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     | Wednesday, March 07, 2001 - 08:46 pm Assalamu Alaikum, The following is a true story from a book translated by Muhammad Alshareef.I hope you will be moved by this story as much as it moved me. --------------------------------------------- She is my sister: Her cheeks were worn and sunken& her skin hugged her bones. That didn't stopher though, you could never catch her not recting the Qur'an. Always vigil in her personal prayer room dad had set up for her. Bowing, prostrating, raising her hands in prayer. That was the way she was from dawn to sunset& back again, boredom was for others. As for me, I craved nothing more than fashion magazines and novels. I treated myself all the time to videos until those trips to the rental place became my trademark. As they say, when something becomes habit people tend to distinguish you by it. I was negligent in my responsibilities and laziness characterized my salah. One night, I turned the video off after a marathon three hours of watching. The adhan softly rose in that quiet night. I slipped peacefully into my blanket. Her voice carried from her prayer room."Yes? would you like anything Noorah?" I said. With a sharp needle she popped my plans. "Don't sleep before you pray fajr!" Agh..there is still an hour before fajr, that was only the first adhaan. With those loving pinches of hers, she called me close. She was always like that even before the fierce sickness shook her spirit& shut her in bed. "Hannan can you come sit beside me." I could never refuse any of her requests, you could touch the purity and sincerity. "Yes, Noorah?" "Please sit here" "Ok, I'm sitting, what's on your mind?" With the sweetest mono voice she began reciting: "Every soul shall taste death and you would merely be repaid your earnings on resurrection Day" She stopped thoughtfully. Then she asked, "Do you believe in death?" "Ofcourse I do." "Do you believe that you should be responsible for whatever you do, regardless of how small or large?" "I do, but Allah is forgiving& merciful& I've got a long life waiting for me" "Stop it Hannan...aren't you afraid of death and it's ubruptness? look at Hind. She was younger than you but she died in a car accident. so did so and so and so. Death is age-blind and your age could never be a measure of when you shall die." The darkness of the room filled my skin with fear. "I am scared of the dark and now you made me scared of death, how am I supposed to go to sleep now. Noorah, I thought you promised you'd go with us on vocation during the summer break." Impact. Her voice broke& her heart quivered "I might be going on a long trip this year Hannan, but somewhere else. Just maybe. All of our lives are in Allah's hands and we all belong to Him." My eyes welled with tears down both cheeks. I pondered my sisters grizzly sickness, how the doctors had informed my father privately there was not much hope that Noorah was going to outlive the desease. She wasen't told though. Who hinted to her? Or was it that she could sense the truth. "What are you thinking about Hannan?" Her voice was sharp. "Do you think I am just saying this because I am sick? uh-uh. Infact, I may live longer than people who are not sick. And you Hannan, how long are you going to live? Twenty years, maybe? forty? Then what?" Though the dark she reached for my hand and squeezed gently. "There is no difference between us; we're all going to leave this world to live in paradise or organize in hell. Listen to the words of Allah: "Anyone who pushed away the fire shown into Jannah will have triumphed." I left my sister's room dazed, her words ringing in my ears;"May Allah guide you Hannan- don't forget your prayer." Eight O'clock in the morning. Pounding on my door. I don't usually wake up at this time.Crying.Confusion. O'Allah, what happened? Noorah's condition became critical after Fajr, they took her immediately to the hospital...Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. There wasen't going to be any trips this summer. It was written that I should spend the summer at home. After an eternity... It was one O'clock in the afternoon. Mother phoned the hospital. "Yes, you can come and see her now." Dad's voice had changed, mother could sense something had gotten deathly wrong. We left immediately. Where was the avenue I use to travel & thought was so short? Why was it so long now, so very long. We arrived at the hopital's main entrance. We skipped stairs to Noorah's floor. She was in the intensive care. The nurse approached us."Let me take you to her." As we walked down the aisles the nurse went on expressing how sweet a girl Noorah was. She reassured mother somewhat that Noorah's condition had gotten better than what it was in the morning. "Sorry. No more than one visitor at a time." This was the intensive care unit. Through the small window in the door and past the flury of white robes, I caught my sisters eyes. Mother was standing beside her. After two minutes, mother came out unable to control her crying. "You may enter and say salam to her on condition that you do not speak too lon," they told me. "Two minutes should be enough." "How are you Noorah? You were fine last night sister, what happened?" We held hands, she squeezed harmlessly. "Even now, Alhamdulillah, I am fine." "Allhamdulillah....but your hands are so cold." I sat on her bedside & rested my finger on her knee. She jerked away."Sorry...did I hurt you?" "No, it is just that I remembered Allah's word:"One leg will be wrapped to the other leg(in the death shroud) (Waltafatul saaqu bil saaq) Hannan pray for me. I may be meeting the first day of the hearaftervery soon. It is a long journey& I haven't prapared enough good deeds in my suitcase." A tear scaped my eye and ran down my cheek at her words. I cried & cried & she joined me. The room blurred away and left us two sisters- to cry together. Rivulets of tears splashed with both hands. Dad was now becoming more worried about me. I've never cried like that before. At home, upstairs in my room I watched the sun pass away a sorrowfukl day. Silence mingled in our corridors. A cousin came in my room, another. the visitors were many and all voices from downstairs stirred together. Only one thing was clear at that point....Noorah had died! I stopped distinguishing who came and went. I couldn't remember what they said. O'Allah, where was I? what was going on? I couldn't even cry anymore. Later that week they told me what had happened. Dad had taken my hand to say goodbye to my sister for the last time, I had kissed Noorah's forehead. I remember only one thing though, seeing her spread on that bed that she was going to die on. I remembered the verse she recited: "One leg will be wrapped to the other(in the death shroud)" and I knew too well of the truth of the next verse: " The drive on that day we be to your lord!" I tiptoed into her prayer room that night starring at the quiet dressers and silenced mirrors, I treasured who it was that had shared my mother's stomach with me.Noorah was my twin sister. I remembered who I had swapped sorrows with. Who had conforted my rainy days. I remembered who had prayed for my guidance and who had spent so may tears for so many nights telling me about death and accauntability.May Allah save us all. Tonight is Noorah's first night that she shall spend in her loub. O'Allah have mercy on her and illumine her grave. This was her Qur'an, her prayer mat, and this was the spring rose, colored dress that she told me she would hide until she got married, the dress she wanted to keep just for her husband. I remembered my sister and cried over the day I had lost. I prayed to Allah to have mercy on me and forgive me. I prayed for Allah to keep her firm in her grave as she always liked to mention in her supplications. At that moment I stopped. I asked myself; what if it was me who had died? where would I be moving into? Fear pressed me and tears began all over again. Allahu Akbar,Allahu Akbar.... The first Adhan rose softly from the masjid, how beautiful it sounded this time. I felt calm and relaxed as I repeated the muathan's call, I wrapped shawl around my shoulders and stood there to pray fajr. I prayed as if it was my last prayer, a farewell prayer, just like Noorah has done yesterday. It had been her last Fajr. Now& insha'allah for the rest of my life, if I wake in the morning I do not count on being alive by the evening, and in the evening I do not count on being alive by morning. We are all going to Noorah's journey. What have we prapared for it?
