Friday, May 23, 2008

The Price for All

I got this from a friend and would like to share it here.

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before eedil-kareem, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.

He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.'

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift.'

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.

On th e platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?'

There was silence.

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings! Skip this one.'

But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting. Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?'

Another voice angrily. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!'

But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?'

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting.' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

'We have $10, who will bid $20?'

'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters..'

'$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?'

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son.

They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!'

A man sitting on the second row shouted, 'Now let's get on with the collection!'

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.'

'What about the paintings?'

'I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.

The man who took the son gets everything!'

Allah gave The Noble Qur'an hundred of years ago to guide us. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: 'The Qur'an, the Qur'an, who'll take the Qur'an?'

Because, you see, whoever takes the Qur-an gets everything.

Glory be to Allah!!

Do whatever you like, but remember that maybe 'one' of the people you might have taken the time to send this to, may be just the person who needs to hear this message. The choice is yours to make.'

[Hadith] Beautiful Al-Quran

Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:
"When a man dies and his relatives are busy in funeral, there stands an extremely charming man by his head. When the dead body is shrouded, that man gets in between the shroud and the chest of the deceased. After the burial and the people return home, two Angels; Munkar and Nakeer (names of two special Angels), come in the grave and try to separate this charming man so that they may be able to interrogate the dead man in privacy about his faith. But the charming man says, 'He is my companion, he is my friend. I will not leave him alone in any case. If you are appointed for interrogation, do your job. I cannot leave him until I get him admitted into Paradise."

Thereafter he turns to his dead companion and says,
"I am The Noble Qur'an, which you used to read, sometimes in a loud voice and sometimes in a low voice. Do not worry. After the interrogation of Munkar and Naker, you will have no grief."

When the interrogation is over, the charming man arranges for him from Al-Mala'ul A'laa (the Angels in Heaven) silk bedding filled with musk.

Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:
"On the Day of Judgement, before Allah, no other Intercessor will have a greater status than Al-Qur'an, neither a Prophet nor an angel."

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Blogger arrested for Racist Post

A 24-year-old BLOGGER has been arrested for posting a racist rant on his website that has stoked an online firestorm. A computer, believed to have been used to make the post, was seized for investigations. The case came to light following two police reports made on Monday complaining of a virulent online message. The post, which was made on March 18, described the man whom the author saw sitting on the floor of an MRT train, as 'smelling like he didnt showered in years' and said he was wearing 'some really scary dirty clothes'. It went on to make racial remarks about the man, and even challenged anyone of that race to refute what he had written. Lawyer Shashi Nathan stressed that bloggers need to be wary about the fallout from their posts. He said: 'Netizens need to strike a fine balance between freedom of speech and racial responsibility. It affects the country as a whole.' This is not the first time a blogger has got into hot water over a post. In 2005, two people were convicted of posting racist remarks on their personal websites. One was jailed for a month and the other was jailed for one day and fined $5,000. Anyone who deliberately wounds the religious or racial feelings of another may be jailed for up to three years and fined.
(The Straits Times, Singapore)

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

[Hadith] Tempat Tinggal Iblis


Anas bin Malik r.a. berkata:
"Iblis telah bertanya pada Allah: katanya, wahai Tuhanku! Engkau telah memberikan anak Adam tempat kediaman untuk mereka berteduh dan berzikir kepadaMu, oleh itu tunjukkanlah padaku tempat kediaman untukku." Firman Allah: "Tempat kediamanmu adalah di dalam tandas."

Iblis bertanya lagi: "Wahai Tuhanku, Engkau telah berikan anak Adam berkumpul di masjid, di manakah pula tempatku berkumpul?" Firman Allah: "Tempatmu berkumpul ialah di pasar-pasar, pesta, pusat membeli belah, kelab malam, tempat hiburan serta majlis-majlis maksiat."

Iblis bertanya: "Wahai Tuhanku, Engkau berikan anak Adam itu kitab (al-Quran) untuk mereka membacanya, tunjukkanlah apa pula bahan bacaanku?" Firman Allah: "Bacaan untukmu ialah syair dan sajak yang melalaikan."

Iblis bertanya: "Wahai Tuhanku, Engkau telah berikan kepada mereka cerita-cerita benar, apakah pula cerita bagiku?" Firman Allah: "Cerita bagimu ialah kata-kata kesat dan dusta."

Iblis bertanya: "Wahai Tuhanku, Engkau telah berikan azan kepada anak Adam untuk mereka memanggil orang sembahyang,apa pula azan untukku?" Firman Allah: "Azan untukmu ialah seruling."

Iblis bertanya: "Wahai Tuhanku, Engkau telah menghantar utusan-Mu dari para rasul dan juga nabi, siapakah yang menjadi utusanku?" Firman Allah: "Para utusan mu terdiri daripada bomoh, tabib dan dukun yang menduakan Aku."

Iblis Bertanya: "Wahai Tuhanku, Engkau berikan kitab suci al-Quran yang bertulis kepada mereka, apakah pula tulisan bagiku?" Firman Allah: "Tulisanmu ialah tatu, gincu serta lukisan di badan."

Iblis bertanya: "Ya Tuhanku, Engkau berikan anak Adam perangkap, apakah pula perangkap bagiku?" Firman Allah: "Perangkap bagimu ialah wanita."

Iblis bertanya: "Ya Tuhanku, Engkau berikan mereka minuman yang halal yang disebutkan nama-Mu, apakah pula minuman untukku?" Firman Allah: "Minumanmu ialah sesuatu yang memabukkan serta tidak disebutkan nama-Ku padanya."

Sabda Rasulullah saw : "Wahai manusia, laksanakanlah amalan-amalan menurut kemampuan kamu. Sesungguhnya Allah tidak akan bosan sebelum kamu merasa bosan. Sesungguhnya amalan yang paling disukai Allah ialah amalan yang ringan namun berterusan."

( Hadis Riwayat Muslim )