Assalamun alaikum
THE PRICE OF IMAAN
Severalyears ago an imaam moved to London. He often took the bus from his hometo the downtown area. Some weeks after he arrived, he had occasion toride the same bus. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver hadaccidentally given him twenty pence too much change. As he consideredwhat to do, he thought to himself, 'you better give the twenty penceback. It would be wrong to keep it'.
Then he thought, 'ohforget it, it's only twenty pence. Who would worry about this littleamount? Anyway, the bus company already gets too much fare; they willnever miss it. Accept it as a gift from Almighty Allah and keep quiet'.
THE PRICE OF IMAAN
Severalyears ago an imaam moved to London. He often took the bus from his hometo the downtown area. Some weeks after he arrived, he had occasion toride the same bus. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver hadaccidentally given him twenty pence too much change. As he consideredwhat to do, he thought to himself, 'you better give the twenty penceback. It would be wrong to keep it'.
Then he thought, 'ohforget it, it's only twenty pence. Who would worry about this littleamount? Anyway, the bus company already gets too much fare; they willnever 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 inthis area? I have been thinking lately about going to worship at yourmosque. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too muchchange."
When the Imaam stepped off the bus,his knees became weak and soft. He had to grab the nearest light poleand held for support, and looked up to the heavens and cried:
"Oh Allah, I almost sold Islam for twenty pence!"
Bottomline: Wemay never see the impact our actions have on people... Sometimes we arethe only knowledge of the Quran someone will read, or the only Islam anon-Muslim will see. What we need to provide, Insha Allah is anexample for others to see. Be careful and be honest everyday, because you never know who is watching your actions.
