A story that all muslims should read

[-thetruth]

Salam

This is an old story in north Africa but it shows how easy it is to become a polytheist without realising it.
I am sorry it's along story but worth it.
------------------------------------------------------


Al-Sheikh Addayyaf's Shrine:

Years ago in a newspaper, I read the following wonderful story :

The story took place in one of the (Arabian Maghreb countries) which was under the French occupation at that time. A wealthy French man chose a hillock amongst the hamlets and the green fields of the countryside… On that hillock, he built a house there and surrounded it with a big garden… This French man had a huge dog living with him in the house to guard his garden. And the French man liked the dog so much… One day the dog died and the man was overwhelmed by sadness. And he insisted to bury his dog near him in the garden, for this might console him. However, the man exaggerated the burial ceremony; he built a shrine of expensive alabaster over the dog's grave and brought a sculptor to engrave an elegy he wrote for his dog on the shrine. Moreover, he used to put flowers on the shrine every morning.
Years elapsed on such way till the French occupation of this country came to an end. Then, the French man thought of returning home to spend the rest of his life there. So, he sold the house to a citizen of that [Arabian Maghreb country] and entrust him to take care of the grave of his friend, (the dog)… The French man traveled to his country, but the new owner of the house did not move to the house and neglected it for years till the plants of the garden faded and the fence’s bricks came down, and the old garden became opened to the road without gates… One day, a villager passed by the house. He was traveling on foot and
The villagers kept praying as such. Thus, he sought the help of someone other than Allah and this makes him a polytheist.

When the villager reached his destination, he began to propagate for his Sheikh Addayyaf as the holy man- and the miracles and blessings he witnessed beside his shrine. The word spread amongst all the others hamlets, and they began to visit the shrine and pray Addayyaf to grant them his blessings and their needs. Some frauds saw this and decided to exploit the opportunity. Thus, they appointed themselves the guardians of the shrine and began to collect money from the naive villagers in the name of their master sheikh Addayyaf. They collected revenues of the shrine were so great that those frauds decided to buy the house and the garden. So, they looked for their owners. On knowing that the original owner was dead, they bought the house from his heirs who knew next to nothing about Addayyaf story… Next, those frauds built a dome over the grave and decorated it. Further, they covered the shrine and the elegy with coloured silk cloth. On top of the shrine they put a round piece of wood and put a fez on it, and over the fez they wrapped a turban…All this was to impress the coming idiots.
After a while Addayyaf became well-known not only amongst naïve villagers, but also amongst the educated in the big cities who can't be easily branded naive. Even the cultured visit traveling to the shrine and spent their money on revamping and improving it and to set up the pavilions around. They even sacrificed a lot of sheep and cows for Addayyaf's sake. In the meantime, the frauds went far in their swindle. So, they set a

date of birth for the alleged holy man and made a birthday celebration on that day... Thousands of people used to come to that fair to win the satisfaction of sheikh Addayyaf whose miracles were obvious to everyone. The Devil insinuated to them that all that was true. Thus, if a sterile woman visited Addayyaf, slaughtered an animal in sacrifice for him and asked him to grant her children and this woman happened to give birth, they would attribute this to Addayyaf's powers and miracles.
For lengthy years, people kept increase believing in the miraculous powers of that animal the (dog)… Till one day, the French man thought of visiting that Arabic country where he spent in it a part of his life. And he yearned for visiting the old house where he spent the sweetest days and where his dear friend the (dog) was buried. At that time the French was 70 years old and he felt a nostalgia for his past. So, he decided to perform this tourist journey. As soon as his flight reached its destination, coming from Paris to the capital of that Arabic country, the man took a cab and headed for the rural area where his former old house is located. On his way to the house, the man noticed the changes that took place throughout the 30 years he was away in France. But when he got closer to his old house, he could not see the house due to the high buildings and hotels that were built near that house out of all the other houses. He also noticed that the previously remote and unfrequented area, now is very crowded. At first, the French man thought that a monument was found in the neighborhood. Yet, when he got out of the car and walked towards the house, he found that the house and the garden vanished. In their place, he found a huge dome and some small buildings. The man was so astonished and he wondered how and why that happened?...


