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The Tale of the Barber and the Istinjaa Bottle, by Shaykh Luqman Ahmad | The Lotus Tree Blog

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BOTTLE, BY SHAYKH LUQMANAHMAD

TheTaleoftheBarberandtheIstinjaa
Bottle,byShaykhLuqmanAhmad
BY IMAM ABU LAITH LUQMAN AHMAD on APRIL 10, 2012

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AbidonThe

Thisisatruestory,that
happenedjustafewdays
ago,anditisonethat
remindedmeofhow
importantandvaluable
theSunnaoftheProphet
(SAWS)is.Italso
remindedmeofthe
universalityofMuslim
brotherhoodandhowlaailaahaillaAllahturnscompletestrangers
intoacknowledgedbrothersinfaith,eveninthesmallestofmatters.
ThisincidentremindedmeofthehadithofAbuTharr,whenhe
reportedtheProphet(SAWS)assaying(Donotbelittleanyform
ofrighteousness)[1].ItwasEasterSunday,around4:25inthe
afternoononaverylazyandlowtrafficSacramentoweekend.I
normallytakemysontothebarbershoponSaturdaysandwehave
ourownregularbarberthatwehavebeenusingforsometime.
MostbarbershopsareclosedonSundaysbutinareaofthecitythat
Ilive,thereisaspateofbarbershops,mostlyownedbyAsians,
whichusuallyremainopenonSundays.
MysonreallyneededahaircutbecauseIhadneglectedtogethim
tothebarbertheweekendbefore,sohewasquiteoverdue.Wehad
alatestartsoIdidntexpectthatourusualbarberwouldbeopen.
Still,Iheadedoutwithmy10yearoldsonintow,toseeifhecould
gettreatedforatonsorial.Whenwearrivedatourusualbarber,the
signsaidopenbutwedidntseeanycarsintheparkinglot,somy
songotoutofthecarandcheckedthegateanditwaslocked.We
Follow
sawalightinsidebutitwasclearthattheywereclosedfortheday
andwedidntseeanyoneinside.Atthatpoint,itwasalreadyabout
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fiveoclockandthesalattimeforAsrwasclosinginonmesoI
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figuredthatIwouldhavetowaitanotherdaybeforehecouldgeta
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AsIwascruisingdownElCaminoAvenue,tryingtoobservethe

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Imams:
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Luqmaon
Openletterto
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speedlimitalthoughIwasrunningalittlelate.AsIwasdriving,I
Enteryouremailaddress
noticedoutofthecornerofmyeyeasmall,nondescriptbarbershop
situatedinthemiddleoftheblock.Iquicklymadeauturnand
Signmeup
pulleduprightinfrontoftheplaceandtoldmysontogetoutand
checkthedoor.Hedid,andthedoorwasopenalthoughmyson
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turnedtomeandsaidthattherewasnooneinside.Itoldmysonto
goinwhileIparkthecar,andIllbeinrightbehindhimIfigured
thatifthedoorwasopen,abarberhadtobesomewherecloseby.I
parkedmycarandwithinaminute,Iwasinsidetheshop.WhenI
openedthedoor,mysonhadalreadypickedouthiscutstyleand
wasinthechairbeingprepped.Ispoketothebarberbrieflytogive
myokayandthenexcusedmyselfandsteppedbackoutsideto
makeaphonecall,whichlastedaminuteorso.
Isteppedbackintothebarbershopandaskedthebarberwhowas
infullcuttingmodebythattime,couldIusethebathroom.He
motionedmetogototheback.ThebarberwhoIassumedwas
BuddhistbecausetherewasasizeableBuddhistcommunityinthe
area,wasanolder,Asiangentleman,whomovedslowly,spokewith
averyheavyaccent,andhadapeacefulairabouthim.
IwentintothebathroomandwhileIwasthere,noticedwhatlooked
likeawesternstyleistinjaabottle.InAmericaandinother
countries,peopleconvertopenmouthed,spoutedcontainersthat
arenormallyusedforwateringhouseplants,intoconvenient

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istinjaabottles,thatyouregularlyfindinthebathroomsofMuslim
homes.Properlycleaningonesselfaftergoingtothebathroomis

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animportantpartofpurificationandIslamichygienenoself
respectingpracticingMuslimgoeswithouthavingsomeapparatus

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forusingwaterwhilecleaningonesself.
Nevertheless,whenIsawthebottleinthebathroom,myfirst

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impressionwasthatitwasperhapsaflowerpot,thathappenedto
looklikeanistinjaabottle,andnottheotherwayaround,butthenI
startedthinkingwhywoulditbeinthebathroom?Granted,noneof
thiswasmybusiness,butusinganistinjaaapparatusafterone
relieveshimself,isaSunnaoftheProphet(SAWS).AnythingthatI
noticethathasarootorabasisinthepracticeoftheProphet
(SAWS)thatIamawareof,usuallygetsmyattention,evenifitis
justacursorymentalglance.Afterwashingmyhandsandleaving
thebathroom,mycuriousitygotthebestofme.NownormallyI
wouldhaveusedthetimemysonwasinthechairtoread,text,
answeremailorsomehowinteractwithmysmartphone,inorderto
passthetime.However,thistimewasdifferentmymindwasstillon
theistinjaa/flowerbottlewhywasitthere,whatwasitfor?So
immediatelyafterIsatdownIpoppedthequestiontothebarber,
whowasmakingheadwayonmysonshaircut.Excusemesir,I
said,areyouaMuslim?Herepliedintheaffirmative,afterwhichI

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immediatelyofferedhimsalaamsandhequicklyrespondedwitha

followers

smile.Thesalaamsledtoanautomaticbackandforthutterenceof
traditionalMuslimgreetingsandresponsesthatareexchanged

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uponmeetingkaifahaaluk,alhumdulillah,mashaAllah,
subhaanaAlllah!AllahuAkbaranditwentonforafewminutes.

Signmeup!

WhenMuslimscometogether,thefirstthingwearesupposedtodo
istomakeduaaforeachotherbyexchangingsalaams.
Webothwereclearlyoverjoyedattheseeminglybychancemeeting
oftwoMuslimsonaslow,EasterSundayafternoon,overaboys
haircut.ExceptthatasMuslimswebelievethatnothinghappensby
chancethingshappenbydecree(qadr),andwithAllahs
permission.ThebrothersnamewasAbdulAziz,hesoriginallyfrom
Malaysia,andhesquiteabarbertoohookedmysonup!Andto
think,thisallhappenedduetoaSunnaoftheProphet(SAWS),a
simplegooddeed,ofusingintinjaa!Oneofthemanymoralsofthis
storyistoneverdeemanysunnaoftheprophet(SAWS)as
insignificant.Anothermoraltothisstoryistheconfirmationofthe
verse,andWehavenotsentyouexceptasamercytotheworlds.

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April10,20124:26pm
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Lovelystory&observations,Shaykh.It`ssuchabeautiful

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occurancetorunintoabrotherMuslim!

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