There was once a very pious man whose name was Bishr bin Haarith (rahimahullah). However, all the people would call him Bishr Haafi.

One day, someone came to him and asked him, “How did you become so pious, that all the people love you and respect you!”

Bishr Haafi (rahimahullah) said:

“What can I say? It is only out of the kindness of Allah Ta‘ala! I was a man who was not a good Muslim. However, one day, while I was walking in a certain place, I saw a piece of paper that was lying on the road. I picked it up and saw that on it was written ‘Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem’. When I saw the name of Allah Ta‘ala on the paper, I wiped it clean and placed it in my pocket with respect.

“At that time, I had very little money with me – I only had two silver coins. But I went to the ‘itr (perfume) shop and used my two coins to buy some ‘itr. Then, I put the ‘itr onto the paper to make it smell nice.

“That night, when I went to sleep, I had a dream. In my dream, a voice said to me, “O Bishr! You raised the name of Allah from the road and put ‘itr on it! Because you did this, Allah will cause your name to be raised so that all people will respect you!””

Bishr (rahimahullah) then said, “It was because I respected the name of Allah Ta‘ala that Allah Ta‘ala made me his special friend.”

Lessons:

1. We must always respect the name of Allah Ta‘ala. That is why when we say the name of Allah, then we also say ‘Ta‘ala’, or ‘Azza wajall’, as these words show respect.

2. When we hold the Quraan Majeed, or madrasah kitaabs, or anything that has the name of Allah Ta‘ala, then we must hold it high, with respect.

3. Just as we respect the name of Allah Ta‘ala, we must respect all things of Deen, such as the masjid, the azaan, the Prophets of Allah Ta‘ala and the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum).

4. Even if a person is not a good Muslim, he can become pious and start being good. We must always make du‘aa to Allah Ta‘ala to make us good, pious Muslims.

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