O Allah (SWT) hide my sins..!

It was narrated that in the days that Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh) wandered with Bani Israel (Children of Israel) in the desert, an intense drought befell them. Together, they raised their hands towards the heavens praying for the blessed rain to come. Then, to the astonishment of Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh) and all those watching, the few scattered clouds that were in the sky vanished, the heat poured down, and the drought intensified.
It was revealed to Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh) that there was a sinner amongst the tribe of Bani Israel (Children of Israel) who had disobeyed Allah (SWT) for more than forty years of his life.
"Let him separate himself from the congregation," Allah (SWT) told Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh). "Only then shall I shower you all with rain."
Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh) then called out to the throngs of humanity, "There is a person amongst us who has disobeyed Allah (SWT) for forty years. Let him separate himself from the congregation and only then shall we be rescued from the drought."
That man waited, looking left and right, hoping that someone else would step forward, but no one did. Sweat poured forth from his brow and he knew that he was the one. The man knew that if he stayed amongst the congregation all would die of thirst and that if he stepped forward he would be humiliated for all eternity.
He raised his hands with a sincerity he had never known before, with humility he had never tasted, and as tears poured down on both cheeks he said, "O Allah, have mercy on me! O Allah, hide my sins! O Allah, forgive me!"
As Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh) and the people of Bani Israel (Children of Israel) waited for the sinner to step forward, the clouds hugged the sky and the rain poured. Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh) asked Allah (SWT), "O Allah, you blessed us with rain even though the sinner did not come forward."
And Allah (SWT) replied, "O Musa, it is for the repentance of that very person that I blessed all of Bani Israel (Children of Israel) with water."
Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh), wanting to know who this blessed man was, asked, "Show him to me O Allah!"
Allah (SWT) replied, "O Musa, I hid his sins for forty years, do you think that after his repentance I shall expose him?"
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: "My entire nation is safe, except al-Mujahirin (those who boast of their sins). Among the Mujaharah is that a man commits an (evil) act, and wakes up in the morning while Allah has kept his (sin) a secret, he says: 'O Fulan! Last night I did this and that.' He goes to sleep while Allah has kept his (sin) a secret but he wakes up in the morning and uncovers what Allah has kept a secret!" [Saheeh al-Bukhari]

Excellence of Prayer

Prophet Dawood / David (pbuh) once decided to perform prayers and read Zabur (Book of Psalms) with the excellence that nobody would have done. He entered the Mehrab and prayed.
After he finished to his satisfaction he found a frog appear before him and told him, "Oh Dawood! Is it true that you feel that you have prayed too well? Every night I am habituated to pray 1,000 Tasbih (glorifications) and from every Tasbih three thousand Hamds are expressed.
Sometimes when I am at the bottom of a pond and I hear the voice of any bird above, thinking that it might be hungry, I come to the surface of the water so that the hungry bird may get its food by eating me. This is the part of the duty that I perform towards Allah (SWT)."

To bring a fool to his senses

Prophet Isa (Jesus, peace upon him) was once seen running away from a man. People were surprised to see him running away. Prophet Isa (Jesus, peace upon him) did not run away from anything or anybody. He was known for his goodness, humbleness and friendliness.
They asked him: "Isa, spirit of Allah, why are you running away from that man?"
Prophet Isa (Jesus, peace upon him) replied: "I am running away from a fool."
People were still more surprised, they knew that Isa (Jesus, peace upon him) was a prophet. He had cured the sick. He had even brought the dead to life. So they said: "But Isa, spirit of Allah, you have power to bring dead to life."
Prophet Isa (Jesus, peace upon him) smiled and said: "True, I have brought dead to life. But I find it difficult to bring a fool to his senses."

Selfish Man

Once upon a time, there was a selfish man. He liked everything to be his own. He could not share his belongings with anyone, not even his friends or the poor.
One day, the man lost thirty gold coins. He went to his friend's house and told him how he lost his gold coins. His friend was a kind man.
As his friend's daughter was coming from an errand she found thirty gold coins, when she arrived home, she told her father what she had found. The girl's father told her that the gold coins belong to his friend and he sent for him. When the selfish man arrived, he told him how his daughter had found his thirty gold coins and handed then to him. After counting the gold coins the man said that ten of them was missing and had been taken by the girl as he had forty gold coins. He further commented that he will recover the remaining amount from him (the girl's father). But the father refused.
The selfish man left the gold coins and went to the court and informed the judge there about what had taken place between him and the girl's father.
The judge sent for the girl and her father, and when they arrived asked the girl how many gold coins did she find. She replied thirty gold coins. The Judge that asked the selfish man how many gold coins did he lose and he answered forty gold coins.
The judge then told the selfish man that the gold coins did not belong to him because the girl found thirty and not forty as he claimed to have lost and then told the girl to take the gold coins and that if anybody is looking for them he will send for the girl.
The judge told the selfish man that if anybody reports that they have found forty gold coins he will send for him. It was then that the selfish man confessed that he lied and that he lost thirty gold coins but the judge did not listen to him.

Moral: This story of honesty teaches us to be always honest as dishonest never pays.

Rock in the sand

An Arab while crossing a desert came across a huge rock half buried in the sand. Written on the boulder was: "TURN ME OVER AND YOU WILL BENEFIT FROM IT"
The Arab felt assuming there was a great treasure hidden underneath it worked mightily to turn it over. He succeeded after several hours. But there was no treasure there, only an inscription on the underside of the rock: "GREED IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL REMEMBER THIS AND YOU WILL BE A BETTER MAN."
Haven't you collected free pens, note books at conferences? Watch people picking up candies, freshening tissues, napkins in the flights simply to go home and throw them. People go on collecting things out of greed and fear.
"Greed is a projection of fear. It is because of fear that man becomes greedy. He is so much afraid, that he wants to accumulate for the future. He is so afraid, that he sacrifices his today for tomorrow and the tomorrow never comes. The greedy man never becomes rich.
He may have the whole world at his disposal, but he remains poor. He cannot enjoy it, his greed won't allow that. He remains miserly. He always remains in such fear of the future that he cannot part with his money. He accumulates, accumulates, wastes his whole life and one day dies.
He was a poor man his whole life - empty-handed he had come, empty-handed he has gone, and his whole life went down the drain with no significance."

Monkey and Dolphin Story

One day long ago, some sailors set out to sea in their sailing ship. One of them brought his pet monkey along for the long journey.
When they were far out at sea, a terrible storm overturned their ship. Everyone fell into the sea, and the monkey was sure that he would drown. Suddenly a dolphin appeared and picked him up.
They soon reached the island and the monkey came down from the dolphin's back. The dolphin asked the monkey, "Do you know this place?"
The monkey replied, "Yes, I do. In fact, the king of the island is my best friend. Do you know that I am actually a prince?"
Knowing that no one lived on the island, the dolphin said, "Well, well, so you are a prince! Now you can be a king!"
The monkey asked, "How can I be a king?"
As the dolphin started swimming away, he answered, "That is easy. As you are the only creature on this island, you will naturally be the king!"

Moral of the Story: Those who lie and boast may end up in trouble.

Epidendrum Orchids

Epidendrum orchids vary widely in flora and vegetation. The flowers range from a quarter of an inch to six inches in diameter. Some plants produce pseudobubls while others possess cane or reed-like stems. Short bulbs are common in many species, while other species can produce bulbs of up to five feet long. Many flowers are fragrant and several bloom continually. These plants grow from sea level to mountaintops, in warm and in cool climates.
When all is said and done Epidendrum orchids are a perfect choice. They’re easy to grow, diverse in shape and color and can handle less than perfect conditions.