Straw, Coal, and Bean

Hello guys! This time I want to share a story made by the Grimm Brother, titled "Straw, Coal, and Bean". I hope you'll enjoy it ;)

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An old woman lived in a village. She had gathered a serving of beans and wanted to cook them, so she prepared a fire in her fireplace. To make it burn faster she lit it with a handful of straw. While she was pouring the beans into the pot, one of them fell unnoticed to the floor, coming to rest next to a piece of straw. Soon afterward a glowing coal jumped out of the fireplace and landed next to them.


The straw said, "Dear friends, where do you come from?"

The coal answered, "I jumped from the fireplace, to my good fortune. If I had not forced my way out, I surely would have died. I would have burned to ash."

The bean said, "I too saved my skin. If the old woman had gotten me into the pot I would have been cooked to mush without mercy, just like my comrades."

"Would my fate have been any better?" said the straw. "The old woman sent all my brothers up in fire and smoke. She grabbed sixty at once and killed them. Fortunately I slipped through her fingers."

"What should we do now?" asked the coal.

"Because we have so fortunately escaped death," answered the bean, "I think that we should join together as comrades. To prevent some new misfortune from befalling us here, let us together make our way to another land."

This proposal pleased the other two, and they set forth all together.

They soon came to a small brook, and because there was neither a bridge nor a walkway there, they did not know how they would get across it.

Then the straw had a good idea, and said, "I will lay myself across it, and you can walk across me like on a bridge."

So the straw stretched himself from one bank to the other. The coal, who was a hot-headed fellow, stepped brashly onto the newly constructed bridge, but when he got to the middle and heard the water rushing beneath him, he took fright, stopped, and did not dare to go any further. 

Then the straw caught fire, broke into two pieces, and fell into the brook. The coal slid after him, hissed as he fell into the water, and gave up the ghost.

The bean who had cautiously stayed behind on the bank had to laugh at the event. He could not stop, and he laughed so fiercely that he burst. Now he too would have died, but fortunately a wandering tailor was there, resting near the brook. Having a compassionate heart, he got out a needle and thread and sewed the bean back together.

The bean thanked him most kindly. However, because he had used black thread, since that time all beans have had a black seam.




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http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm018.html

Moses and Khidir, there is always something better in this world

Once upon a time, someone came to prophet moses and ask him, "Moses replied: "No!", believing so, as Allah had given him the power of miracles and honored him with the Torah.

However, Allah revealed to Moses that no man could know all there is to know, nor would one messenger alone be the custodian of all knowledge. There would always be another who knew what others did not. Moses asked Allah: "0 Allah, where is this man? I would like to meet him and learn from him." He also asked for a sign to this person's identity.

Allah instructed him to take a live fish in a water-filled vessel. Where the fish disappeared, he would find the man he sought. Moses set out on his journey, accompanied by a young man who carried the vessel with the fish. They reached a place where two rivers met and decided to rest there. Instantly, Moses fell asleep.

While he was asleep, his companion saw the fish wriggle out of the vessel into the river and swim away. However, he forgot to relate this incident to Moses. When he awoke, they continued their journey until they were exhausted and hungry. Moses asked for his morning meal. Only then did his companion recall that the fish they had brought with them had gotten away. Hearing this, Moses exclaimed: 'This is exactly what we are seeking!" They hurriedly retraced their steps to the place where the rivers met and where the fish had jumped out. There they found a man, his face partly covered with a hood. His bearing showed he was a saintly man. He was Al-Khidr, the guide.

Allah the Almighty narrated: And (remember) when Moses said to his boy-servant: "I will not give up (traveling) until I reach the junction of the two seas or (until) I spend years and years in traveling."

But when they reached the junction of the two seas, they forgot their fish, and it took its way throught the sea as in a tunnel. So when they had passed further on (beyond that fixed place), 

Moses said to his boy-servant: "Bring us our morning meal; truly, we have suffered much fatigue in this, our journey."

He said: "Do you remember when we betook ourselves to the ock? I indeed forgot the fish, none but Satan made me forget to remember it. It took its course into the sea in a strange (way)!"

(Moses) said: "That is what we have been seeking." So they went back retracing their footsteps.

Then they found one of Our slaves, unto whom We had bestowed mercy from Us, and whom We had taught knowledge from Us.

Moses said to him (Khidr) "May I follow you so that you teach me something of that knowledge (guidance and true path) which you have been taught (by Allah)?"

He (Khidr) said: "Verily! You will not be able to have patience with me! And how can you have patience about a thing which you know not?"

Moses said: "If Allah will, you will find me patient, and I will not disobey you in aught."

He (Khidr) said: "Then, if you follow me, ask me not about anything till I myself mention it to you.

So they both proceeded, till, when they were in the ship, he (Khidr) scuttled it. Moses said: "Have you scuttled it in order to drown its people? Verily, you have done Imra - a Munkar (evil, bad, dreadful) thing."

He (Khidr) said: "Did I not tell you, that you would not be able to have patience with me?"

