mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young
grandson.
Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the
kitchen table reading his Qur'an. His
grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to
imitate him in every way he could.
One day the grandson asked,
'Grandpa! I try to read the Qur'an just like you but I
don't understand it, and what I do understand
I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does
reading the Qur'an do?'
The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the
stove and replied,
'Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me
back a basket of water.'
The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out
before he got back to the house. The grandfather
laughed and said,
'You'll have to move a little faster next time,' and sent
him back to
the river with the basket to try again.
This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was
empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told
his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in
a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead.
The old man said,
'I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of
water. You're just not trying hard
enough,' and he went out the door to watch the boy try
again.
At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he
wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as
fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got
back to the house.
The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran
hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket
was again empty. Out of breath, he said,
'See Grandpa, it's useless!'
'So you think it is useless?' The old man said, 'Look at
the
basket.'
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time
realized that the basket was different. It had been
transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now
clean, inside and out.
'Son, that's what happens when you read the Qur'an.
You might not understand or remember everything,
but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and
out. That is the work of Allah in our lives.
....
