Dear servants of Allah! Sometimes the results of our good actions end up not quite like we expected. In such circumstances we mustn’t conclude that our deeds have gone to waste, because we can never fully fathom the intricacies of Allah’s plans.
Monday, Ramadan 03, 1446 AH (03/03/2025)
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation. May Allah extol the Messenger in the highest company of Angels and grant him peace; and likewise, his family, his Companions and all those who truly and sincerely follow him until the Day of Resurrection.
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Respected brothers and sisters! The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) sometimes narrated stories of previous people to the companions, and to his Ummah.
Of course, all these stories were facts and not made up, and the Prophet (Peace be upon him) didn’t narrate them for just only entertainment but rather to learn lessons from them that we can apply to our own lives.
Here are three stories narrated by the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) that have come to us through authentically reported Hadiths:
1. A man bought a piece of land from another man, and the buyer found a jar filled with gold in the land. The buyer said to the seller: “Take your gold, as I bought only the land from you and not the gold.” The owner of the land said: “I sold you the land with everything in it.” So both of them took their case before a third man who asked: “Have you any children?” One of them said: “I have a boy.” The other said: “I have a girl.” The man said: “Marry the girl to the boy and spend the money on them; and whatever remains give it in charity.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
Dear brothers and sisters! Look at the goodness of both these men. It’s usual to find the opposite – people quarreling in order to take possession of wealth. Here the two men are arguing to give the other the unexpectedly found treasure-jar.
2. There were two women, each had her child with her. A wolf came and took away the child of one of them. One woman said to her companion: “The wolf has taken your son.” The other said: “It has taken your son.” So both of them took the dispute to Prophet Dawud (AS) who judged that the boy should be given to the older lady. Then they went to Prophet Sulaiman (AS) and put the case before him. Prophet Sulaiman said: “Give me a knife so that I may cut the child into two and give one half to each of you.” The younger woman said: “Do not do so; may Allah bless you! He is her child.” On that Prophet Sulaiman decided the case in favour of the younger woman.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
Here, Allah had blessed Prophet Sulaiman (AS) with great wisdom. He found a way of finding out who the real mother of the child was. The real mother was the one who was the most upset by the thought of cutting the child in half.
3. A man from amongst the people before you said: “Indeed! I will give in charity.” So he took his charity out and placed it in a thief’s hand. In the morning the people were talking and murmuring about this incident and saying: “Charity was given to a thief last night.” The man said: “O Allah! Praise be to You. I have given charity to a thief. Indeed, I will give in another charity!” So he took his charity out and he placed it in a prostitute’s hand. In the morning the people were talking and murmuring about this incident and saying: “Charity was given to a prostitute last night.” On hearing this, the man said: “Praise be to You, O Allah! I gave Sadaqah to a prostitute. Indeed, I will give in another charity!” So he took his charity out and placed it in a rich man’s hand. In the morning the people were talking and grumbling about this incident and saying: “Charity was given to a rich man last night.” The man said: “O Allah! Praise be to You for helping me give charity to a thief, a prostitute and a rich man.” Then he had a dream in which he was told that his charity to the thief might result in his refraining from his theft, his charity to the prostitute might help her abstain from her immorality, and his charity to the rich man might help him pay heed and start spending from what Allah had bestowed upon him.” [Bukhari]
Dear servants of Allah! Sometimes the results of our good actions end up not quite like we expected. In such circumstances we mustn’t conclude that our deeds have gone to waste, because we can never fully fathom the intricacies of Allah’s plans.
Ya Allah, on this day grant us wisdom and awareness; keep us away from foolishness and pretension, grant us a share in every blessing you send down, by your generosity, or the most generous.
All perfect praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad (Peace be upon him), and upon his family, his Companions and his true followers.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of: Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah Mosque; and Late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene Mosque, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: [email protected]; or +2348038289761.
