Chapter

THE DOG

By Skye Eedres

“He that doeth good shall have

ten times as much to his credit:

He that doeth evil shall only

be recompensed according to his evil:

No wrong shall be done unto (any of) them.”

HOLY QURAN 6:160

THE SKY LIGHTENS.

The gradual color of an artist’s brush dripping watered, white, drops of liquid in the corner of the eastern sky. Quickly it spreads. Leaking into all the cracks of black to gray to light.

An old man with a long beard, gray and stooped slowly climbs the stairs to the tower. He looks out over the sleeping city. The wind picks up and whips his jilbab (covering garment) around his thin body as he raises his arms to the sky. He calls the faithful to prayer¾the athan. He has dedicated his life to ALLAH.

Everything wakes up to pray. The president of the country, after all, is only a man. He wakes up and starts to wash his body the same as everyone else. The businessman is awakened by the call to the faithful, and his two boys come running into his bedroom and place their prayer rugs on the floor in the correct position and then go to wash. The teacher rises up from his bed, starts his washing ritual and places his rug on his balcony floor. The man in the street below the teacher’s house, sells food (beans), tamaya (a blend of spices and beans in a small patty), and be laya, (the hot, sweet cereal children eat every morning). He stops, goes to the dry pavement, places his prayer rug down, takes his jug of water out of his bag and starts to wash. An old, very thin, dry stick of a man in ragged clothes with no shoes removes his tattered jacket that hides his ripped and torn jilbab. He reaches a doorway, a goat is tethered to a hook in the ground. The old man reaches over and scoops water up to his face and hands:

Ash hadu al-la ilaha illALLAH,

wa Ashadu anna Muhammadar-Rasulu llah.

“I bear witness that there is no God but ALLAH,

I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of ALLAH.”

He is the street sweeper in a poor, small village. A village so small that there is no running water or electricity in some areas. El Hesi naya is a farm community in Zag A Zig, Egypt.

One billion Islamic people all over the earth face Mecca¾ the KABBA¾and fall to their knees in worship of ALLAH.

Is a rich man closer to ALLAH than a poor man? When we remove our clothes don't we look the same? Can we tell rich from poor in Paradise? Is it the things we accomplished in our lifetimes that are important? Or perhaps it is not what we are, but who we are? How have we lived our lives? How have we touched others? How have we treated our fellow man?

FAITH, only FAITH, unwavering, steady¾even in the worst of times, FAITH. FAITH that ALLAH is The Beneficent, The Merciful. That's it, that one simple recipe for success in life¾FAITH.

TODAY STARTED JUST LIKE ANY OTHER DAY FOR HAMID.

He prayed, searched for food and tried to just survive. In the small poor villages, there are no welfare programs as there are in the rich United States. Here in Egypt everyone must work to live or they will die. So every day Hamid goes from door to door cleaning up in front of businesses, homes, schools and mosques. Hoping someone will give him a coin, a crust of bread, a drink of water, or sometimes old clothes, to cover his body. He bathes every evening before prayer in the canal that leads to the Nile River. Hamid washes five times a day and prays five times a day. He has never said an unkind word to anyone. He does not blame anyone for his misfortune in his life. It just is. As bad as his life is, he takes the time to smile at the children and listen to their stories. The children talk to Hamid when their mothers and fathers are not watching. Because Hamid is very poor they do not want their family members talking to him. It looks bad for the family to be seen in his company.

Today Hamid sees up ahead a small boy and girl walking to school. They go to the French school and must walk a distance to catch the bus. Their family is not rich, yet not poor. No one in this family wants to help much because their oldest son married a foreigner. A very beautiful and kind woman. She is also Muslim. That has puzzled Hamid. This lady has always left on her doorsteps clothes, food, and sometimes shoes in the cold months. She has never spoken to Hamid because the lady's neighbors were always watching her waiting for her to make a mistake, so they could criticize and report her to her husband. This is a small village. Nothing ever happens here. Sometimes the women look for excitement and something to gossip about. They are just waiting and watching. Not bad women and neighbors, just bored. Still this foreign woman always was polite and kind, even though she knew that her neighbors were watching her. She always had a kind word for everyone, smiled, and never went out alone, or dressed disrespectful to her family. She was just a nice lady.

