Basic HTML Version
The Islamic Bulletin
Volume XX No. 26
Page 7
eyes. Later, I learn that one of the men had 2.5 million dollars
in cash in his briefcase and the other had almost the same
amount in heroin.
During the 80’s, this was one of the biggest drug
busts ever. The police then asked for the owner of the
club. I told them
that I was the
owner, all the
while scared to
think of what
was going to
happen next.
The police then
ordered me to
come with
them. They
informed me
that my
nightclub had to
be permanently
closed.
Everything after this was happening like one big blur. I
had to go to court and try to keep my nightclub opened. No
matter how hard I tried, though, Allah always knows better.
He knew that I was ready to make a change and lead
my life as a practicing Muslim. As it says in the Holy
Quran,
“But perhaps you hate a thing and it is
good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it
is bad for you. And Allah knows, while you know
not.”
(Quran 2:216)
During this time, Brother Mabruk and the
others still came to visit me. And I had begun
frequenting the masjid more often. I still would not say that I
was a perfect Muslim, but I was getting better.
Occasionally I would accompany the brothers when
they went to visit other Muslims. Once, I accompanied Sheikh
Mabruk and a few other brothers who went to
visit a Muslim grocery store owner. That day, the
grocery owner, who was apparently in a bad
mood, lost his temper and said,
“Why are you bothering me?” and spit
in Sheikh Mabruk’s face. I was so mad, I
wanted to punch him. But the sheikh held me
back and cleaned the spit with his hand. He did
not use a napkin. The Sheikh told the owner
Jazakullah khair that Allah has blessed me with a
brother who has ‘la illahah illalah’ in his heart
and we left. Those words had actually had an
impact on me. It was heart whelming to actually
see and witness how important it is for Muslims
to visit and remind other Muslims of the importance of salah
and other Islamic duties. My life changed after that visit. You
can never know what simple act you may do that will affect
another person’s life.
Sheikh Mabruk had the best personality; I have never
met a person who had such qualities like him. In fact,
whenever I hear stories of the Sahabah, I always think of him.
When we returned to the masjid I was still mad. I
saw the Sheikh making dua, and was thinking to myself,
“Good,
the Sheikh is making dua that the man’s
grocery business fails or something terrible.”
At maghrib time, the store owner came and was
looking for Sheikh Mabruk. When I saw him, my blood was
boiling. I said this is my chance to take care of him, but
Sheikh Mabruk stopped me. What happened next made me
realize that there is hope for each of us. The man kissed the
Sheikh’s head and told him to please forgive him for what he
did. The Sheikh told the grocery owner that he had been making
dua for his guidance. As the grocery owner was leaving, he could
not find his shoes. Sheikh Mabruk found them, then bent down
and placed them on the man’s feet. What a beautiful thing that
happened before my eyes. To make a long story short, the
grocery owner sold his business and moved to Toronto. He now
lives a very pious and religious life.
How I began joining and traveling around with these brothers to
give dawah was purely accidental. Once I went to the masjid to
offer my salah. Visiting there was a group of brothers from Saudi
Arabia. Sheikh Mabruk was there, too, along with some of the
local brothers. He told me that they were spending forty days
traveling around the United States. Traveling around doing what,
I asked? He explained to me that these brothers came from
Saudi Arabia to help remind the Muslims of their Islamic
responsibilities.
All the way from Saudi Arabia, I thought. Now, that was
a bit silly. I’m sure they could have found people a lot closer to
have done that. Anyways, was there even a need to do this?
Wow, what a serious waste of time, money, and loss of work.
Something I would never do.
Sheikh Mabruk said to me, “Why don’t you spend time
with them?” I told the sheikh, “There is no way I can spend
forty days.” He said that they needed brothers to help drive so
how about 3 days. They were going to travel from
Denver to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and then San
Francisco. So I told him that I would drive these
brothers a portion of the trip, to Las Vegas. My hope
was that after driving them, I would stop and do a
little gambling. My intention was not to spend time
with them but to gamble.
I called my wife and told her that I would
be gone for about 3 days—that I would be driving a
group of brothers to Las Vegas. To my surprise, she
was fine with it. On our way from Denver, one brother sitting
behind me was reading Surat Yasin from the Quran the entire
way.
After arriving in Las Vegas, we prayed fajr, ate breakfast,
and rested in the masjid. At dhuhr time, one of the local
brothers came and invited us to rest in a room of a local motel.
The owner was a Muslim and he had a motel connected to a
small casino. Many of the customers were Middle Eastern. Many
times, Muslims have forgotten Islam. I sincerely and whole-
heartedly wish hedayah would come to every Muslim. I wish
that Muslims would realize the Power of Allah, the connection
that one could have with Allah and the feeling of imam (faith) in
his/her heart. This is something that every Muslim needs. As
practicing Muslims, we should also be well-wishers for the entire
humanity. As Muslims, more than anybody else, we should
realize that they have a treasure in their hands (Islam) and they
should take advantage of it.
So, I went with two of the brothers to visit the Muslims
in the casino. Before going in, one of the brothers told me to
listen only. Since I was new, and not knowing what to do, I just
stood there watching and listening. I was so involved watching a
man gamble, I had not noticed that the brothers had moved on
to talk to another person. Anyways, while watching this man play
cards, the dealer dealt an initial hand of two cards and the guy I
was standing behind had a total of 16, so I told him nam nam
(stand), “Take no more cards.” He turned and looked at me; I
was wearing a white thobe like the rest of the brothers. So he
told the dealer, “One more card.” He ended up losing. I told
him, “Didn’t I tell you ‘nam nam’?”
The man played another turn and took 2 cards. This
time his total was 15. So I told him “Take another card,” but he
refused and would not take another card. His next card was a
two. He ended up losing to the dealer. So I asked him, “Why
didn’t you listen to me?” He said,
“La hawla wa qwata illa
billah.
” (Expression said by a Muslim when he is struck with
“Are you aa
sheikh or a
professional
gambler?”