I met a brother at our local mosque the other day. He is one of those special brothers who helps out during iftaar/taraweh and suhoor. Always there and ready to run around with a big lovely smile. The day I met him we exchanged greetings, smiles, and names. But brother Yousuf was unlike anyone I met. I did not show up to taraweh the day after and already when I met him a couple of days later, he smiled and questioned my absence. “Tariq, I didn’t see you yesterday. Everything’s okay?”
I met this brother like you would meet any random brother on Jummuah, offering salaams and nothing more than casual greetings “Hey, how are you doing?”. A min or 2, or even less.
But the fact that he was so aware, so God-conscious made me reflect upon some of our own state. We are never in the moment, and we forget people’s name!
But by Allah, some people like him are just so amazing. So real! They will remember your name and that’s something very special Allah has gifted some with, but on top of that they will show concern about your well-being. La ilaha illallah. These are the true people of khidma, and we look up to them. May Allah preserve and enoble them, ameen.
tariqyusufzai 