In thosedays, the one who try so hard to be like you, (in following the Prophet‘s path) gets the reward of 50persons from you »

37-May Allah guide us to practise his book and the tradition of His Prophet (PBUH) and may Allah guide usto love His Prophet (PBUH) and to merit his intercession in the Day of Judgement.

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Those paragraphs are taken from the book « Al 'ilm wal 'olama » of «  Abu Bakr Aljazairi » theteacher in 'Al Medina Al munawara'