Just begin…
(Translated from the Arabic short story by: Abdul Malik Al-Qasim)
I heard my wife’s voice nearby… moving briskly as if looking for something… I held a book & began reading it… but something went on my mind… I asked her…
“How much of your time passes without any use?”
She said,” on the contrary, I am always busy… & I have no time at all…”
“ How many hours do you spend in the kitchen… what benefit do you obtain during all those lengthy hours?
If you put a cassette of any religious lecture in the tape recorder & begin hearing it…that means you would hear a complete lecture daily…”
I proceeded…
“It’s my responsibility to provide you with such a cassette…
If you made a time-table for yourself…
Hearing the recitation of the Holy Qur’an… ten minutes daily… you might be able to learn it by heart some day…
This is your time, my dear & your time is your money… please mind it!
There are some other things…
Ramadan, the month of worshiping & reciting Qur’an…
Instead of worships, you stay in the kitchen from the early morning… can you tell me who will eat all that food that you prepare…? I don’t want but one sort of dish… two utmost… & the rest of your time shall be specified for your prayers & recitation… & … now we reach the central point…”
I waved my hands…
“Come & sit beside me… I always wander… what is that thing which you women talk about in those weekly & even daily visits, which you pay to the neighbors?
Didn’t you hear God’s saying…
(Not a word does he –or she- utter but there is a watcher by him, ready –to record it-).
Every thing is written even the smile that we pass to others…
You obviously know Imam Ahmad’s saying: ”…a man is asked about everything. Even about his smile…”
you know… if the visit lengthens, the Satan gets his share from it.
You can be the preacher of the district… just begin… & don’t forget… say the word that suits their minds & ages, so that you can help change their conducts.
Beg for Allah’s help & I assure you that you will get something you never even had expected…Just begin…”
She raised her head…
“I am a peaceful woman… believe me, I never backbite in those gatherings…”
“What you say is right but the backbites of others is an equal sin…”
I tried that with her again…
“What do you say, preacher of the district… cant you do that…?”
“You are very optimistic… you think things are that easy & simple… you know nothing of women’s society… it’s not that easy… … how will I prepare the lecture. I am not even good at that… the other thing is that I am shy & I can’t talk in front of all that horde of women…
& I might very well put myself in a very embarrassing situation…”
“Trust in God & seek God’s repayment… No excuse can justify our forsaking the duties of preaching… … books are available & Islamic cassettes are there… Read before them a specific article & if you want, I will prepare for you the first lecture… you will only have to read it before them… Can’t you do just that?”
* On our visit day, women of the district gathered in one of the women’s houses & fruits were served…
I prayed that God might help me… then I thought of an idea that I was to carry out when all were present…
I tried to read in their eyes what they hid …I halted & delayed my plan until the end of the visit…
I will defer to everything, with the hope that I might win their hearts & love, so that I shall leave no chance for their comments & criticism… I even persuaded myself with the thought… God’s Prophet (Peace be upon him)… how he preached Islam? How much he did struggle & tolerate for its sake…
He was banned for three years in Shi’b Amir… pelted with stones & forced out of Taif… migrated from his beloved city… his fore-head was cleaved on the day of Uhud… & what not?
Great tolerance & continuous struggle… he did not halt at obstacles… difficulties never swerved him of his path…
& I …what was I to face?
A word…?
Or a sarcastic laugh…?
I mocked myself…”tell me what will I face?”
At the end of the visit, I summoned up courage… holding a paper in my hand… self confident…
This paper, distributed in the mosque, was about the greatness of the coming days… the first ten days of Zul-hajj. And about the deeds that are preferable to be done in these days…
To my surprise there was nothing of what I expected… All were listening quietly & with great interest…
At first I intended to read it swiftly but when I saw their response, I began reading it calmly, until I ended it up…
One of them said in surprise:
“All this is about these ten days? I thought it was just a season of Hajj”
Many of them thanked me for that & many prayed for me… I thanked God very much… & realized that my husband was right & that he was realistic more than I thought I was…
When I told him about my success, he looked at me with joy…
“That is what I hoped you would do… Preacher of the District”
* * *
“ Before the next visit “ I thought, “ I shall prepare for the next lecture… … books are many… but my first success is chasing me…“ I wondered, “What will I choose…” I decided to start with monotheism “ (Tawheed). I read before them four pages about magicians & clergymen. When I approached the Holy Prophet’s Hadith: (the one who comes to the parson & believes in what he says, he would have disbelieved in what had been revealed to Muhammad.)
I noticed that some eyes moved in confusion & anxiety. Some did not know that this matter was that serious…
… Applause & encouragements made things continue smoothly…
* In the next visit, I read before them an article about principles of cleanliness…
Most of them are ignorant about the basic believes & they even neglect them. About prayers & purity, they know but little…
That looked so miserable & embarrassing…
* In one of those visits, I was much more confident… I read before them some pages of a book that talked about agony of death… what a person’s last moments are like… & what a person suffers in those moments. I strained every nerve trying not to weep…struggled to control myself & held back my tears… … but in the end I could not…
After several months… there left no vacancy for backbiting in our gatherings… praising & invocation of God was always there in our dwellings…
Every woman became a preacher of her house & society… we decided that benefit must be granted to everyone…therefore, there should be a lecture after Maghrib prayers for all of us & for those who did not attend the previous lectures…
The change was major & fast… this compelled me to ask my husband…
“How is it that all this blessing is obtained in this short duration…?”
He said, “What is it that surprises you? People are innocent by instinct…looking for those who would help them out… but let me ask you… do you think you could clear yourself of this responsibility if you would not have done it?”
“No” I declared it, he smiled & continued…
“If every educator becomes a preacher of her or his district, our society will change entirely… I shall say… just begin…
JUST BEGIN…
No comments:
Post a Comment