The Gift Of

the Holy Quran

The old man took a long breath, raised his head from the knees and opened
his eyes and asked boy! What do you want? Zahid replied can you tell me
the way of happiness and inner satisfaction? the old man looked at him with
some curiosity and said so, you are actually looking for happiness and inner
satisfaction Zahid continued to look at him with silence. The old man asked
him but why? Now Zahid was confused by the question of old man and his
whole past life were appeared before him and he lost in his past memories,
when he was a child, and his father supported him in every decision that he
took, especially about his decision of hifz and provided everything what he
demanded. But with the feeling of guilt, Zahid shivered and with tears in his
eyes, he thought what the nonsense he had done to his father.
It was quite fresh morning in winter, many years ago, and
the sun was shining, and after all the weather was ideal. Thus there was
hustle and bustle everywhere because in winter, the sun had raised after a
long period of fog. Windless, warm, the blue sky was without a cloud. In a
Govt. Elementary School of Sahiwal the classes were doing their routine
work. In six class there was a child, Zahid, some twelve years old, or less, so
clean and well dressed, sitting on the first bench and was looking some
nervous but innocence was glimpsing from his face, was busy in his class
work.
Zahid was unaware of that time what the role fortune would
play to him. Though not brilliant in studies he was an apple of his teachers
eyes because of his submissiveness attitude that was indicating, this child
would be a great man in future.
Meanwhile the principal of the school, a gentle, pious and
noble man, visited the class and announced that he had made an
arrangement of hifz class in the masjid of the school and anyone who wanted
to become a hafiz raised his hand, the only child who had raised his hand
was Zahid and he had raised his hand unintentionally. It seemed that some
external force had compelled him to raise his hand, might be that hifz was
written in his fortune, so that Allah Almighty might bestowed him with
endless blessings of this world and the world hereafter.
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By: Talha Umer

The Gift Of
the Holy Quran
The principal asked him to go home and changed the clothes
and then came to my office. The child went home, changed the clothes and
without telling his parents about what he was going to do, came to the
principal. The principal asked him whether he had informed his parents about
hifz, the child said no. The principle, then, told to the child it is not your
duty to hifz the Holy Quran but if once you had become hafiz, it would be
your duty to memorize or repeat the Quran in every circumstance on daily
basis and left the child in the masjid.

There was a time when this masjid was shaheed and

nobody had any concern of this masjid, but the principle had rebuilt that
masjid and arranged an Imam for the prayers and, now, started the class of
hifz in the masjid. That evening the principal came to Zahids home and
met his parents and told them what he had planned about the hifz class
and that their son wanted to become a hafiz and that he came to here to
gain their permission because he believed that without the permission of
parents a child cannot become a real hafiz.
Zahid was the only child of his parents and belonged to noble
family; his father was a well-earned man. At first, his father was astonished
about his sons decision of hifz and it seemed that the decision was shocking
for him and the colour of his face was changed because Zahids family was
not a religious family and his father was against so called mullahs. But they
knew the principal personally, who was a kind and pious man, so, his parents
permitted him gladly and of the view that it would be a great bliss for them if
their son would become a hafiz, not so called hafiz but real and practically
hafiz.
After that an endless criticism had started to Zahid and
his parents from the other family members and friends about their decision,
like, the parents had pushed their only child into the hands of molvi. The
only reason of that criticism, was, that nobody was expecting from the child
that he would take that sort of step because in that family there was no
other hafiz. Nor from his parents, that they would give him the permission to
start the hifz of Holy Quran. But the Zahids family didnt take it serious and
that criticism had increased their faith.
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By: Talha Umer

The Gift Of
the Holy Quran
It was first day of his hifz, when he reached the masjid; there
were two more children present there, so those three children were the
pioneers of that madrissa. On that very first day of hifz class, someone had
stolen the shoes of Zahid and at the time of Asr prayer, the principal came to
know about the shoes stolen incident. He took the Zahid and they went to
bazaar, where the principal had bought a new pair of shoes to zahid,
otherwise he had to go home with barefooted.
The endless discussion that had started about the child by the
other family members was still continued, but now the form had changed.
Now they were talking that the child would never complete his hifz and that
his fondness would be resolved very soon, but the parents told his child that
now their esteem and dignity would be in his hands and that he had to work
hard to become a complete hafiz and that not to leave the hifz in the middle,
in order to shut the

