The Boy with a Dream

Abdullah froze for a moment. He didn’t know if he should enter it. He knocked on the door and no one responded. The storm was getting scarier. It felt as if the lightening surrounded Abdullah and rain poured over him.

Abdullah knocked to enter the place and suddenly the door opened by itself. Abdullah entered. His clothes to his surprise were not wet anymore. He felt as if the rain had never touched him. He went to the door and looked outside; the rain was gone. A rainbow appeared. The sight was beautiful outside. Abdullah felt so happy.

He walked in the palace trying to find anyone. There was an old man sitting in a rocker who invited him inside. He said he was the librarian. Abdullah now knew this was a library. The librarian took him around.

Abdullah was astonished to find so many books and they were all related to Islam. There were so many volumes of Qur’an, Islamic articles, Islamic magazines, Islamic art, Islamic calligraphy and everything regarding Islam. Abdullah felt he was on a treasure island. He had never seen so many books in his life. There were millions of them, each categorized and organized well.

The clock hit 9 am and so many people entered the library. There were people from different countries, some were Muslim and some were non-Muslim. There were little children carrying the Qur’an in their hands. The old men were sitting together in a gathering and teaching the young ones about Islamic teachings.

Abdullah’s joy was out of this world. He stood there watching all the librarians help the ummah (Muslim community). There were about 200 librarians there. The library had scholars and teachers. It was great to see everyone thirsty for knowledge.

Abdullah took a Qur’an from the shelf and read, “Bismillah (In the name of God),” and suddenly he opened his eyes. He soon realized that it was a beautiful dream that he just had.

Abdullah looked at the time. It was 4am. He got up from his bed and made wudu’ (ablution). He performed tahajjud prayer and made du`a’ (supplication). In his du`a’, Abdullah cried to Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) and said:

“O Allah! The Most Merciful One! Lord of the Worlds. My heart seeks You in the middle of the night. All are asleep and the moon is still shining on my side. I feel grateful to You Ya Rabb (O Lord) for what you have bestowed upon me and for everything You have given me. Ya Allah, there is nothing more pleasing to me than to do something that pleases You! My pleasure is in Your pleasure that rejoices my heart. Remembering You makes me feel alive ya my Rabb! I seek Your help Ya Hayyu Ya Qayyum (O Ever-Living, O Eternal)! For there is no one who can help me other than You. I wish ya Rabb to please You and to fulfill my dream to please You. Your help is greater than anything. There is nothing more I can ask for than to have You at my side Ya Allah! I know what I seek seems impossible but I know only You can help me my Lord. Please help me fulfill this dream of mine through which I seek nothing more than Your pleasure.

“O Allah, the One, The Most High, the Eternal, Who is able to do all things, Who is in control of the entire universe, and to Whom all things must return. Please grant me success in this world and the hereafter. O Allah please help me achieve my goals. Ameen Ya Rabb.”

Abdullah cried so much and felt tranquility in his heart. He became very hopeful regarding his dream.

Abdullah remembered this hadith (saying) of the Prophet ﷺ:

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Among what continues to accrue for a believer of his good works after death are the following: knowledge that he learned and then imparted to others, a pious child whom he left behind, a copy of the Qur’an that he bequeathed, a mosque that he built, a guest house he built for travelers, a river that he made to flow, and charity he spends from his wealth when he is in good health – all of this continues to avail him after his death.” [Sunan Ibn Majah and Sunan al-Bayhaqî – and graded as good (hasan) by al-Albânî]

The next day, Abdullah started to collect Islamic books. He told his father about his dream and sought his advice on how he could fulfill it.

His father told him to be patient and work hard for it. Abdullah studied hard day and night. He never missed his tahajjud prayer and asks Allah (swt) for help in everything.

After his graduation, Abdullah joined his father in business. Very soon Abdullah became a very successful businessman. He saved money to build an Islamic library. Abdullah’s friends and relatives started to collect Islamic books as well. Abdullah filled his house with Islamic books.

After years of planning and hardwork, Abdullah built his dream Library. He organized the books himself and his community helped him out as well.

After 30 years of continuous hard work and patience, Abdullah built a library for the ummah. People from around the world visited Abdullah’s library.

This was the boy who dreamed and with Allah’s help fulfilled it seeking Allah’s pleasure.