Page 22 Page 23 The Islamic Bulletin TELLING THE TRUTH Telling the truth is a very good habit. If you always speak the truth, you can save yourself from a lot of trouble! Here is a story of a man who did a lot of bad things, but his promise to tell the truth saved him. Once a man came to the prophet Muhammad (S) and said, “Oh prophet of Allah, I have many bad habits. Which one of them should I give up first ” The prophet said, “Give up telling lies first and always speak the truth.” The man promised to do so and went home. At night the man was about to go out to steal. Before setting out, he thought for a moment about the promise he made with the prophet. “If tomorrow the prophet asks me where have I been, what shall I say? Shall I say that I went out stealing? No, I cannot say that. But nor can I lie. If I tell the truth, everyone will start hating me and call me a thief. I would be punished for stealing.” So the man decided not to steal that night, and gave up this bad habit. Next day, he felt like drinking wine, when he was about to do so, he said to himself, “What shall I say to the prophet if he asks me what did I do during the day? I cannot tell a lie, and if I speak the truth people will hate me, because a Muslim is not allowed to drink wine.” And so he gave up the idea of drinking wine. In this way, whenever the man thought of doing something bad, he remembered his promise to tell the truth at all times. One by one, he gave up all his bad habits and became a good Muslim and a very good person. If you always speak the truth, you can be a good person, a good Muslim whom Allah likes and favors. If Allah - our Creator - is pleased with us, He will reward us with HEAVEN, which is a place of happiness and joy. MAKE A PROMISE: I SHALL ALWAYS SPEAK THE TRUTH I’d give her my life just so that she’d live longer. I’d give her my strength to make her stronger. I’d take away her tears so that she’d never cry. I’d take away her frowns so that her smile could never die. I’ll always be there for her whenever she needs me. If I could I’d give her happy thoughts that only she could see. Though one of these days she’ll be gone she’ll always be my mom with every day that goes on. Mother Imagine yourself after you pass away, Imagine your grave through night and through day, Wishing that you did not do as they say, Wishing that you had got up and had prayed. Imagine, my friends, the day that you died, Imagine all of the tears that they cried, Remember how it felt when your body was tied, Remember how it felt in the grave which you lied. Imagine the day you’ll be called to account, Imagine the sum to which your life will amount, Think for a moment of the deeds which you mount, Think for a moment how much they will count. What will they say of you when you are dead? What will they say, what will be said? Will they speak of all the poor who you fed? Will they remember all the Qur’an that you read? Think not of them, but of Allah, Lord of mankind & jinn, Think of Allah when tempted to sin, Think of the paradise which you will dwell in, Don’t wait till later to think what might have been. Most of you may know that United States Postal Service has issued the new stamp which says “Eid Mubarak” in Arabic and “Eid Greetings” in English. The Eid stamp is an important stepping stone for the recognition of Islam in this country. According to the US Postal Office, if the Eid Stamp is r -issued THREE times, it then becomes a PERMANENT part of the United States Holiday Collection. For this to happen, we must ask for the Eid stamp each time you go to the post office Here is what you can do: 1. Buy these Stamps from the post office, use them you - selves or gift them to your friends, neighbors and encourage them to use on their greeting cards this season. Encourage businesses to use these stamps especially for Greetings to their Muslim Customers. At times the person on the front desk is unaware of these stamps and somewhat nonchalantly responds that the Post Office is out of these stamps. e suggest that you very politely request that they check in the back to make sure that there really are “no Eid Stamps”. If the Post Office does ’t have them ask them to order them. You can order these stamps online by calling 1-800-stamp24 or by going to: www.usps.com Click on “buy stamps”. 2. Donate a pane of 20 stamps $6.80 worth or more by listing it on E-Bay in its “Auction for America” and participate in helping those who suffered from the September 11 tragedy. USPS TO REPRINT POSTER THAT EXCLUDED EID STAMP November 14, 2001 - “The U.S. Postal Service today is reproducing its Holiday Stamp promotional posters in local post offices in response to recent concerns raised by the American Muslim community. Due to an oversight, an image of the Eid stamp, which commemorates two important Islamic festivals, was left off the promotional posters. The Postal Service deeply regrets the oversight and is reprinting the holiday posters depicting the Eid stamp. They will be available for sale at post offices this Holiday season Imagine When ‘You’ Die!!! Eid Stamp and Poster
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