The people came to the king and said “Don’t you see, by Allah, your fear brought about the very thing you were afraid of.” The king didn’t know what to do. So he had ditches dug at all the roads out of the city. People try to escape, BOOM into a ditch. He had people brought to the ditches and said “disbelieve and live or believe and in you go.” They believed, so he threw them in.

The boy said “You will never be able to kill me until you do what I say.” The king said “Ok, what do I do?” Notice the reversal of roles–who’s in control now? So the boy said “gather the people, cruficy me on a tree trunk, put your arrow in the middle of the bow, say ‘in the name of Allah, Lord of the worlds’ and fire.” And the king did just that, so obsessed to kill the boy he didn’t realize what the effect would be.

The king asked the boy to renounce his religion, to which the boy refused. The king said “take him to the highest mountain and if he doesn’t renounce by the time you reach the top, throw him off.” Why not saw him in half? Because the boy’s useful. He has influence among the poeple. People love him, and if he joins the king, many will follow his example. So they took him up, and the boy said “O Allah, suffice me against them in whatever way You please”.

We often make empty du’as–they lack in sincerity, but hey, we don’t expect them to be answered. But why do it? Are you just testing Allah? Think with certiny that Allah will answer your du’a. Make the most sincere, heart-felt du’a of your existance. And have hope that Allah will answer it. Before Islam, there was a man named Jurayj, a worshipper of Allah. The people around him had intense jealousy of him for this.

The king’s companion pointed out the boy. Why didn’t he remain silent? For that matter, why does the boy point out the monk later? Resolve. Ibn Tamiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said “much of your resolve disappears when tortured”. Your determination and strength of will plummets. So the man pointing out the boy, well, his determination couldn’t withstand the torture. So the king’s soldiers brought the boy to the king, who said “O my boy, your magic heals the blind and cures the lepers …” Then he used flattery.

The king’s companion returned to the king. They knew he was cured–previously, people had to help him find his way in, but now, he waltzed right in. The king said: “Who gave you back your sight?” His companion said: “My Lord.” The king said: “Do you have a Lord other then me?” His companion said: “My Lord and your Lord is Allah.” So the king tortured him until he pointed out the boy.

The boy healed the blind and the lepers–the same miracles given to the prophet ‘Isa (Jesus), on whom be peace. Was he a prophet? No, he was not. The difference is: Allah gave the boy karamah, a less intense form of mu’jizah. In a way, karamah mimics mu’jizah, but to a less intense level. The boy’s powers mimiced the miracles of ‘Isa (alayhi salaam), to a lesser level. And while ‘Isa (alayhi salaam) could resurrect the dead, the boy could not.

The boy used to heal the blind and the lepers and the people. (He wasn’t a prophet: see the next post for more details.) The king’s blind companion (jalees bin malik, or the one who sits next to the king) went to the boy with gifts, and said “these are all for you if you heal me”. The boy said “Truly Allah heals. If you believe in Him, I will pray to Him, and He will heal you.

If you have multiple skills and multiple interests, how can you determine the best use of your skills for da’wah? Try this method inshaAllah. Skills: List all your skills. Ummah: Prioirtize the needs of the ummah (i.e. your community). Map and Prioritize: Tie each skill to an action, and prioritize according to need. For example, if your skills are writing, graphic design, and drama, and your ummah needs youth involvement and education, you may decide to:

When you get involved in da’wah, don’t forget yourself. We see many examples of this–people join the local MSA, and spend 40 hours a week to keep it alive. And the next year, you see them in the bar, with their girlfriend or boyfriend. Or others spend months putting together The Biggest Conference Ever, and while it goes on, they miss all the lectures and mill around outside with their friends, or out in the parking lot arguing about lunches.