Suddenly one of them said in a loud voice, even though he was sitting right next to me, “Enough! Enough!”

I thought that I had disturbed him because my voice was too loud, so I apologized to him and carried on reading in a whisper that only I could hear. I saw him holding his head in his hands, then fidgeting in his seat, moving a lot. Then he raised his head and said to me angrily, “Please, stop it, I can’t stand it!!”

Then he got up from his seat and went away for a while, then he came back, greeted me with salaams, and apologized. He fell silent, and I did not know what was going on. But after a while he turned to me with his eyes full of tears and said to me in a whisper, “For three years or more I have not put my forehead on the ground, and I have not read even one aayah!

Allah is the Most Merciful. It is out of His Mercy that He feeds us, provides us and gives us everything we ask for, despite our disobedience to His Commands.
But why does He punish, few may ask.

We must know that just as Mercy is Allah’s attribute and Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem are His Beautiful Names, so is Justice His attribute and Al-Adl His Beautiful Name. Allah is the Most Just and He is the Judge.

He punishes His slaves – and He has full right to and He cannot be questioned regarding it – because of their own sins and rejection of Allah’s commandments and blessings. Moreover, He is never unjust or incorrect. He is the Most Perfect and everything He does is without a doubt correct. So, when He punishes He is carrying out justice.

Young women have many hopes and dreams. Among the most important of these dreams focus upon their future husbands, the men who are going to be their partners through the long and arduous journey of life. Some girls want their husbands to be young and handsome. Others prefer men who are gentle and romantic. Still others want their husbands to be rich or famous.
These dreams are sometimes beset by obstacles that prevent the young woman from ever realizing them, obstacles to marriage that are uncalled for and unnecessary. Among the most important of these are the following:

1. Studies: This can take many years, depending on the program of study undertaken and the desired degree goals. In truth, a woman’s marriage is not incompatible with her furthering her studies. What it needs is for there to be an understanding from the onset between the husband and wife about the matter of her studies.
I see this as part of facing up to our changing circumstances. There are many destructive influences that beset our young men and women today. The mass media has an overwhelming effect. The world is more open. Early marriage has become more of a necessity for our young men and women than it has ever been before. It needs to be given priority. A young woman should give the matter her attention, as should her parents.

Just as a child should be taught ritual acts of worship, he should also be taught good habits and etiquettes until they become second nature to him.

The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa salllam said: “The believers who have the most perfect faith are those who have the best manners.” [Abu Daawood]

Good manners are an acquired trait that must be adopted from a young age. Of such manners are the following:

Being respectful and dutiful to parents:

The first person from whom a child learns good manners is the father. If a child is raised in a good Islamic home, then it would be natural for him to treat his parents respectfully.

Allah Says (what means): “And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them reach old age in your life, never say ‘uff’ (an expression of displeasure), nor shout at them but address them in terms of honour. And humble yourself to them out of mercy and say, ‘My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was small.’” [Qur’an, 17:23,24]

A sage once said, “Three types of persons are known only under three circumstances: a forbearing person is known only in times of anger, a courageous person is known only in times of war, and a brother is known only in times of need.”

This is true because hardships reveal hidden morals and disclose real personalities. Therefore, the Arabs would say, “Travel is the scale of people”.
This is because it reveals many of their morals and dispositions. Similarly, one cannot be known at times of agreement, but only at times of disagreement, which reveals his piety, forbearance and adherence to justice and other virtues which all people approve of at the time of agreement but differ about at the time of disagreement.

Hence, Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): ...And do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness... [Quran 5:8].
Also, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would supplicate to Allaah, saying: “Wa asa’luka kalimata al-haqqi fi al-ridha wal ghadhab.[And I ask You to make me utter words of truth at the time of satisfaction and at the time of anger.” [Ahmad and An-Nasaa’i, Al-Albaani and Al-Arnaa'oot - Saheeh]