Part of Echo of the Pulpits
· Lesson 7 of 48
Echo of platforms | By Sheikh Khaled Al-Hamoudi | Sermon (2) | Charity - Realistic stories of the impact of charity
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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“Say: Lo! my Lord enlargeth the provision for whom He will of His bondmen, and narroweth (it) for him. And whatsoever ye spend (for good) He replaceth it. And He is the Best of Providers.” (34:39)
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Echoes from the pulpit.
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Real-life stories regarding the effects of charity.
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He said to him, "As for the dogs,"
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"they give birth to many times the number of sheep,"
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"and as for the people,"
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"they eat sheep and lambs,"
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"but they do not eat dogs."
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"Why, then,"
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"is the number of sheep many times over the number of dogs?"
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"Why, then?"
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The young man fell silent,
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and he could not answer this question.
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The father continued his hadith, saying,
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"My son, these matters"
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"are not taught in the greatest universities in the world."
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"This is barakah (blessing),"
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"and this is charity,"
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"and doing good,"
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"which increases wealth and causes it to grow,"
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"and never diminishes it."
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Charity.
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A sermon by the honorable Sheikh
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Khalid Ibn 'Abdullah al-Hamudi,
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may Allah preserve him.
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O servants of Allah,
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I will speak today
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about a matter
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for which I will pave the way
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with these three stories.
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The first:
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One day,
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a young man graduated
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from the College of Economics
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and Commerce
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at one of the most prestigious international universities.
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After the young man finished
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his studies,
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he returned to his father
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to help him
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in the business of selling appliances,
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selling electrical
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and home appliances
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that he owned.
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After a few days
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of working,
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the young man noticed
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that his father would donate every month
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a refrigerator,
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or an oven, or a washing machine,
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to a needy person among the poor,
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or the orphans, or the widows.
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The young man was astonished
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by this matter
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and objected to it
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strongly,
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arguing that it was
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a loss for the business and trade.
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The young man began
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to calculate the cost of these
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donations
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monthly and annually,
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just as he calculated the amount
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over ten years,
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and what if these funds
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had been utilized
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to increase capital,
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increase profit,
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and expand the business and trade.
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He came up with high figures
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and significant sums of money
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that were not to be underestimated.
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And so,
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he decided
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to discuss this matter with his father
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and tried to convince him
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to stop this
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action that was harming him,
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for it contradicted commercial logic
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and everything he had learned
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of the laws
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of economics and trade
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in the greatest universities
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of the world.
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His father did nothing
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but smile calmly
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and ask him a question
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that was extremely simple.
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He said, "My son,"
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"are sheep"
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"more numerous, or dogs?"
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The boy replied,
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"Sheep are certainly more numerous."
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The father asked him,
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"And how many times do dogs give birth"
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"in a year?"
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"And how many times do sheep give birth?"
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The boy said,
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"Dogs give birth more than once,"
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"and each time,"
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"five or six,"
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"and perhaps more,"
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"while sheep"
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"do not give birth in a single year"
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"to more than one lamb or two at most."
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The father continued,
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saying,
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"And do people"
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"eat the meat of sheep and lambs,"
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"or the meat of dogs?"
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The young man's astonishment increased
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at the questions,
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and he did not know what his father
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wanted to say to him.
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But he replied in any case,
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saying,
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"Of course, people"
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"eat sheep and lambs."
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The father said to him,
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"As long as dogs,"
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"and as long as people"
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"eat sheep and lambs,"
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"and do not eat dogs,"
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"why, then,"
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"is the number of sheep"
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"many times over the number of dogs?"
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The young man fell silent
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and could not answer
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this question.
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The father continued his hadith, saying,
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"My son,"
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"these matters"
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"are not taught in the greatest"
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"universities in the world."
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"This is barakah,"
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"and this is charity,"
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"and doing good,"
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"which increases wealth and causes it to grow,"
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"and never diminishes it."
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"Indeed, it is a profitable"
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"trade with Allah."
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The Messenger of Allah,
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peace be upon him, said:
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"Wealth does not decrease"
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"because of charity."
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Narrated by al-Tirmidhi.
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This is the first story.
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And listen to the second, O servants of Allah,
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which
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is more amazing than the first
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regarding the virtue of this subject
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that we are talking about.
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There was
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a teacher who was giving lessons
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to a group
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of women,
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and she was urging them to give charity.
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After the lesson ended,
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and in order to ensure
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that the teacher
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was certain everyone understood the lesson well,
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she opened a box
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to collect charity for the poor.
