Who Was the Young Boy?

There was once a man who was an enemy to Islam. He had three famous questions that no person could answer. No Islamic scholar in Baghdad could answer his three questions...thus he made fun of Islam in public. He constantly ridiculed Islam and the Muslims. One day a small boy, whose age was 10, came along and heard the man yelling and screaming at Muslims in the street. He was challenging people openly to answer the three questions.

The boy stood quietly and watched. He then decided that he would challenge the man. He walked up and told the man, "I will accept your challenge."

The man laughed at the boy and ridiculed the Muslims even more by saying, "A ten year old boy challenges me. Is this all you people have to offer!"

But the boy patiently reiterated his stance. He would challenge the man, and with Allah's help and guidance, he would put this to an end. The man finally accepted.

The entire city gathered around a small "hill" where open addresses were usually made. The man climbed to the top, and in a loud voice asked his first question.

"What is your God doing right now?"

The small boy thought for a little while and then told the man to climb down the hill and to allow him to go up in order to address the question.

The man says "What? You want me to come down?"

The boy says, "Yes, I need to reply, right?"

The man made his way down and the small boy, age 10, with his little feet made his way up.

This small child's reply vms "Oh Allah Almighty! You be my witness in front of all these people. You have just willed that a Kafir be brought down to a low level, and that a Muslim be brought to a high level!

The crowd cheered and screamed "Takbir"...."Allah-hu-akbar!!!"

The man was humiliated, but he boldly asked his Second question... "What existed before your God?"

The small child thought and thought.

Then he asked the man to count backwards. "Count from 10 backwards." The man counted..."10, 9, 8, 7,6,5,4,3,2,1,0"

The boy asked, "What comes before 0?"

The man: "I know nothing." The boy. "Exactly. Nothing was before Allah, for He is eternal and absolute."

The crowd cheered again.... "Takbir!"...."Allah-hu-akbar!!!!"

The man, now completely frustrated, asked his final question. "In which direction is your Allah facing?"

The boy thought and thought. He then asked for a candle. A candle was brought to him.

The blessed child handed it to the man and asked him to light it. The man did so and remarked, "What is this supposed to prove?"

The young boy asked, "In which direction is light from the candle going?"

The man responded, "It is going in all directions." The boy: "You have answered your own question.

Allah's light (noor) goes in all directions. He is everywhere. There is nowhere that He cannot be found.

"The crowd cheered again...."Takbir!"...."Allah-hu-akbar!!!"

The man was so impressed and so moved by the boy's knowledge and spirituality, that he embraced Islaei and became a student of the young boy.

So the debate ended.

Who was the young boy?

The young boy was one of our leaders and one of the greatest scholars, Imam Abu Hanifa (May Allah bless him with mercy).

There was a young man, who got to know about a precious stone. He decided not to come back to his house till he finds the stone. So he left his house with a little provision. He sat down to sketch a map on a notebook. He had a very long route to cover

But he stuck to his ambition and had very high hopes.

He believed that if he found the stone he would not have to work anymore and would become the wealthiest person.

All his worries and problems would be finished. Everyone would respect him. Ultimate ly he would become a successful man.

I was sitting in the kitchen. Sabi (our servant) was washing the dishes after which she mopped the floor. My Mom came in. "Sabi why were you late again?" She yelled at her. My bus... Sabi was going to say something, when my Mom interrupted her. "That is not an excuse Sabi", she told her.

I wondered what the excuse was and got curious. I decided to ask Sabi when my Mom wouldn't be around. It was time for Zuher, We all washed for prayers and went to pray except Sabi. She was still working in the kitchen. I was shocked.

Because my Qura'an teacher told me," when it's time for Salat you have to stop whatever you're doing". And yet I noticed that she wasn't even covering her hair, even in front of my father or uncle. "Why? Isn't she supposed to?" I asked myself " When every other person tells me that I have to cover my hair (in front of non-mehrams), Wasn't my dad and uncle non-mehram for her?" Now I really wanted to talk to her. Later that day when my Mom went shopping, I called her to my room. I told her to sit down when she came in.

Then asked her about the things puzzling me. "I don't know how to pray & nobody told me to cover. Do I have to?" She asked me.

"Yes, you do", I said.

She started to cry, I couldn't stop her. She had to let those tears out.

"I will teach you Sabi, don't cry", I said. She rubbed her eyes. She was deeply touched. "You will?" She asked. "Yes", I answered.

That night I asked my parents for permission to help her study after I returned from college. My Mom was quite angry. "You little kiddy, how could you? They are our servants; if they started to learn who is going to work for us?" was her verdict. "You are forgetting something Mom", I replied. "I'm not a kid and you must remember that our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu 'alai-hi- waSallam) taught us to be nice to our servants. There's nothing wrong in spreading the words of Allah to them and teaching them worldly knowledge as well".

