ABOUT THIS BOOK
Description
A Friend Lost in Thought
He sat on the doorstep of his house, leaning against the wall. From his appearance, he was deeply worried. Someone had come and greeted him repeatedly, but he didn’t even hear until the person tapped his shoulder and said, “Come on, Abdallah, what kind of deep thought is this? I’ve been greeting you and you didn’t respond.”
The one called Abdallah replied, “Oh, it’s you, Umar. Of course you can see I’m thinking. You know better than anyone the situation I’m in—I have no choice but to think.”
“That’s true, my friend,” Umar said, “but you should try to ease up a little so you don’t create another problem for yourself.”
“I’m trying to, Umar, but it’s beyond me, honestly.”
“May God help us and bring us a solution.”
“Amen,” Abdallah replied.
Then Umar asked, “Why are you just sitting here? Don’t we have somewhere to go today?”
Abdallah smiled faintly—one that barely showed on his face—and said, “We do have somewhere to go, but there’s no money. I was just thinking… if I could get some money this morning, I’d buy something for my mother to eat. But as you can see, every door is closed.”
Umar fell silent, studying his friend for a moment before saying, “Stand up, let’s go.”
“Go where?” Abdallah asked.
“Just walk with me to the roadside.”
“Alright,” he replied, and they both stood up and set off.
A Simple Act of Kindness
As they walked, chatting like close friends, they arrived at a tea seller’s shop. Umar stopped.
Abdallah looked at him. “What are we doing here?”
“Just wait and watch,” Umar replied. He went over to speak with the tea seller, then returned and said, “Bismillah,” pointing Abdallah to an empty chair.
Abdallah didn’t argue. He sat down. They remained there for about five minutes without speaking. Then the tea seller brought them tea—simple tea fit for poor men—and some bread.
Abdallah opened his mouth to speak, but Umar cut him off. “Please, ustaz, no complaints. Eat your food.” Umar finished speaking as he pulled his own cup closer.
Abdallah had no choice. He didn’t want to upset his friend. He took his cup, said “Bismillah,” and began to eat. He hadn’t eaten since the previous morning.
After they finished, Umar paid the tea seller and collected a nylon bag from him. Then they set off again.
“Umar, I don’t even know how to thank you. Thank you for all the help you give me. May God reward you with goodness and show me the day I can repay you too.”
“Amen. Abdallah, I don’t need thanks from you. How could I have money to spend and not spend it on you? That’s impossible.”
“I still must thank you, my friend. Only you and my mother truly understand what I’m going through.”
“Hmm,” Umar replied, knowing Abdallah spoke the truth.
They soon reached Abdallah’s house and entered together, greeting as they walked in.
At Home with Family
In the courtyard, Mama sat on a mat with a young girl beside her. Both wore hijabs, and it looked like they had just finished praying the duha prayer. The girl answered their greeting since Mama was busy making supplications.
“Good morning, Brother Umar,” the girl said.
“Good morning, Hafsa. How is the household?”
“We’re fine,” Hafsa replied.
Just then Mama said, “Welcome, Umar.”
He smiled. “Thank you, Mama. Did you wake well?”
“We did, thank God,” Mama answered.
Umar then turned to Hafsa and said, “Take this and prepare it.” He handed her the bag.
Hafsa took it and went into their small kitchen.
That was when Abdallah spoke. “Umar, you don’t even have money yourself, yet you keep going through all this trouble.”
Umar frowned. “So doing something for my mother is trouble now? I’m only seeking blessings.” He sounded slightly annoyed as he finished speaking and then said, “I’ll leave you in God’s protection.”
Abdallah quickly followed him and managed to calm him down, apologizing and asking where he got the money.
“From one of my rams. It had been sick since yesterday. This morning I realized I’d lose it, so I slaughtered it and took it to the market. The butchers bought it for nine thousand,” he said casually.
“But Umar, you have responsibilities,” Abdallah said.
“I divided the money into three parts,” Umar replied. “I gave two parts to my mother and kept one part—for myself and my friend.”
Abdallah sighed deeply and said, “May God bless that money.”
“Amen,” Umar replied. Then the two of them headed off together into town.
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