mouths of the others. The child was very submissive and obedient and he
had continued his hifz through thick and thin.
The outcome was that he had completed his hifz in just
thirteen months, beyond the expectations of the others, and was the first
among the boys who had completed his hifz in that madrissa. In this way, he
had sustained the dignity of his parents and also had closed the chapter of
endless criticism and discussion and proved himself an intelligent boy.
After the hifz, Allah Almighty bestowed him with special
intelligence, wit and the knowledge how to perceive the things. Now he had
got the admission in the middle class, though, it was difficult task for him to
sustain his study after a long gap, but with the blessings of the Holy Quran,
he stood first in the class in the final examination. The reason of these
blessings was that after his hifz, he took the recitation of the Holy Quran as
his daily duty, so that he may not forgot the Holy Quran as the principal had
once told to him.
Now he was in his graduation and had continued his study with
full zeal and zest and Allah Almighty had given him everything what he had
demanded just because of the blessings of Holy Quran. Zahid was also very
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The Gift Of
the Holy Quran
punctual and he offered his prayers five times a day, along with he was very
obedient to his elders and teachers, as his parents looked after him with
great care and they took care very strictly about the company of friends, he
had. In the final examination of graduation, he stood first in the class.
Now he had stepped into the maturity and had the beard,
which was such a thing that nobody had expecting to him, but his parents
encouraged him to do what they thought about his benefit and they were
happy that their boy was going on the way of religion and that their son was
far away from the modern civilization and modern evils such as disobedience
and so called love affairs.
He worked hard and without caring the severe criticism and
discussion of the family and friends, he continued his study. The recitation of
the holy Quran, on daily basis, was still his duty and he had fulfilled his duty
gladly and with great care, he never did any sort of work, unless he had
recited the Holy Quran. May be that was the reason that he had passed the
graduation exams with good marks and stood 2nd in the Bachelor Department
of the College.
After passing the graduation, everyone was expecting
to him that now he would turn to do a job. But he decided to continue his
education.

He was a simple, straightforward and common religious boy.

One day, he fell ill, his colour was now pale and he became as thin as the
leaf of a tree, and it seemed that he would be no more. But due to proper
care and treatment, he recovered very soon and decided that, now he would
go in the field of teaching, so, he applied for M.A Arabic in Punjab University,
and his decision was, once again, beyond the expectations.
Fortunately, he was selected in the first merit list but the
criticism that had started from the family members and friends, made him
nervous and confused. He went to his respectable teachers and asked them
about what he would do in such circumstances; the teachers guided him to
do Masters in English, they were of the view that
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By: Talha Umer

The Gift Of
the Holy Quran
English has become an international language and nobody can make
progress without the knowledge of English and, on the other hand, the
situation of Arabic language in Pakistan is very deplorable.
They said
In Pakistan nobody is ready to learn the Arabic language, the language of
Holy Quran and Hadith, and this language has been excluded from the
courses of the schools and now computer has been replaced with Arabic.
Now he decided to take admission in Masters in English, so
he applied in various institutions. Firstly, he applied in Govt. College Sahiwal,
where during the interview; the professor told him that here the degree of
masters were offered under the annual system, and he was an intelligent boy
and he should go semester system instead of annual system because in
annual system he would be able to obtain second division hardly, but in
semester system he would be able to obtain first division or 70% to 80%
marks easily. So, he also applied in Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan
(Sahiwal Campus) and, fortunately he was selected in first merit list.

Zahid was still lost in his past memories, when the old man asked
him, What have you done with your father this question, once again
shivered Zahid and his eyes were filled with tears. He lost in his past
memories, once again.
In University, at first, he seemed normal and his behavior was
usual, but after some time, his parents had noticed some changes in his
behavior as now he had lost the interest in

recitation of the Holy Quran and along with he had also started to leave his
prayers and they consider as if it was due to his bad company in the
university.
Ha had a friend, Asad, in university, who belonged to elite class,
dull in study and every time was making knavishness. He had remained with
Zahid as he was his shadow. Zahids room, which was usually neat and clean,
was becoming tangle of clothes, books, video games and movies. In the past
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By: Talha Umer

The Gift Of
the Holy Quran
few months, Zahid was very fond of a sports car, which he had seen in a car
showroom.
One day, he told to his father that he would take that car as a gift, at the
completion f the degree of M.A English.
I will give you that car as a gift but only when you will top in the class, the
father said.
Zahid was very happy to hear that, so he started hard
working, in order to achieve his goal. As the day of declaration of the result
was coming nearer, the young mans wait for his gift was going at certain
height.
Luckily, he topped in the class just because of the
blessings of the Holy Quran and was very happy to see his new car, which he
had expected that his father would give him as a gift. He was looking very
beautiful, and one could easily judge the gladness from his face that was
glimpsing like sunshine after rain.