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Every woman present
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who was attending the lesson
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hastened
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to give charity
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with whatever money she had.
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Indeed, there were even some
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who did not have enough money,
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so they began to give charity
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from their jewelry.
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Some of them took off
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their earrings,
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and some took off their necklaces.
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Among those sitting
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was an elderly woman,
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well-off,
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who was wearing a necklace
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made of pure
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pearls.
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She stood up and donated this necklace.
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At this point, the teacher
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refused
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to take it and said
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to her, "This necklace"
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"is very valuable,"
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"I cannot accept it."
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But the woman
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insisted on donating it.
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The next day,
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the teacher went
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to a jeweler
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to sell what she had received
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and then donate it
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as charity.
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When the jeweler
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saw the valuable
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The jeweler was dazzled by it,
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and he said to her,
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"What a precious necklace this is!
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However,
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to appraise it,
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I must first remove
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all the beads."
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"Do you agree?"
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The teacher agreed.
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A merchant came to the teacher,
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looking fearful,
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and said to her, "When
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I removed the beads from their place,
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I found beneath them
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clippings of hair
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and women’s fingernails.
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These things are likely
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the work of sorcery."
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At that moment, the teacher realized
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that she was facing a story
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about the virtue of charity.
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The following Friday,
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the teacher met the woman
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who had donated the necklace,
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and said to her,
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"How are you?
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How are your affairs?"
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She replied, "I had been,
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along with my children and my husband,
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in a state of dispersion and estrangement,
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and great mutual aversion.
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But as soon as I gave the necklace in charity,
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I sat with my children
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and my husband
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at one table
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for the first time
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in over twenty years.
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In fact, we have begun
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to converse and laugh
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naturally,
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as if nothing had ever happened."
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Do you see, O servants of Allah?
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Then the teacher said to her,
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"This charity
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warded off harm from you,
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for the necklace had been enchanted."
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The woman was astonished
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and asked, "How so?"
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"A close friend gifted me the necklace,
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and I loved her
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to the point that I would not take it off,
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even while I slept."
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"So praise be to Allah,
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who removed the veil
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from my insight,
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and by His grace,
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made me never to be miserable again."
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As for the third, O servants of Allah,
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I tell you
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about a man I know closely,
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and he may even be among us
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in this mosque.
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I have traveled with him,
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and I found him to be generous
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and a lover of good.
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He was afflicted with an illness
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that baffled the doctors,
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and they were unable to treat it.
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He began to say of himself,
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he said, "I reached a state
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known only to Allah,
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of despair and exhaustion,
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until I began
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to await death.
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Then Allah opened the way for me through charity,
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so I began to give charity
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every day, morning and evening,
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with the intention
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that Allah would heal me."
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He said, "Days passed,
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and I began to see
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a vast difference
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and a wide gap
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in my health for the better,
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until the appointed day came,
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and I met with the attending physician.
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He requested a repeat
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of the tests.
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When he saw them,
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he was dazzled and amazed.
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By Allah,
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there was no trace of any illness
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from what had been there before.
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'What did you do?
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What medicine did you take?'
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When I told him,
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he said, 'There is no god but Allah.
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Indeed, Allah is over all things
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omnipotent.'"
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Do you see, O servants of Allah,
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the effect of charity?
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Charity is like a wide well,
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which,
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if you lower a bucket into it,
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returns to you
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full, containing blessings
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that only Allah knows.
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Yes, it returns to you,
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your bucket, filled with blessings
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that never end.
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Our topic, O servants of Allah,
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our topic is charity.
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Charity, O servants of Allah,
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and its
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great impact.
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Charity is a protection from the Fire,
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and charity extinguishes the anger of the Almighty,
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and wipes away sin.
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Charity is shade for its giver
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on the Day of Resurrection.
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Charity is a cause for healing
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from diseases of the heart
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and the body.
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Charity, O servants of Allah,
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is a cause for winning
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the supplication of the angels
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for replacement and compensation.
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Charity is a cause for blessing,
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and a cause for entering Paradise,
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and for salvation from the Fire.
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Charity is a cause that
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gladdens the heart,
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preserves wealth,
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repels calamity,
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and protects against evil ends.
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Charity, O servants of Allah,
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covers every fault,
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increases one's lifespan,
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attracts the prayers of people,
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and intercedes for you before Allah.
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I ask Allah, the Majestic,
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to make us among His servants
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who do good,
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among His servants who give charity,
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and among His righteous, God-fearing servants.
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Until our next meeting,
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within the "Echo of the Pulpits" series,
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and peace be upon you,
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and the mercy of Allah,
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and His blessings.