"I see your point Aisha", my father, a kind-hearted man, said, "Yes, you can teach her", he added. My Mom couldn't say anymore.

I started to teach her. I was amazed at the pace of her learning. She learned her Salat in a month. Then I stared to teach her how to read and write.

She finished her first Qura'an in a year. After which she started memorizing some Surah. She was so happy. Now I See her covered from her head to toe, even in the hottest of the days. One day my dad brought his friend's proposal for her. My Mom asked Sabi's Mom. She was happy to hear it and willingly agreed.

She got married in the next two weeks. I was happy for her. "Thank you Aisha, hadn't you taught me, I couldn't have learned anything", she said. "No Sabiha, thank Allah. He had planned everything, I just...I did nothing". That was all I could say. "Now I could teach my daughters", She was telling me. I started to laugh and she joined in. I looked towards the sky & thought there was a big smile, too.

Muhammad Arshi

Many years ago, during the time of the Tâbi'în (the generation of Muslims after the Sahâbah), Baghdâd was a great city of Islam. In fact, it was the capital of the Islamic Empire
and, because of the great number of scholars who lived there, it was the center of Islamic knowledge.

One day, the ruler of Rome at the time sent an envoy to Baghdâd with
three challenges for the Muslims. When the messenger reached the city, he informed
the khalîfah that he had three questions which he challenged the Muslims
to answer.

The khalîfah gathered together all the scholars of the city and the
Roman messenger climbed upon a high platform and said, "I have come with
three questions. If you answer them, then I will leave with you a great amount
of wealth which I have brought from the king of Rome." As for the questions,
they were: "What was there before Allâh?" "In which direction
does Allâh face?" "What is Allâh engaged in at this
moment?"

The great assembly
of people were silent. (Can you think of answers to these questions?) In
the midst of these brilliant scholars and students of Islam was a man looking
on with his young son. "O my dear father! I will answer
him and silence him!" said the youth. So the boy sought the permission
of the khalîfah to give the answers and he was given the permission
to do so.

The Roman addressed the young Muslim and repeated his first question,

"What was there before Allâh?"

The boy asked, "Do
you know how to count?"

"Yes," said the
man.

"Then count down from ten!" So the Roman counted down, "ten,
nine, eight, ..." until he reached "one" and he stopped counting.

"But what comes before 'one'?" asked
the boy.

"There is nothing before one- that is it!" said
the man.

"Well then, if
there obviously is nothing before the arithmetic 'one', then how do you
expect that there should be anything before the 'One' who is Absolute Truth,
All-Eternal, Everlasting- the First, the Last, the Manifest, the Hidden?"

Now the man was
surprised by this direct answer which he could not dispute. So he asked, "Then tell me, in which direction is Allâh
facing?"

"Bring a candle and light it," said the boy, "and
tell me in which direction the flame is facing."

"But the flame
is just light- it spreads in each of the four directions,

North, South, East
and West. It does not face any one direction only," said
the man in wonderment.

The boy cried, "Then if this physical light spreads in all four directions
such that you cannot tell me which way it faces, then what do you expect of
the Nûr-us-Samâwâti-wal-'Ard: Allâh- the Light of the
Heavens and the Earth!? Light upon Light, Allâh faces all directions
at all times."

The Roman was stupified and astounded that here was a young child answering
his challenges in such a way that he could not argue against the proofs. So,
he desperately wanted to try his final question. But before doing so, the boy
said,

"Wait! You are
the one who is asking the questions and I am the one who is giving the
answer to these challenges. It is only fair that you should come down to
where I am standing and that I should go up where you are right now, in
order that the answers may be heard as clearly as the questions."

This seemed reasonable
to the Roman, so he came down from where he was standing and the boy ascended
the platform. Then the man repeated his final challenge, "Tell
me, what is Allâh doing at this moment?"

The boy proudly
answered, "At this moment, when Allâh found upon
this high platform a liar and mocker of Islam, He caused him to descend and
brought him low. And as for the one who believed in the Oneness of Allâh,
He raised him up and established the Truth. Every day He exercises (universal)
power (Surah 55 ar-Rahmân, Verse 29)."

The Roman had nothing
to say except to leave and return back to his country, defeated. Meanwhile,
this young boy grew up to become one of the most famous scholars of Islam.
Allâh, the Exalted, blessed him with special wisdom
and knowledge of the deen. His name was Abu Hanîfah (rahmatullâh
'alayhi- Allâh have mercy on him) and he is known today as Imâm-e-A'zam,
the Great Imâm and scholar of Islam. May Allâh shower some of His
Mercy in the same way upon our Muslim children who are growing up today. Âmeen.

[Adapted into English
from "Manâqib Abî Hanîfah" written
by Imâm

Muwaffaq Ibn Ahmad
al-Makki (d. 568 Hijri). Dar al-Kitâb al-'Arabiy,

Beirut, 1981/1401H.]