When he came home, his father called him in his study room.
There was a pretty silence in the room, everything was kept in order. His
heart was beating intensely and one could hear the heart beat of Zahid. His
father was sitting in a chair, when he saw his son he stood up and welcomed
him warmly and told him that he was feeling pride and dignity to be the
father of such a son, who had topped in his campus. And told him
I love you very much, My Son, and kissed his forehead.
Then, his father gave him a box which was rolled by a beautiful cloth.
More despair and reluctant, with some curiosity, the boy
opened the gift and found a very beautiful Holy Quran present, having seen
glorious gift, instead of being happy, the color of his face changed into red
due to certain anger and he was looking very disappointed, he screamed
upon his father

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By: Talha Umer

The Gift Of
the Holy Quran
Father! I need a car
I am hafiz, I dont need a Quran
You have plenty of money,
You dont want to spent a penny on your son
And you have given me a gift of just Quran
And, then, he stood and without touching that precious
gift put the gift on the table and without listening his fathers request, ran
away as fast as he could with no idea of where he was running and left the
home forever. Heaven only knows what was going in his mind. He felt like
crying, but he was too anguished, and could only run and hid himself behind
a stack of wood, so that nobody could find him. Suddenly, he felt comfortable
and said I will rest here awhile, and then go to stand upon my own feet. On
the other hand, his father was in miserable condition, was dreadfully tired, he
felt so strange, so alone and forlorn.
After a restless sleep of some three or four hours, he got up
and began to examine himself and managed to get away from Sahiwal, and
decided that he would appear in the competitive examination, CSS. He called
his friend, Asad, and told him the whole incident. Asad gave him a most
cordial welcome and conducted him to the best shelter, where he was made
to sit on a pile of soft cushions spread upon silk carpets. Zahid was offered
dinner and tea by his friend.
Zahid told him his desire to take the examination of CSS.
Instead of relaxing and convincing Zahid to go back to home, he guided him
that, now; he should not go to his fathers home, and that his father was a
fanatic and told him that now he had to start a new life. They held a long
consultation, at the end of which Asad decided to send him Lahore to
become a great officer via CSS. Asad said
My dear friend, it was only an accident, use your common sense
You will have to go, Zahid, you are the blessed one.
You can do it so much better than anybody else.
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The Gift Of
the Holy Quran
Thats right. I will carve out a little kingdom for myself said
Zahid and immediately got ready for the new journey.

Asad smiled, his smile was so easy, so friendly that Zahid

recovered from that bad experience. What nice eyes Asad had, small, but
such a dark brown. Now he looked at him and now both were smiling.
Cheer up, we wont break our friendship, Asads smile seemed to say. They
turned, stared in a direction and he set out for Lahore. During that period
Zahid had joined an academy and started teaching there. With luck of
fortune, he passed the examination and selected as a custom officer.
Many years past, now he was a good job, clean shaved,
and had a beautiful wife and lived in Islamabad. When he entered Islamabad
first time, he said Mercy, what a city! Never before had he seen anything
like that. The town he had come from, he thought that his nights were so
dark. It seemed that, now he was far away from religion. Now and then he
had remembered his father and had thought that his father now would grow
old.
He wanted to meet his father but whenever he tried to go to
meet his father, that incident of gift of the holy Quran appeared before his
eyes and he postponed his plan every time. After a long time, he came to
Sahiwal for his official work, unintentionally he went to his fathers house, as
some external force pulled him to do so, where he heard that his father had
passed away and that his father had given all his property to his son in his
will.
When he entered the fathers house, his heart was filled with
the intensity of grieve and sorrow, now he had nothing, but a feeling of
repent and regret. Upon reaching the study room of the father, examining his
fathers room. Now there were only the traces of destruction and was only a
deep silence, and ash of his fathers expectations which he had developed
towards his son.

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By: Talha Umer

The Gift Of
the Holy Quran
Suddenly, he raised his eyebrows and looked at the table, there he
found the same Holy Quran with the same condition as he had left years ago.
He was pale; he had a haggard look as his dark eyes scanned the whole
room. He said to himself
How many men have committed such a sin to leave his father in their old
age, and I am one of them who commit that sin in ignorance. Ignorance?
Ahha hafiz and ignorant? Quran has such an influence that who steps
towards Quran, Quran turns his heart towards Allah Almighty and fills his
heart with Noor (intellect and wisdom). I wasnt a real hafiz as my principal
and my father expected me. Its my entire fault. Damn on Asad, who
misguided me, nobody has expected me of such kind of sin.
Look here, Zahid, thats the place of peace, solace and satisfaction.
My dear father, father, where are you? a voice cried from the room.

