Every morning my Sudani colleague, brother Ahmed reports to work an hour earlier to beat Riyadh's horrendous traffic. He would make two cups of coffee and we will engage in conversation about various subject matters. Yesterday morning he related a story to me that he had witnessed at the airport a few weeks ago. There was a student from Egypt who had completed his Islamic studies at a university here in Riyadh. He had graduated and was returning to Egypt with all his belongings. He hailed from a poor family in Egypt. His plane ticket was sponsored by the university. When he arrived at the airport check in counter, he was informed that he is overweight and needs to pay three hundred dollars before a boarding pass will be issued. He pleaded with the man at the counter regarding his plight showing the man the Quraan and other books that he had studied at the university. The man at the cunter was cold and adamant. He called a member of the military to escort the student away from the counter. Like all Saudi military personnel, the man was harsh and whilst banging his fist on the counter he told the student that he will make sure that he does not get onto the flight unless he pays the money first. The student looked at the man and in a polite tone replied, " Insha Allah - if God Almighty wills I will be on the flight most definitely." He walked away and went to the airport masjid. It was time for salaah but the imaam of the masjid did not arrive. Since their was no other person who knew the Quraan by heart in the small congregation, he offered to lead the prayer. God Almighty had blessed him with a beautiful voice and he read the verses of the Quraan as though he was speaking to His creator. When the prayer was concluded a gentleman who performed hir prayer behind him walked up to him with tear filled eyes. In fact the gentleman could not contol his tears. He was so moved by the way in which the student recited the Quraan. He asked the student where did he learn to read Quraan in such a soulful manner and also where is he travelling to. The student informed him that he was on his way to Egypt. The gentleman was surprised that the flight was going to take off within an hour and the student had not yet checked in his luggage and neither did he have a boarding pass. The Saudi gentleman then asked the student to accompnay him to the check in counter. When he arrived at the counter, the staff including the military personnel became cold with fright. The Saudi gentleman was one of the senior executive members at the airport. Within minutes the students luggage was checked in and he was given an upgraded ticket to Egypt. The Saudi gentleman asked the staff at the counter why were they harrassing the student and do they not have the slightest bit of humanity within their hearts. He lectured them on being kind to others especially students who have travelled to Saudi Arabia leaving their families behind to learn about Islam and memorise the Quraan. This folks is the power of the Quraan. A truly remarkable story indeed. The moral of the story is this, when you have complete faith and full trust in God Almighty nothing or no one can prevent you from achieving your goal in life. Always place God Almighty first in your life and you will always attain success from unknown sources.
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