Islamic Stories,Rays of Guidance ✓

Salaah

Salaah At The Gas Station & 4 Hour Journey To Dammam :)

A colleague of mine, Shaykh Khalid once shared this story with us years ago. A story so meaningful I have remembered it always.

A friend of his who was a taxi driver in Riyadh called him one night incredibly disturbed and weeping.

"Is everything ok?" The shaykh asked.

He said, "I am okay but something very strange happened to me today.

It was a normal day for me driving in the city in the afternoon crowd. I picked up four young men and they asked me to take them to the city of Dammam (in the east Provence of Saudi Arabia). It was good pay and when we left the city limit and at the beginning of the highway I stopped to refuel at the gas station. The young men were smoking, joking and laughing really loudly.  I told them I needed to pray Asr in the masjid by the gas station before we began our four-hour journey. And I asked them if they prayed.

They laughed and said, do we look like “Mutaw’ah” ( religious people)?

I said,  'I am not that religious but I do not miss my salah. Come on guys let’s pray and who knows may Allah guide us all!'

One of them said, 'I am not sure if we ready for guidance yet!'

But the one in the front seat who seemed to be their leader looked at them and simply said,  'let’s do it!'

They made wudu and I led them in prayer. When we finished, the young man who said let’s pray was still in sujood.

The other three were laughing at him and kept telling him that the prayer is over and to stop showing off. I thought that he might be really enjoying his sujood but quickly realized that it was something else.

We touched him and he fell on his side.

He was not breathing.

I did CPR on him while the others called for help but he was already gone.

The three were in shock and crying.  The youngest amongst them was the most effected and I learned that he was his younger brother.

He looked at me and through tears said, 'thank you for inviting us to pray. This was my first time seeing my brother praying. I will change. Oh Allah have mercy on my brother!"

He was hysterical and I tried to calm him down telling him that his brother died in salah. The three young men left with their friend in the ambulance but in a completely different state than the way they started their trip.

I went back home that day wondering and thinking of what happened!"

My friend Shaykh Khalid told him, "InshAllah you get his reward and thank you for inviting them to salah."

He was telling us how no one knows when his moment will come! And indeed this a great reminder but I have other thoughts I would to share with you and please share yours as well in the comment section below:

☆ Indeed Allah is the Most Merciful even though that young man for a long time had turned his back to guidance and did not pray, according to his brother for years, but yet Allah guided him, his sins did not cast him beyond Allah's Mercy as Allah's Mercy encompasses everything and everyone.

☆ I was thinking about how good deeds lead to a good ending. This young man not only accepted the invitation to pray, but he also encouraged his friends to pray as well and used his leadership to invite them to something good. Allah gave him Husn Alkhatemah (Ending your live upon goodness) so keep your good deeds so when your time comes it will come while you are upon righteousness.

☆ This story shows me the Barakah of Salah , it’s the most blessed act of worship so preserve it and keep it alive both the obligatory and the voluntary so that you will benefit from its blessings.

☆ This story shows the importance of advising one another. The taxi driver did not say who I am to advise them I am not a Shaykh or even very 'religious' Muslim. Nor did he disqualify them from his invitation by saying they look so far from the religion and there is no point of advising them! See if he did not invite them to Salah and that was this man’s time Allah knows what he would have died upon!  Be the reason for people to be at their best by advising them to do the best.

These are some of my thoughts and now you might understand why this is one of my unforgettable stories.

What other benefits from this story do you see?

I will be sharing more stories in the upcoming weeks - inshaAllah. :)

#StoriesThatTouchedMyHeart

Assalaamu alaikum w.w...

Just a short remindet to everyone that this stories are not written by me... I post them only :)

Jazakallah

Remember the ummah in ur Duas... and could u all do me a small favour plz...

Let us recite surah Ikhlaas 3 times and send it to all the ummate marhoomeen...

As they'll be so happy even by the little we send