At first, he was afraid of going nearer, stood awhile, trying to forget

the old memories. He shouted Oh, Lord, what a fright you gave me! Tears
in the eyes, he fell on his knees and opened the Holy Quran and started
turning the pages of the Holy Quran. Nobody knew how many years had
passed since he had touched the Holy Quran.
In fact, that was the Holy Quran that he had touched last time
when he left his home. After that Allah Almighty did not allow him to touch
his Holy Book, who had rejected the Quran as a gift, particularly when he was
a hafiz. He was feeling ashamed that now he had forgotten the Holy Quran
and how Quran dwelled in the heart of that kind of person who had forgotten
the teachings of Allah Almighty and who had no respect for his elders and
particularly for his parents. Abruptly he saw that his father had underlined
the one ayah (ayat) of the Holy Quran that was in the Surah Ar- Rad
Verily, in Allahs remembrance do hearts find rest. (ArRad , 28)
Zahid read that ayah and then, suddenly, something fell down from the back
of the Quran and that was the key of the car, that was the key of that sports
car once he demanded from his father as a gift, along with receipt, in which
the date was written of his result announcement. There was also a note from
the father for his son in which written:
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By: Talha Umer

The Gift Of
the Holy Quran
My dear, the Holy Quran will guide you in any difficult situation and
condition, and dont forget Allah Almighty and His blessings that He has
bestowed upon you, especially in the form of hifz, for we are all, every one of
us, mortal. I am giving you that precious gift so that you may recite the Holy
Quran on daily basis and also pray for yourself, for us, for your teachers, for
your relatives and for all the Muslims. I am giving you that car as a gift as I
have told you. My best wishes with you and Allah Almighty will help you in
every field of life and may you prosper in both, the lives.
After reading that note, he was crying like a child, looking
very pale and strange, how old and worn he looked now, and was thinking
what he had done to his father, and what he had done with his life. He had
understood that he had taken perhaps a dozen steps in that direction, the
direction of modern world and mean civilization, he thought so - and he
knew it that now he had to lead his remaining life in despair and dejection
and he had to repent and confess his sins by heart. Now, this life was nothing
for him, but a weary, a tear- a sigh, where hopes would come, just to die.
For the first time in many years Zahid had a feeling that was akin to
sadness, dejection and despair. The time had altered so unaccountably
during his living in Islamabad. He thought that

he was a foolish because he didnt know the Islamic ways and that he could
not offer his services to his father in his old age and he couldnt save his
father.
He told the old man to reject the Holy Quran and to leave the
home and his parents was the worst decision that he had taken ever and that
was the reason that Allah Almighty had not given him the chance that he
would be able to see his fathers face last time or even he could pray Janazah
prayer of his father. Youve done your father very wrong and treated him as
he was your servant the old man said.
The old man shrugged him and asked him do you really want to be happy
and inner satisfaction? and Zahid said yes. The old man said until the
endless long desires and aptitudes of man remain in his life and existence,
he cant get real happiness and satisfaction, if you want real happiness and
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The Gift Of
the Holy Quran
satisfaction than you have to decrease your desires and aptitudes from your
life and existence. If you have small desires for your life and your existence
then you will be able to get happiness, peace and joy and this is only
possible when you become a slave of Allah Almighty not the slave of
lewdness, voluptuousness and essence.
The old man added without proper wisdom and intellect,
everything a man perceives, sees and learns, is wrong. And Zahid knew
better that all that was happened was just a misapprehension and his
stubbornness for car. The old man said you should seek pardon of your sins
from Almighty Allah, because the door of taubha never closed until the
doomsday. In the Holy Quran Allah says
My servants, who have committed excesses against themselves, do not
despair of Allahs Mercy. Surely Allah forgives all sins. He is Most Forgiving,
Most Merciful. (Surah Az-Zumar ,53)
He requested the old man to pray for him. The old man prayed for him and
said
In life, one may reject the blessings of Allah Almighty just because of that;
those blessings are not according to the dress of ones expectations. So, in
every circumstance always thanks to Almighty Allah what He has given to
you.
Zahid was still thinking, who was undergone a transition? Whether he or his
father.

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By: Talha Umer