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| | Wednesday, March 07, 2001 - 10:55 pm Asalaamu Caleykum Edil, Jazaakalaahu Kheyral Jazaa! for forwarding the story. Yes, it did moved me. There is a lesson in the story and a wise person will only understand.
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| | Thursday, March 08, 2001 - 09:25 am Asalaamu alaikum, Edil, jazakallahu khairan sis for sharing this with us. I agree with anonymous, there is a big lesson behind the story. May Allah make all our preparations for that journey easy. BTW, this MOhamed al Sharif guy is really awesome. I've noticed most of his talks are directed at Muslim women. If you have time, read "how a pearl protects itself" posted on the folder: "Dress code, identity and young Muslims".
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| | Thursday, March 08, 2001 - 01:37 pm Anon& TLG Wa iyaakum. I really felt this story, it seemed as though it was speaking to me.I couldn't sleep or do much without thinking about it eversince. TLG I will read it thank you sis for informing me about that. Mohammad Al shareef read this story out loud at an MSA conference. It put the entire audience into tears.
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| | Friday, March 09, 2001 - 04:13 am salaam, First time since long time I had posted something on the somalinet but couldn't resist thanking you sister Edil for posting this inspiring story. I swear to Allah it had me in tears, and thinking big time ... very few stories do to me that, and this one, I felt as if I was the brother, as if she was talking to me. Ya Allah, what have i prepared for that journey? What if my life is cut short as I write something this exact moment? May Allah have mercy on the sister, and may he have made her wishes come true...Fi Janatil Firdowsa Al-Aclaa Maca Nabiyiina Wa Sadiiqiina Wa Shuhadaa. Edil, you already got reward for sharing this beautiful story with us, and may Allah increase your deeds. I promise I will read it to myself out loud and read it to others outloud. And yes, i will paste it and keep it some where I can see it all the time. Again, Jazakallahu Khairan
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| | Friday, March 09, 2001 - 10:11 am New Deal Wa iyaakum brother. I am about to post this story somewhere that I can read it always too.....May Allah guide us all and have mercy on our souls. Wasalamu alaikum
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| | Friday, March 09, 2001 - 03:53 pm assalamu calaikum may allah guide us all to the right path ameen. I really loved that story and it really moved me it had me in tears. I wanted to ask you idil where i can find the books of mohamed al-shareef. Jazakumullah khairan.
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| | Friday, March 09, 2001 - 06:10 pm Assalamu Alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu I pray and hope everyone is in good health and increasing Iman. Jazakullah kayrain sister Edil for share such a inspiring story. I think most of us (and I remind myself frist) are too relaxed. We feel that death is far away and since we are in our youth it won't hit us frist. That story had me in tears of hope and fear. Hope because I am longing to meet Allah swt and fear cuz am I rightous enuff to reach such piety. May Allah SWT protect us from the trials of this life and the grave.....ameen once agian jazakullah kayrain your sister in faith
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| | Monday, March 12, 2001 - 08:19 am Ummina and Muslimah No problem.....stories like that only give me something to think about.. Ummina- I am looking for those books just for you sis. I emailed an Islamic bookstore but they told me they didn't have any books by Mohammad al Shareef..I will keep you posted.
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| | Monday, March 12, 2001 - 06:00 pm to edil jazakumullahu khairan sis i really appereciate it so much. keep me up dated when you find then sis. wacaleykum salam
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| | Tuesday, March 13, 2001 - 12:09 pm Asalaamu alaikum all, Edil and Ummina, you can read or listen to Khutbahs by Muhammed al-Shareef following this link: http://alshareef.homepage.com/ Take care all salaam.
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| | Wednesday, March 14, 2001 - 08:32 pm TLG Jazakullah sis--It was such a beautiful qudba and they do have an email that I can use to ask about the books we are looking for. Thanx again.
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| | Thursday, March 15, 2001 - 11:35 am Salams. wow, I have never been moved like that in my life...my heart goes out to u sis. It's never easy losing a loved one, and your right what we do in live will echo in eternity. Maybe Allah have mercy on her soul and guide us all to the right path.
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| | Friday, March 16, 2001 - 01:59 pm Kids Whatever...(OK I'm trying to talk like you guys)
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