Its only twenty pence?

bismillahi walhamdulillahi 'alaa rasulillah, this was something i found today - one from thousands of my archive of tazkiyatun nafs :)

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Several years ago an imaam moved to London. He often took the bus from his home to the downtown area. Some weeks after he arrived, he had occasion to ride the same bus. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him twenty pence too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'you better give the twenty pence back. It would be wrong to keep it'.

Then he thought, 'oh forget it, it's only twenty pence. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company already gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a gift from Almighty Allah and keep quiet'.

When his stop came, the Imaam paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the twenty pence back to the driver and said:

"Here, you gave me too much change."

The driver with a smile replied:

"Aren't you the new Imaam in this area? I have been thinking lately about going to worship at your Masjid. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change."

When the Imaam stepped off the bus, his knees became weak and soft. He had to grab the nearest light pole and held for support, and looked up to the heavens and cried:

"Oh Allah, I almost sold Islam for twenty pence!"

Bottomline: We may never see the impact our actions have on people... Sometimes we are the only knowledge of the Quran someone will read, or the only Islam a non-Muslim will see. What we need to provide, Insha Allah is an example for others to see. Be careful and be honest everyday, because you never know who is watching your actions..