By Ahsan

I had the pleasure of attending a dinner where an Imam addressed the audience. He began with the recitation of the Holy Quran and offered a prayer reminding the audience to supplicate for themselves and for humanity at large.

Two things really stood out about this Imam. One was his engaging style of speaking, and two was his expert use of story-telling to make a point.

I would like to share a story he recounted. This story has endured millennia because it is truly a universal message for all people.

The story goes like this: four young men were sitting near the K'aaba (the holy shrine in Mecca), talking about life in general and what they planned on doing in the future. Three of them were brothers, and the other was their friend.

The first brother said I plan on becoming the ruler of the Arabian Peninsula one day. The others replied with encouraging words and prayed for his success. The second brother declared he would become the ruler of the vaster Persian Empire, and the others responded with the same encouragement and prayers for ultimate success. The third brother, not to be outdone, said he would one day become the King of the world, and the rest replied again with best wishes and prayers of success.

The fourth lad, their friend, was the quiet and reflective person of the group. He did not offer what he wanted to do, but when pressed, he replied: I admire the worldly goals you have set for yourself, and I sincerely hope you achieve them. As for me, I want to learn the ways of Allah and live according to the example of our Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, so when I leave this world, there is a smile on my face and a few tears in the eyes of those I leave behind.

The Imam was addressing the youth in the audience and was encouraging them to make lofty goals for their future, to pursue all their dreams of wealth and fame but not to forego the opportunity to serve humanity first with their best abilities based on good living, service to others and absolute justice for all.

He closed by saying that when we are born, we come in crying while others are smiling and it might be the best thing to flip that around when we make our exit.

Life is short my friends….be Awesome!