Assalam alaikum, Stepping out into the cold, the chilling winter breeze of Shanghai has an effect almost like no other. Images of China, perceived as a rural agricultural economy pale into insignificance as I walk onto the number one street of Shanghai, if not China. The flagship avenue decked with Christmas trees and lights serves as a parade of the worlds leading fashions, from Gucci to Armani. You are almost left with the delusion that were it not for the many Chinese faces you see, this could easily have been 5th Avenue of NY or even Bond Street of London.
Walking past one of the shopping malls a man beckoned, offering to polish my shoes. Late in the evening, we negotiate a rate of 20 RMB - already a rip off - but its cold and I feel for this man who has no skill but to polish shoes, which as it later turned out (as I was wearing cream suede) his work was shoddy. Trying to find some inspiration, I sit wondering, what is next for any of us. A man approaches, offering a fake watch, I decline. He offers another, again I decline. Throughout my shoe shine, he manages to produce a new watch, each and every time from what appears to be another pocket -putting Mary Poppins and her bag of goodies to shame. Then it hit me. Isn't this life? We spend everyday, engaging ourselves in base acts which allow us to sustain ourselves the shoe shine. At the same time, we make every effort to do something, when we are hit with a rejection, we carry on, in fact the determination of the fellow selling the fake watches was admirable, so much so that I almost felt the urge to buy one given the efforts he had gone through. Knowing that his livelihood depended on selling the next watch, he didn't stop. And such is the lesson we have from Allah Almighty in the Quran. "They are those who persevere and put their trust in their Lord" reads verse 42 of the Chapter of The Bees (16, an-Nahl). Of course the context of this verse relates to those who migrated after they were being oppressed. But by analogy isn't every act of injustice or any wrongful act a type of self oppression, and Allah knows best. During my stay last week in Beijing, I booked a hotel near Tiananmen square and the Forbidden city with the intention of visiting both when I have a moment free. Back and forth between the different companies in their cars I managed to see both at least twice a day but only in passing. Determined not to miss Friday prayers at the Nuijei mosque, the oldest in the city over a thousand years in age, I left the office in ample time, only to also find the mosque closed for renovation. Of course it wasn't all bad news. My timing was just right. Arriving at the same time of Jesus, a `as dark as the Nubian night' man from Mali, who mashallah won a scholarship to study architecture in Beijing, the two of us quickly became friends as we looked to solve our common problem of finding a place to pray. Fortunately, Jesus spoke Chinese and with the aid of some locals we found our way to the makeshift mosque down the street. The chocolate brown Farrukh from England and the `nubian night' Jesus from Mali stood out like two sore thumbs. Pitying our inability to find a place to pray, a man was kind enough to find another carpet rolling it out for us. The hospitality of the locals to us, foreigners seeking to pray was comforting, though it seems that technology affects us all as the prayer was interrupted with a rather catchy tune on someone's mobile phone. It has been some years since I was last in Beijing, and my previous photos of the mosque were taken on a disposable camera. It seemed that through the renovation I would miss the mosque on this trip, perhaps fate has it that I will return to take the photos I so desired. But it was then that something hit me. The wise man says that when there is nothing left but God, it is then that you realise that God is all you need. Whilst this may be true, I also believe the opposite is also true. I.e. when you have everything you could need or want, it is only then that you realise that everything you have cannot bring you peace or happiness and it is only God Almighty who can enable such tranquility. Do I have everything, do I have nothing, the jury is still out. What I do know is that the man finished polishing my shoes, I found myself entertained by the other man trying to sell me watches, and reminded myself of an important lesson, that perseverance not only ensures success, but it builds to human character enabling us to better appreciate our Creator. May Allah almighty have mercy and guide us all, ameen. fi amanillah, assalam alaikum, f ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/TXWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamcity/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