When they were out of sight of their street, Hamid walked with the foreign lady's children to the bus stop. Hamid liked these children and didn't want any misfortune to happen to them. On the way back from the bus stop Hamid heard a small pitiful sound from the ditch on the side of the road. He searched and searched to find the origin of the small crying sounds. There, in the weeds, a large female dog a car had hit. Still clinging to its side was a litter of puppies, all dead. No, there was a movement. One small tough pup, still moved, still clung to life. Hamid scooped the small, pitiful body up in his hands and put the cold body inside his jacket. What would he do with this small life? He could hardly support himself much less an additional mouth to feed, a puppy. Hamid had never gone to school and he had no family. His family had lived in Ismallia near the Suez. The Jews had come one afternoon across the canal murdering, raping and looting his small village. The Jews killed everyone. They even killed the animals and burned the houses and the crops in the fields. It wasn't a war, it was a massacre, a hateful incident. Pointless. Why did they do this? That was why no one wanted peace with Israel. And President Sadat was trying to force this peace with Israel on the Egyptian people simply because the United States wanted it and Sadat wanted money. He maintained it was for the people of Egypt's benefit. Always, as usual, in the end it all comes down to money. So Hamid escaped the violence. He ran away. He lived in the streets of many different villages. He never went to school and never had a home. However, he wasn't stupid. He understood life. He believed in the QUR’AN. He had his faith in ALLAH. No one could take that away from him. Hamid had lived in Zag a Zig, for the past ten years. His work was sweeping the streets. He had no boss and no one to answer to. He worked when and where he wanted to.

So here he sat with this cold little thing clinging to life. What was he to do with the puppy? He started walking towards the street the foreign children lived on hoping to discover some insight to his problem. There, a figure in the doorway, a woman. Hamid approached the woman and as she turned around he asked in a humble, polite voice if he could sweep her doorstep. The neighbor ladies called out to the foreign lady not to talk to him. He is a street sweeper, a low person, of no quality. He will steal from you. The lady looked at Hamid. It was the foreign lady. She told Hamid she was sorry but she had already swept her doorstep and that maybe tomorrow he could do it and she then made ready to return inside.

Hamid held out the pathetic, whimpering, little body of the puppy. The foreign lady looked at it and took it from Hamid's hands. Hamid told her he found the puppy and that the mother had been hit by a car. He also said he could not keep the puppy because he did not have a home himself. The foreign lady told him to wait one minute and took the puppy inside. The neighbor ladies called to her and said: “Don't take that puppy into your house. It will grow up into a monster and eat your children. It is a dirty street sweepers dog. Worth nothing. Garbage.” When she returned to the doorstep she gave Hamid a 1LB note, a ginah. She told Hamid, her children would really like to have a puppy even this little life is worth something. Hamid thanked her and walked away with a smile on his face.

Time passes quietly like a cat on velvet paws sneaking up on the bird that sits in the garden. One day it pounces and you notice what is going on. You wake up. The small, pitiful puppy was named Es Widy (Blackie). A 35 kilo, muscular, black dog. A guard. A friend. A playmate for the children and family.

The Nile feeds into the canal that borders the fields of Zag a Zig. This year, praise ALLAH, we had more rain than usual. It will be a good year for the crops in the field. The children enjoy swimming in the canals the same as when Hamid was growing up in his village. Hamid loves to sit on the side of the canal watching the children. He notices the foreign woman's son, Shamel. What a fine young man he has become. He is doing good in school and helps his father. Hamid always sees him with his father every Friday at the mosque. A good family.

Hamid sits there remembering the good times when he was a boy. A young man with a family. A time when he had friends and was loved by a mother. He sits in the warm sun almost asleep. Hamid sees a large black dog. The puppy he gave to Shamel's family, so long ago, is really a big dog now. The dog comes over and smells Hamid. It's a lazy spring day. Hamid pats the dog and he sits down next to Hamid. All sleepy under the palm tree, in the shade, listening to bees buzzing, birds singing, the children laughing and playing in the water. A Scream!

