The man who came into the compound engaged one of my neighbours in a conversation that went as follows:
Man: Good morning oh! Neighbour: Good morning Sir. Man: Please I am looking for one lady who normally covers her head in this house.
Neighbour: no know anybody wey dey cover head here of (I don’t know anybody who covers her head here.) Man: There’s one lady who wears Hijab like this; one Muslim lady.
Neighbour: / say me / no know anybody like that! (I say I don’t know anybody like that!) At that point, I decided to see who the stranger was and why my neighbour was being so difficult. As soon as the man sighted me, he heaved a sigh of relief. He is one of taxi drivers who operate in my area. He had a story for me. I had boarded his taxi the evening before and alighted at the front of my house. He later found a phone in the car and tried tracing the owner to no avail. When the calls started coming in he promised to return the phone to the person who claimed to be the owner. Unfortunately, he had to switch off the phone when the calls became so persistent that the calls were disturbing him on his Salaat in the Masjid [mosque]. He never gave the phone another thought till the next morning when he remembered that he had asked the owner of the phone to call at 8 Oclock.
At that time, all efforts to switch on the phone proved abortive. In his desperation to reach the owner of the phone, he began to consider the possible owners among those who had boarded his car. According to him, something kept telling him that I could be the owner of the phone. He decided to trace me to my house since I had alighted from his taxi in front of that house and entered the compound a number of times. He had decided that if I was not the owner of the phone, he would report the matter to the Taxi drivers Union. Anyway, it so happened that the phone was mine! He was so happy and relieved and so was I. I could not thank him enough! It was so hard to believe that there are still some people who would go all the way in their honesty. And to think that he is a Muslim! Alhamdulilah! The essence of sharing this story is to set us thinking; how many of us are truly our brothers or sisters keepers?
How many of us can do what this man did? How many of us would find something that belongs to another person and return it? Would we go the extra mile to find the owner or would we like most of us leave whatever it is where we found it not wanting to go through the trouble of giving it back? Being your brothers keeper is not just about finding lost property and giving it back. Its about looking out for your brother or sister (in Islam). It’s about visiting them when they are sick, asking after their welfare, helping them in times of need and amongst others giving them sincere advice.
Remember that Allaah says in the Quran:
"The believers are nothing else than brothers (in Islamic religion). So make reconciliation between your brothers, and fear Allaah, that you may receive mercy."-Soorah 49 (AI-Hujurat):10
Don’t forget that you should extend your kindness to non-Muslims as well. Let them see the beauty of Islam in us.
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited