Thursday, October 12, 2023

The Dog who couldn't Bite

Once upon a time, when I was a kid ... as I remember it: 

We went for a holiday to a hill station. My parents wanted to rest after the journey, while I was all excited about climbing the hills. So, I took permission and went off on my own to the hill next to our rest house. 

It was a small, green hill. I climbed up, and then it was time to descend. There was a dog  there. It started to come towards me. I got scared, and started to run. Knowing me, I probably also screamed. Stumbling downhill, I fell flat on the ground. The dog came upon me. 

Just at that moment, there was a man, clothed in a white robe, praying salah (Muslim contact prayer). He offered Salam, and picked a tiny stone, and threw it at the dog. Hurt, the dog quickly moved away. Alhamdolillah. May Allah bless the man who was there at that moment to help me. 

Goes without saying, I scrambled back down to the safety of my parents. Alhamdolillah.     

Friday, October 6, 2023

The Mosquito who wouldn't bite

 Many years ago, when Dengue was new in our city. 

My son got infected. He had fever and his blood test showed relatively low platelet count. Not very serious, but ill still. 

We have a tiny pond in our garden. There were fish living in the garden. The media was full of scary news about clean still water as breeding places for dengue-spreading mosquitoes. I was under pressure to empty the pond. The fish would have died. I resisted the pressure. 

As I was walking in the garden, I saw a nice, big, black and white striped mosquito sitting on a leaf. I looked at it, and it seemed to look at me. We stared at each other for quite a long time. It didn't seem interested in biting me. Just so you know, generally I'm a magnet for mosquitoes. They are quite eager to feast on me. So, this was strange. 

Alhamdolillah. Nothing happens without the express permission of Allah. I believe that at that time, this mosquito did not have the permission to bite me. Alhamdolillah. 

My son recovered in a few days. Alhamdollilah. 




Mosquito is the first non-human creature mentioned in The Quran in Surah al-Baqarah, ayat 26. Here's how I try to understand the ayat: Mosquito-borne Diseases