Short Stories To Live By

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem   Wa laqad khalaqnaakum summa sawwarnaakum summa qulnaa lilmalaaa'ikatis judoo li Aadama fa-sajadooo illaaa Ibleesa lam yakum minas saajideen Qaala maa mana'aka allaa tasjuda iz amartuka qaala ana khairum minhu khalaqtanee min naarinw wa khalaqtahoo min teen - (Quran Surah Al-A'raf, 7:11-12)   11. Verily We created you and gave you form and shape, and ordered the angels to bow before Adam in homage; and they all bowed but Iblis who was not among those who bowed. 12. "What prevented you" (said God), "from bowing (before Adam) at My bidding?" "I am better than him," said he. "You created me from fire, and him from clay." -  (Quran Surah Al-A'raf, 7:11-12) There is no planner better than Allah. His plans are the greatest and His plans are the only plans that pan out. I've thought often that if on that day, Iblis would've just bowed down, lowered himself, at Allah's command. One act of loweri...

"Are you sure you brought it back?", my wife asked me. "I thought I did, I remember putting it in my pocket when I was at the office", I replied. It was lost and I never saw it again. I am sure every one of us has had a similar incidents in the course of their lives, some like me, had had it more than the rest. We all lose things that we often find again, and other times, never see them again. What made me wonder however though, while sitting in my office, with so many things around me, was the idea that what if there is something around me, that I will never see again. The cup, the pen, the notebook, anyone of these things can be in my sight for their last time. This however does not end with things. This thought is universal. This moment, this meeting, this closeness can be the last of its kind with anything. The people we meet, what if it was the last time we met them. I didnt know when I was at the airport in 2017 that that was the last time I was going to hug m...

I've been researching about the existence of evil with the help of various books. My current read, at this time, January 11, 2023, is Evil and the God of Love by John Hick. The various thinkers over the course of time have presented their views and I respect their views. But for a layman like me, it didnt make sense. The one thing that I seem to not agree upon with most, is that they viewed the world, this form of our existence as the final form or destination. However, I seem to have a different view. Let me try to explain. We are a work in progress, going towards our destination. The evils, sufferings, trials of this world are a part of the process. This is my analogy. A factory owner has machines, that makes marbles. He is proud of His marbles. His staff does an impeccable job at making marbles. The marbles go through various different machines at different stages of the manufacturing. All marbles, however, start off as glass and silica. They are heated over 1700 degree Celsius,...

Today, upon a bus, I saw a girl with golden hair. and wished I was as fair. When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle. She had one leg and wore a crutch. But as she passed, a smile. Ya Allah, forgive me when I whine. I have 2 legs, the world is mine. I stopped to buy some candy. The lad who sold it had such charm. I talked with him, he seemed so glad. If I were late, it'd do no harm. And as I left, he said to me, "I thank you, you've been so kind. It's nice to talk with folks like you. You see," he said, "I'm blind." Ya Allah, forgive me when I whine. I have 2 eyes, the world is mine. Later, while walking down the street, I saw a child with eyes of blue. He stood and watched the others play. He did not know what to do. I stopped a moment and then I said, "Why don't you join the others, dear?" He looked ahead without a word; and then I knew, he wouldn't hear. Ya Allah, forgive me when I whine. I have 2 ears, th...

There was a couple who used to go to shop in the beautiful stores. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups. One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful teacup. They said, "May we see that? We've never seen one quite so beautiful." As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke. "You don't understand," it said. "I haven't always been a teacup. There was a time when I was red and I was clay." My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over and I yelled out, "let me alone", but he only smiled, "Not yet." "Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said, "and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. Stop it! I'm getting dizzy!" I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, 'Not yet." Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see him thr...

Once upon a time an old man spread rumors that his neighbor was a thief. As a result, the young man was arrested. Days later the young man was proven innocent. After been released he sued the old man for wrongly accusing him.   In court the old man told the Judge: 'They were just comments, didn't harm anyone.'   The judge, before passing sentence on the case, told the old man: 'Write all the things you said about him in a piece of paper. Cut them up and on the way home, throw the pieces of paper out. Tomorrow, come back to hear the sentence.'   Next day, the judge told the old man: 'Before receiving the sentence, you will have to go out and gather all the pieces of paper that you threw out yesterday.'   The old man said: 'I can't do that! The wind spread them and I won't know where to find them.'   The judge then replied: 'The same way, simple comments may destroy the honor of a man to such an extent that one is not ab...