Had not he been sure that this is the place of his old house, he thought that he has lost his way and arrived to a wrong house in another hamlet. The French man could not but approach one of those sitting near the dome to find an answer to his question. But one of the fake guardians saw him and asked him what he wanted… The Frenchman said that he was looking for his old house that was in this place. The guardian said that is true there was a house before surrounded by big garden, but all that was tear down to build a shrine and dome for the holy man – Addayyaf- whose grave was discovered in the garden. They tear down the house to build small houses for the guardians and the servants of the shrine holy man and their families as you see.
Since the Frenchman knew full well that this huge dome was built exactly on the his dog's grave, he did not disclose this matter to the guardian. He rather asked him to let him into the dome to see the shrine of Addayyaf?.. At first, the guardian refused this and said that non-Muslims were not allowed in. But when the French man put some (Franks) in his pocket,… Then the guardian let him in. In the dome the French man saw an iron cage ornamented with silver. The place was full of scents, and many villagers were touching the cage to be blessed. The villagers there were praying and weeping before the shrine. The French man did not understand what they were saying... Inside the cage there was a tombstone covered with green and black silk. At the top of that tombstone, there was a thing like a neck wrapped with silk and on it there was a fez and a big green turban… The French man noticed that the size of the tombstone is exactly the same as that of the dog's shrine. So, he became sure that this was his dog's grave. At this moment, he approached the


guardian who let him in and said: "I am so curious to know what is inside the cage and I wish that you could let me see what is hidden under this silk. If you do this, I'll give you whatever you ask for." The guardian muttered a few words which the French couldn’t understand, then he said in French language: "This is impossible as if you asked me to show you the sheikh's genitals. And if I did this, he would be furious and pour his wrath on us. Moreover, the curse may chase you even to France…" However, the French man did not give up. He offered the guardian a great deal of money to let him in the cage and uncover the grave. On seeing that amount of money, the guardian hurried and took the French man out of the dome, lest anyone should hear them. Then, the guardian said: "I'll accept this money to put in the sheikh's box of donation that helps the needy and the poor. I'll grant you your request, but not now. You should come back here on the middle of the night. Then, every body will be asleep and no visitors will be here. I will let you get into the cage and see the covered grave…" So, it was a deal. On the middle of the night, the French man came again and found the guardian waiting for him at the dome's closed gate… They had candles and oil lamps. The guardian made sure that no one was there to see. Then, he opened the gate and the French man followed him. The guardian then locked the door behind and opened the cage... Next, he uncovered the grave for the French man and let him in. The French man found himself face to face before the same grave he had made for his dear dog years ago… On the side of the tombstone still was the elegy he wrote for his dog. Thus, the French man reached his goal of his mission and he did not speak his mind to the guardian. Instead, he left quietly and headed at once for the capital, of that Maghrib country.
A few days later, one day morning one of the newspapers of that Maghreb country, issued in French the following captions on the first page :

[AFTER THIRTY YEARS, A FRENCH MAN COMES TO VISIT HIS DOG'S GRAVE ONLY TO FIND IT TURNED INTO THE SHRINE OF THE HOLY ADDAYYAF].

[THE FRENCH MAN INSISTS ON OPENING THE TOMB AND ASKED FOR THE ASHES OF HIS DOG TO TAKE WITH HIM TO FRANCE].

[THE FRENCH MAN SEEKS THE AUTHORITIES TO OPEN THE TOMB UNDER HIS RESPONSIBILITY, AND HE IS READY TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE IF THERE WERE NO DOG’S ASHES IN IT].

The scandal became blown-up in that Maghreb country, and several governmental authorites formed a committee. They went with the French man to the shrine of Addayyaf. And disentomb the shrine, actually, they found the ashes of a dead dog, and there was no trace of any human being's body… This gave a horrendous shock for the hundreds of thousands persons who long time believed in the blessings and miracles of Addayyaf. Suddenly, they discovered that all their prayers and supplications were for a "dog". Those in authority investigated to know who caused all this trick and who built the dome on a dog's grave… This psychological shock was a momentum for the people of that Arabic country to change their concepts about all kind of shrines and all the holy men.


But the harm results on the Islam religion, for this incident was not end at this limit... After the French man went back home, he told the story of his dog to the French press. Soon, the French newspapers published articles mocking Islam and the Muslims who supplicated Allah through a dead dog... This incident was a golden opportunity for them to spit out their venom and their old grudges against Islam and Muslims. Yet, they are not the ones to blame… For it is us, the Muslims, who caused all these scandals through the naivety and wrong beliefs of some of us. Allah All-Mighty says in this regard: [ These are they who have purchased error for guidance, so their commerce was profitless. And they were not guided.] (Al-Baqarah:16)

(And that was the end of the story of sheikh Addayyaf).