Shamel, the foreign woman's son has dived into the water and hit something floating in the water with his head. A big piece of wood. He is knocked out, unconscious. The current quickly grabs Shamel's body. He is floating down the canal and not moving. Not swimming. Dead?

Hamid and the dog race to the canal bank and look for Shamel. Es Widy leaps into the water and swims towards the now still form of the boy. Hamid slides to the edge of the canal trying to grab Shamel's shirt, to pull him to the shore. Hamid can't control the speed he is going and slides towards the water and ends up in the water. But he can swim. The dog reaches Shamel and bites his shirt. Struggling, pulling and swimming; the dog manages to get him to the edge of the shore. The dog drags him up out of the water. Shamel starts to open his eyes and throws up a lot of canal water. He lays there in the hot sun trying to catch his breath. A shout! A call for help! Again!

The current where the boys never go has caught Hamid and is washing him rapidly downstream turning him over and over. He cannot breathe. He is moving too fast.

Es Widy hears Hamid calling for help. He dives into the canal again and looks for Hamid. The dog is also swept rapidly downstream. By now several people are on the canal banks watching the drama play out the story. What a brave dog. Hamid grabs onto the big dog's back and the dog swims with Hamid to the banks of the canal. The dog drags and pushes Hamid up to the shore.

Somehow the dog slips and falls back into the raging waters and disappears under the muddy water. Es Widy bobs up and is swept out, into the current and cannot seem to get control. The dog disappears.

Everyone is very excited. A big black dog has saved the life of a child and a man. People are talking, giving food and placing blankets under the trees; just like a celebration. The foreign woman, mother of the boy shows up and hugs and kisses her son. Grateful that he is still alive. She thanks Hamid but Hamid tells her if it hadn't been for the dog, Es Widy, hearing the boys cry for help and going to his rescue, he would probably still be asleep under the palm tree. Where is the dog? Everyone loves a hero. What happened to Es Widy? Where is he? Is he dead? I guess so. No one can find him.

For the next three weeks the foreign lady's children look for the dog. They never give up. They have faith that they will find Es Widy alive and well. They keep telling everyone that he is only lost not dead. We never found a body. How could he be dead? Oh, if we only had the true faith of children! That everything will be all right and we believe that there is purpose to life. Hope.

Three weeks to the day exactly and the children are walking back from the bus stop after school. Up ahead is a man walking with a big black dog. Look! It is Es Widy. I know it is as the children run to catch up to the strange man. They cry we never gave up our hope. For what is life without hope? Hamid comes on to the scene of the two happy children, laughing and jumping up and down with the big dog. Yes it is the long lost dog, Es Widy. Hamid moves forward to thank the strange man and stops dead in his tracks. “I know this man. ALLAH, be praised. It is my brother from Ismallia. I haven't seen him for 12 years. I thought everyone in my family had been killed. I do have a family. I am not alone anymore.” A thrilling, happy cry erupts from Hamid's lips. Hamid rejoices and breaks into song and hugs his only brother. Everyone is happy.

All this because Hamid, a very poor man, from the dust of the streets, but a man rich in spirit; refused to pass up one of ALLAH’S creatures in need. Hamid the street sweeper gave of himself and asked for nothing in return.

This is a true story. I know. I was there. I am the foreign woman. Hamid still lives in El Hesi naya, Zag A Zig, Egypt. Except now he has a loving home and works with his brother in a dry cleaning business. Hamid is now married and has a small son and a small black puppy.

Please Continue . . .

¾Table of Contents¾

Navigate this site from the “Table of Contents” link

near the bottom of each page.

RIVER GARDEN ARTS

Post Office Box 12572

Hamtramck, Michigan 48212

http://www.Shahada.net

http://shahadanet.jeeran.com/IslamicBooks.html

http://shahadanet.jeeran.com/TruePurposeOfLife.htm

http://shahadanet.jeeran.com/Articles.htm

http://shahadanet.jeeran.com/Coming2IslamVolume1.html

http://shahadanet.jeeran.com/FreeDistribution.htm

E-Mail: shahadanet@excite.com

Publisher’s Note, HOLY QUR’AN ONLINE Link,

and FREE HOLY QUR’AN by Mail Link.