5. Would you like to meet him outside the institution? (cont.)

She said, "O Abu Bakr, your mother is here and listening." He said, "Don't worry about her." She said, "OK, the Messenger of Allah is safe and sound." He said, "Where is he?" She said, "In the house of Abu al-Arqam." His mother then said, "Now you know about your friend, so get up and eat or drink something." Abu Bakr replied, "I vow to Allah that I will not taste any food or drink until I see the Messenger of Allah with my own eyes." Supplications They waited until the people had calmed down, then left with Abu Bakr as he dragged his feet along the ground, to the house of Abu al-Arqam. Abu Bakr entered with a wounded and bloody face and his clothes torn apart. When the Prophet saw him in this state, he leapt up to him to kiss him, as did the rest of the Muslims. The Prophet felt extreme pity for him, such that it was very apparent on his face. Abu Bakr decided to downplay his injuries and said, "May my mother and father be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah. I am fine, apart from the blows I received on my face from that wicked man." Abu Bakr was a hero who had great concern for the Islamic call. He would utilise whatever opportunities were available to him, no matter what state he was in and despite being wounded and thirsty. He thus said, "O Messenger of Allah! This is my mother who is kind to her parents. You are, indeed, blessed. Please pray to Allah for her that He saves her from Hell." The Messenger of Allah prayed to Allah for her guidance and then asked her to embrace Islam. She responded by becoming a Muslim on the spot. Supplications were, therefore, one of the ways in which the Muslims would deal with each other. Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, had become a Muslim but his mother remained a disbeliever. He would invite her to accept Islam but she would refuse. One day, he asked her to embrace Islam but she insulted the Prophet in response. Abu Hurayrah felt terrible thereafter and went to the Messenger of Allah weeping. He said, "O Messenger of Allah, I always ask my mother to embrace Islam and she refuses. Today I asked her Supplications to embrace Islam and in return she said a few words about you that I despised hearing. Please, supplicate to Allah that He guides the mother of Abu Hurayrah to Islam." The Messenger of Allah supplicated for her. When Abu Hurayrah returned to his mother and approached the door, he found it closed. As he tried to open the door, his mother opened it for him and said, "I bear witness that there is no One worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger." Abu Hurayrah returned to the Messenger of Allah as he wept for joy and said, "Good news, O Messenger of Allah! Allah has responded to your supplication and guided the mother of Abu Hurayrah to Islam!" Abu Hurayrah then said, "O Messenger of Allah, ask Allah to make my mother and I beloved to His believing servants, and make them beloved to us." The Prophet said, "O Allah, make him and his mother beloved to your believing servants, and make them beloved to the two." Abu Hurayrah said, "From then on, there was no believing man or woman except that he loved me and I loved him." (Muslim) Enlightenment… "Your Lord has said, "Call me, and I will answer you..."" Supplications (83) Patching up Often, when we attempt to apply certain skills with others, we realise our failure in determining the best tactics to deploy. For instance, a person sees a cheerful young man and attempts to use the 'Be cheerful' tactic with him and says, "MashaAllah! How beautiful are the clothes you are wearing! Just look at that splendour and the cheerful face!" Then, instead of saying, "How happy your wife must be with you!" he says, "I wish you were a girl so that I could marry you!" This would be a very inappropriate joke indeed! One of my colleagues related to me the following: "At university, I had a sluggish student, yet Allah had given him a cheerful face. He would always sit at the end of the lecture theatre and drift far away in his thoughts. I would always request that he sit at the front to follow the lecture better, but he would always forget. I did not want to embarrass him or others as they were senior university students. One day, I entered the lecture theatre to find him sitting at the end of the hall as usual.