(Moses) said: "Call me not to account for what I forgot, and be not hard upon me for my affair (with you)."

Then they both proceeded, till they met a boy, he (Khidr) killed him. Moses said: "Have you killed an innocent person who had killed none? Verily, you have done Nukra a great Munkar (prohibited, evil, dreadful) thing!"

(Khidr) said: "Did I not tell you that you can have no patience with me?"

(Moses) said: "If I ask you anything after this, keep me not in your company, you have received an excuse from me."

Then they both proceeded, till, when they came to the people of a town, they asked them for food, but they refused to entertain them. Then they found therein a wall about to collapse and he (Khidr) set it up straight. (Moses) said: "If you had wished, surely you could have taken wages for it!"

(Khidr) said: "This is the parting between me and you. I will tell you the interpretation of (those) things over which you were unable to hold patience.

'As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working in the sea. So I wished to make a defective damage in it, as there was a king after them who seized every ship by force.

"And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief. So we intended that their Lord should change him for them for one better in righteousness and near to mercy.

"And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the town; and there was under it a treasure belonging to them; and their father was a righteous man, and your Lord intended that they should attain their age of full strength and take out their treasure as a mercy from your Lord. And I did it not of my own accord. That is the interpretation of those (things) over which you could not hold patience.

http://www.alim.org/library/biography/stories/content/SOP/7/17/Musa%20(Moses)/The%20Story%20Moses%20and%20Al-Khidr

HAGIA SOPHIA-an amazing structure

Hagia Sophia

Maybe some of you don’t know that Islam once lead Europe that is nowdays more known as a dominant christian continent. This is prove by buildings in Europe with islamic architecture, one of them is Hagia Sophia or formerly called Aya Sofya. But there is one unique fact about this building: at the beginning it was a church, than a Mosque, and now it’s a museum. How can that happen? Let’s check out!

Hagia Sophia in that means “pure sagacity”(or in turkish language ‘Aya Sophia’) is an one of the spectacular icon of Istanbul beside the Blue Mosque. It was built around 15 centuries ago or at 558 C by Caisar Justianus and took 6 years to be finished. Cool, isn’t it? The building itself did collapse for several times because of earthquake but it was built again.

The architecture of Hagia Sophia is very amazing. The design of  the building is called Byzantium Design and is the best at it’s era. From outside you can see a huge dome, the high is around 54 meters and it’s diameter is around 30 meters. If you go inside, you will see a beautiful interior design decorate with mosaic and fresco carves. People that have visited Hagia Sophia said that it’s aura is different than other building in Istanbul.

The beautiness of Hagia Sophia wasn't able to be done if there wasn't Anthemios and Isidorus, the architects that designed Hagia Sophia with a new a style. The style was inspired from islamic architecture from persian and syriah. Islamic architects made domes from lighter bricks compared to domes at that time so that it wasn't so expensive. They combined the dome from islamic architecture and a long hall that is normally used in churces.

The Interior view of Hagia Sophia

Behind the great architecture is also a great history too. First, Hagia Sophia, as I mentioned above, was meaned to be a church. The caisar of Byzantium wanted to built a big and fantastic catedral. It was even called as Holy Wisdom Church. Hagia Sophia was a churh about 10 centuries, or exactly 916 years.

Muhammad Al-Fatih when he
occupied Constantinopel

But then at Tuesday, May 29th 1453, Constantinopel (the name of Istanbul years ago) was occupied by Sulthan Mehmed II or well known as Muhammad Al-Fatih. Many things was revised by him. Hagia Sophia changed it’s function to a Mosque and it’s name also changed to Hagia Aya. The good point from Muhammad Al-Fatih is that he didn’t destroyed the frescos and images on the wall, he just covered them with calighrapy and removed the statues. The christianic symbole (cross) on the top was switch with a crescent . Along the khalifah of Turk Utsmani ruled Hagia Sophia has been renovated and 4 towers has been built.

But sadly, when turkey changed to a republic, Mustofa Kemal Ataruk made Hagia Sophia as a museum at 1937.  Some designs that symbolized Islam was removed. So, like we can see now, Hagia Sophia contains both Islamic and Christanic symboles. Because of it’s age and it’s beauty, UNESCO at 1985 assigned Hagia Sophia as one of the World Herritage Side.

This building is not just wonderful because it’s great design and history. Behind all of that we can also learn to tolerate each other even when our religion is different. Muhammad Al-Fatih made a wise decision to not remove all christian symboles.

Source:

http://hijupblog.tumblr.com/post/44778817809/jejak-kejayaan-islam-di-istanbul-turki
http://wisata.kompasiana.com/jalan-jalan/2013/08/12/hagia-sophia-awalnya-adalah-gereja-lalu-masjid-dan-kini-jadi-musium-583658.html
http://sahabatakhi.blogspot.com/2014/05/hagia-sophia-gereja-yang-menjadi-masjid.html

http://www.republika.co.id/berita/ensiklopedia-islam/khazanah/09/08/24/71362-aya-sofia-akulturasi-budaya-islam-kristen