Jan 26, 2012
This is the story of the giant ship engine that failed. The ship’s owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine. Then, they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a youngster. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, from top to bottom.
Two of the ship’s owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man searched into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. & instantly, the engine lurched into life & got started.
He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for £10,000. “What?!” the owners exclaimed. “He hardly did anything!”So they wrote the old man a note saying “Please send us an itemised bill.”The man sent a bill that read:
- Tapping with a hammer …..£2.00
- Knowing where to hammer..£9,998.00
- Total £10,000
An old quote:“My worry for you is not that you fail to succeed, but that you succeed in the wrong thing.”
An example that springs to mind which I have heard from our scholars is that people strive to do a lot of good a’maal but fail to refrain from committing sins, and they explained this point by using the example of a petrol tank with a hole in the bottom, we keep on filling it with petrol, little realising our loss of fuel from the hole in the tank.
Moral of The Story: Effort itself is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life,‘Makes all the difference’. So often we see people striving, working and making effort tirelessly, often for years only for them to later on realise that they were all misplaced and how they wish they had spent the time and effort on something more fruitful.
May Allah give us the ability to reflect, learn and act on the above.
by Abdurrahman Basher
Jan 19, 2012
It is said that actions speak louder than words. What is meant by this statement is that no matter what we say it is what we actually do that people will take notice of. If we say one thing but practice something altogether differently, people will see through that and we will be perceived as being hypocritical and untrustworthy. All of our words, no matter how beautiful and correct they are, will lose their effectiveness because they have been tarnished by our bad actions.
The best way for us to make a positive impression on others is to treat them with respect, keep our promises, be honest in our dealings and be willing to admit mistakes when they are committed.
Muslims are taught that the best example of good conduct is the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). In fact, he was nicknamed As-Sadiq al-Amin (the Honest, the trustworthy) by the Makkah Quarysh even before he was commissioned to be a prophet. And Allah says of his excellent character in the Quran, “Verily, you are of the noblest of character” (68:4), and “Verily in the Apostle of Allah you have the best example for those who have the hope of meeting Allah and expect to stand before Him, then remember Allah most often …” (33:21)
In addition, one of the famous companions of the Prophet, Anas bn Malik, stated that, “the Prophet (pbuh) was the best man to live with (best in words and actions).” He further said, “I lived with him for a period of ten years during which he never rebuked me for any mistake nor did he ever said why did you do this nor didn’t do that.” In addition his wife, Aishah, stated that, “the Prophet (pbuh) never raise his hands to beat any child or woman and that he used to be just in dealing with his wives and children.”
The biography of the Prophet (pbuh) is filled with numerous examples of his patience, forgiving nature and nobility of character. In addition, he was respectful to the elders of the community and kind to the youngesters.
Allah says of the Prophet in the Quran, “It is part of the Mercy of Allah that you deal gently with them. If you were severe or harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about you: so pass over (Their faults), and ask for (Allah’s) forgiveness for them; and consult them in affairs (of moment). Then, when you have taken a decision put you trust in Allah. For Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him)” (3:159).
The Prophet (pbuh) won many people over to his message not merely by the message he conveyed, but by the excellence of his character. Even his enemies could not find fault in the way he conducted himself.
And so we, contemporary Muslims, have a model before us regarding how to conduct ourselves when dealing with our non-Muslims friends, neighbours and co-workers. If we want them to have a favourable impression of Islam then we must strive to behave in an appropriate manner. Do we have a right to complain if people have a negative impression of Islam and Muslims when we are dishonest in our dealings, rude in our conduct and consistently fail to keep our promises? Will anyone listen to what we have to say if we behave in such a manner?
Intelligent people throughout history have understood this principle. For example, it was Benjamin Franklin who stated that, “Well done is better than well said.” And and old African Proverb states, “When deeds speak, words are nothing.” In addition, Andrew Carnegie stated, “As I grow older I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.”
Regardless of all of our beautiful sermons, nicely written articles, glossy pamphlets, well designed websites, or our abilities to “refute” someone’s point of view with sound evidence, if we are not following the noble example of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and being mindful that our actions are more important than what we say, regardless of the correctness of our words, then all of our efforts to leave a favourable impression of Islam will come to naught.
One need not be a scholar or any kind of orator to practice silent dawah as our good actions will speak for themselves.
By: Yahya Abdul Rahman
Jan 9, 2012
Settling in a foreign country is very difficult. Muslim Immigrants (or visible minorities in General) in Quebec, or even in the rest of Canada, know this just too well, getting a house, stable employment and above all, a learning facility or a school for their children can all become challenging at first.
Home schooling is done under familiar environment and as such it accelerates the child’s learning experience unlike in the conventional schooling system (whether private or public) where the environment is a bit crowded. New comers’ children may take time to familiarize with their new environment.
Home schooling provides the child with the chance to learn what they can at the time they feel most comfortable. Their parents will know better how to interact with them, and this makes learning a continuous process and less tiring unlike in the standard schooling system where the child is expected to be in class for a certain period of time, this way the child’s concentration level is lowered making them lose interest in learning at such an early age. Private schools are much better for new comers than public schools in general. Yet, there is no statistical proof as to which one is better for visible minorities or for Muslims.
The education level in Canada’s private school might seem quite challenging for immigrants who just got into the country. The challenge is not related to the quality of teaching. A lot of parents come from overseas with higher quality teaching. However, the educational system in Quebec has a pace that is different from other foreign home countries. It’s therefore wise that the child should learn at home for a while so s/he can move smoothly from one environment to the other. This way the child will gain the conviction they need and improve their learning abilities within a short period of time.
For Muslim students who were born and raised here, the challenge is different. Their parents might not like the standard schooling system because it exposes the young students to a different value system that is not quite matching with the preferred value system at home. Hence, home schooling looks more attractive for this category.
Schooling at home goes beyond the preset curriculum that the public school follows (or even the private school). Therefore, students from visible minorities are able to explore other interests like music, arts and other hobbies of interest that may eventually become a good career for them later in life. Home schooling is an all holistic program that ensures that the child’s learning needs are fully met.
Finally, it should be noted that this is not a conclusive call to get on the boat of home schooling. This is just a quick exploration on whether home schooling is another alternative for Muslims in Quebec. There is a need for a rigorous study to check whether this schooling mode will effectively and efficiency offer our children the learning excellence they need.
May you please comment and share your point of view about this schooling mode.
