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E d i t or s P i c k
The Red Cloth
A Story from Gems and Jewels by AbdulMalik
Mujahid
t is related that a women went to the Prophet
Dawud (peace be upon him) and said, "O
Prophet of Allah, is your Lord an oppressor or
is He just?" The Prophet replied, "Woe unto
you, O women, He is the AllJust, Who never
oppresses. What is your story?"
She explained that she was a widow with three
daughters and that she provided for them by what she
would spin with her hands. She explained, "Yesterday,
I tied what I had spun (a large quantity of yarn) into a
red cloth to sell in the marketplace so as to provide for
my children. As I was walking, a large bird came and
snatched the cloth from me and flew away, leaving me
with nothing to sell for the provision of my children."
As the women was speaking to Dawud, someone came
knocking on the door. He gave permission for them to
enter and learned that they were ten businessmen
bringing with them one hundred gold coins each. They
said, "O Prophet of Allah, give this wealth to the one
that is deserving." Dawud asked them what had
brought them to him with their wealth.
They explained, "O Prophet of Allah, we were on a
boat, the wind was very violent, and we were about to
drown when a bird came and dropped a red cloth upon
us. In this sack we found yarn and with this we were
able to block a hole in the ship until the winds
subsided and we vowed that each one of us would give
one hundred gold coins in charity. So give that amount
to whomever you please." Dawud turned tot he
women and said, "Your Lord does business for you in
the land and in the sea, yet you ask whether her
oppresses!" He gave her the gold coins and said,
"Spend this on your children."
have faith in Allah, he will reward that faith in some way.
The phrase “God works in mysterious ways” comes to
mind when thinking about this particular story. The
woman thought that Allah had forsaken her when in
reality, his justice had provided for her albeit in an
unexpected fashion. Allah is just even when it does not
seem like it because we do not see nor can we truly
comprehend the way His justice works. It might seem
ironic considering our modern world to claim Allah is
just to his creation. But we must be patient and remain
calm to seek Allah’s justice. If is not evident in this
world, then surely it will be on the day of Judgement.
From the editors
continued
and jealousy between siblings. Upon one occasion, the
Messenger of Allah SA was told that a man gave a gift
(of a servant) to one of his sons, but did not give to the
others. Considering that fact, the Prophet SA ordered the
man to take back the gift unless he can provide the same
gift to all his children. In the beautiful story of Yusuf AS,
the brothers of Yusuf AS became jealous of Yusuf
because their father, Yaqub AS, loved him more than
them. This created bitter feelings within the brothers to
such an extent that all the brothers agreed in a plot to kill
him.
As Muslims, we must be the bearers of Justice. We
cannot neglect our responsibilities towards Allah and
towards people. Our duties toward the people is to
protect their rights. Every one of us is a shepherd, and
we are responsible for our flocks. To reiterate the point,
justice is not something that exists only in the courtroom.
Faisal Azad is a Youth Member of MUNA
Youth and director of the South Jersey Chapter.
He is studying biology at Rutgers University
Each of us encounter a period in our lives where we
start to question our situations and doubt Allah's
Justice. The central message of this story is that if we
A MUNA Youth Publication