The Story of The Day ; Uncle Ibrahim

The story begins with a Jewish child stealing from a Turkish grocer... Uncle Ibrahim is a Turk. He lives in France and owns a modest grocery store, or rather a small market... Many residents from the surrounding apartments, from every nation, religion, color, and race, shop at his store. One of these homes belongs to a Jewish family. The hero of the incident is Cad, a 7-year-old child from this Jewish family. Cad visits every day and shops at Uncle Ibrahim's. Each time, he stealthily slips a chocolate into his pocket.

This goes on for months. One day, Cad comes in, shops, but forgets to steal the chocolate as usual and leaves the store... Uncle Ibrahim calls out to him tenderly: 

“Cad, you didn’t take your chocolate today?” And he hands him the chocolate Cad always took... Surprised, the child asks, “Did you know?” 

Uncle Ibrahim pats Cad's head and says: 

“-Don’t steal again, Cad, theft is a serious crime. It's a violation of others' rights! Promise me you won’t take anything like this from anyone again. When you come here, take your chocolate, but as a gift from me.” 

From then on, Cad and he become friends, even best friends. Uncle Ibrahim is 50 years old, and Cad is a 7-year-old child. Years pass. Uncle Ibrahim treats this Jewish child both as a friend and as a father. Whenever Cad has a problem, he runs to his Uncle Ibrahim. He seeks refuge in his compassionate embrace. He discusses his issues with his family, friends, etc. with this friend and listens to his advice and solutions with admiration and applies them. Whenever he faces a problem, he runs to Uncle Ibrahim. His uncle would take out a book from his drawer and hand it to Cad, saying; 

“-Open it to any page.” 

Then he reads the two pages that Cad opens to, explains it to him, and together they solve his problem. Strangely, the diagnosis and solutions are always right! He always leaves the shop relieved of his troubles. This way, 17 years pass; Cad becomes a 24-year-old young man..  their friendship continues in this manner. One day, the decree of Allah happens, and Uncle Ibrahim passes away. Before his death, he leaves a will for his children; 

“-The small chest inside that belongs to me will be given as a gift to this Jewish young man.” 

Cad is devastated by the death of his greatest friend... He cries a lot, suffers deeply. Now, he has no one to guide him, to find solutions to his problems, to share his secrets and sorrows with.

Following the will, the chest is delivered to Cad. But in his initial grief, he doesn’t want to open it. Later, when he faces a big problem and feels utterly helpless, he remembers Uncle Ibrahim and the chest. He rushes to open it. Inside, he finds the book that Uncle Ibrahim used to hand him to read and solve his problems every time. Cad doesn’t understand the book because it's in Arabic. He runs to his Tunisian friend to have it read. As usual, he asks his friend to read and explain two pages. The problem is solved again, thanks to the book... Cad gets curious and asks: 

“What book is this?” 

The Tunisian friend translate and says; 

“-This is the Quran, the book of Muslims.” 

Cad is astonished, in shock! Without hesitation, Cad immediately asks; 

“What must I do to become a Muslim?” 

The Tunisian tells him what's necessary, and Cad converts to Islam. He takes the name Cadullah Qurani and progresses so well in this path that he becomes a reason for nearly 6000 Christians and Jews in Europe to convert to Islam... The number of those he guides to the right path increases day by day... While browsing this old Book, a note falls out. On it, Uncle Ibrahim had noted this verse: 

“-Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction!” 

Thinking this to be a sign, Cad goes to Africa as a preacher. First to Kenya, then South Sudan, then Uganda, and neighboring countries. He travels there for nearly 30 years. The troubles in Africa are endless. With Allah permission and his preaching, the number of converts to Islam reaches millions. But he falls ill in Africa and passes away at 54 in 2003, on the path of inviting others to Allah. Cad’s mother is a devout Jew and a university professor. She converts to Islam in 2005, two years after her son's death, at the age of 70... She had tried for 30 years to convince her son to return to Judaism, using all her experience, knowledge, and power, but was unsuccessful. This is the true religion... Why did Cad convert to Islam so quickly? His mother says: 

“-In 17 years, Uncle Ibrahim never once called me ‘Jew’ or ‘infidel’, nor did he ever say to convert to Islam... But he knew well how to tie a child’s heart to the Quran.” 

In an Arab channel, Egyptian Preacher Dr. Hicazî, dedicating the end of his speech to this story, speaks tearfully of Uncle Ibrahim. How could the seed he nurtured so delicately and without harm, spread the water of life to all corners of the world? Dr. Hicazî meets Cadullah personally and hears his story. When asked about the worn-out Quran he always carries, Cadullah says; 

“-This is Uncle Ibrahim’s Quran.” He always keeps it with him...” 

In London, at a meeting related to Darfur and the issues of Muslims there, Dr. Hicazî encounters the chief of the Zulu tribe, targeted for Christianization. When he asks the chief: 

“-Do you know Cadullah Qurani?” 

the man is surprised and excitedly says; 

“-Yes! How do you know him, have you seen him, talked to him?” 

and bombards him with questions. 

“-Yes,’’ says the doctor, ‘I met him in Switzerland.” 

Hearing this, the Zulu chief embraces his hands, kisses them and his face, crying... 

Dr. Hicazî asks: 

“-Did you convert to Islam because of his influence?” 

The chief replies; 

“-I converted through the help of someone who became Muslim because of him.” 

and then, referring to Dr. Hicazî: 

-“Your hands held his, your eyes saw him, and it's as if by kissing your hand, I am kissing his hands. ” 

May Allah have mercy on Cadullah Qurani. May Allah also have mercy on Uncle Ibrahim, and may He increase the likes of them... Who knows how many people they led to Islam. Cadullah and his mentor Uncle Ibrahim met Allah with an unending record of good deeds… 

Such great sacrifices they made... Especially in this era! In an unfortunate era where everyone is infatuated with material things, where everyone says “me, me,” neglecting even their own children, pursuing the endless desires of their ego