Wednesday, December 06, 2006


human beings are amazing, just when you loose hope in people, a random act of kindness blows you away. Just the other day I had finished work (it was the day that I had no sleep) and began my journey home and because the clouds felt sorry for me for being so darn tired they decided to cry all over me or in other words it began to rain....

Manchester is the rainy city in Britain, I have come to accept this so it didn't really bother me when it started to rain, I had no umbrella so I wrapped my head scarf around me even more and blocked out the noise of traffic cause I had become deaf due to my headscarf plus my ipod.

so I'm walking walking walking when a man approached me with one of the biggest umbrella's I have ever seen, I can see that he's talking but I cant hear him, so I pulled out my head phones and un wrapped a couple layers of my scarf to be able to hear him, this is how the conversation went:

man: excuse me, sorry ummmm ummmm

me: yes (I was not amused and my patience was extinct I had buried it along with my charm)

man: ummmm sister sorry, I too am a Muslim (at which point he smiled and looked really pleased with himself lol)

to be honest when he approached me and said that I instantly thought he was going to ask for money, so I was really cynical and non responsive, I have had a couple of encounters with men who say they are Muslim and then tell me a sob story as to how they where mugged and need to get to London but he doesn't have any cash on him or cards so could he borrow £50 to get him to London to be with his wife and disabled son, these men are always well dressed and so polite and good actors but I am never convinced, one guy told me that he came home one day to find that his wife was committing adultery and had kicked him out of his house with only the clothes on his back and he had to sleep on a park bench (no proof, he looked immaculately clean and ironed) and he needs £30 to get him to Birmingham to be with his mother every body say aaaaaaaaaaaa He had a extremely strong Asian accent, and when I told him that I had difficulty believing his story he turns around and says 'well who needs your money any way' in a really strong mancunian accent, the cheek...

so understandably I thought this guy was gonna be the same, any way to continue the conversation:

man: yes I aMuslim, please sister have my umbrella, please

me: (dumbstruck).....Sorry

man: please I would like you to have my umbrella I don't want you to get wet

me: oooooooooooh, thank you so much that's so nice of you I'm fine thank you so much for that that really kind (I couldn't shut up I just kept talking)

man: please sister I would rather you have it

me: gosh thank you, but I'm ok I have one already wrapped around my head, my hijab lol blah blah blahI(i was over come by his kindness loool) thank you anyway...

man: ok sister as you wish

how nice is that, to be honest that was the last thing I was expecting and it really touched me that such acts of kindness can exist.

I do believe in chivalry and you certainly don't see that around any more, very rarely will some one offer their seats or any of that business, so when it does happen it brings about feelings of complete and utter shock.

thanks bro for your offer of the umbrella

24 comments:

white african said...

whats so funny godfather?

The Godfather said...

Hollywood-esque.

Anonymous said...

that was very nice of him.
I have had people asking me for money as well and not only in London but also in France, Holland and Belgium and almost all of them claimed to be Muslims.

Brave Heart said...

The good People are every where but we can see the bad once only,it's the life

Anonymous said...

MashaAllah....that was beautiful.
Restores your faith in humanity....
How refreshing...

May Allah reward him 4his kindness...ameen

Desert Rose said...

Such a gesture is hard to believe wherever you may be in this world of ours.
I always say that kindness can be quite contagious when put into practice continually resulting in a more peaceful world InshaAllah.

lostkitty said...

wow. thats nice. it does indeed restore ur faith not just in humanity and chivalry.
but most especially in muslim men!
may Allah reward him.

Ever The Idealist said...

well that should teach you to realise all are different eh whitey? you coming tonight still?

white african said...

anglo they approach muslims cause they think that we will dish out money to them, so they take advantage and i cant stand that.

brave heart your right much focus is on the bad it just goes to show that we all have good in us i hope..

ammen for that native and it does bring a ray of hope lol

trabilisia it really can be contagious, you feel oblige dto show kindness yourslef when some one else shows it, i'm gonna offer my umberellas from now on lol :)

kitty yep as always me agree

ever true but some people just desreve to be given a slap ha ha ha, inshallah be seeing you tonight

Desert Rose said...

When I'm driving (Mesouda ) I always give way to people (ladies and gents )who ask nicely so that I teach our fellow citizens manners.
Manners are something that should always be encouraged , in order to have well behaved citizens for the future of this world of ours.

What goes around comes around !

Ever The Idealist said...

Teaching manners to others especially to children seems to have become a thing of the past. It is not a weak trait to be polite yet I sometimes think this is the way people think from the way they act. Be nice to someone and they may inturn be nice to others - what goes round def comes round.

white african said...

thats kind of you trabilisa, hopefully people appreciate others acts of kindness, most take things for granted or expect others to bend over backwards for them.

ever true, i am always amazed when i come across well mannered children, i remember i blogge dabout a little girl that swore at me for no reaosn what so ever, hmmmm manners is it really a thing of the past?

NM said...

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...whata cool brother mashallah

white african said...

he was nm that he was

Ever The Idealist said...

so Whitey, what are you going to do thats going to keep this circle of kindness going? I remember when I offered to help a little old lady with her shopping accross the street and I got called names!!! Pick your act of kindness carefuly...

white african said...

well ever i remember i once offered my seat on the bus to an old lady and she gave me a massive lecture as to how offended she was that i thought her to be old and not able to stand on her to feet hmph some people are just asking for a push...

Anonymous said...

If someone decides to be rude and unappreciative....take it eeeaaasssyyyyyyyy. At the end of the day its their loss right?

You did the right thing....the rest is history

white african said...

yep native but still it would be cool to push them of they are un-appreciative, pushes all the way lol

Anonymous said...

once in a London underground station I saw an old lady struggling down the esculator with a huge suitcase so without thinking I ran over to her and started to help her carry the bag, she screamed at me to clear off!! (using a certain four letter word)
I felt very embarassed

white african said...

oh no anglo, some people have an attitude problem, at the end of the day its there problem. i guess there not used to people being genuinly nice to them

Monday's Child said...

there is an awful lot of kindness about in the world... and yet we are always suprised to see it manifested... We are so quick to point out and talk about the evil (see the news for example) that we forget about the hundreds of thousands of small acts of kindness that make life bearable...

white african said...

your right monday and it's refreshing when it's noticed, sad that we focus much on the negative aspect of life when there is so much postive

Anonymous said...

WA i had the same experience with that dude about the whole adultery thing....i felt as if i was caught up in a corrie meets dontel jones drama *mmmhhmm i may be young but i know who that brother is*..wow yes twas but on a cold rainy day on oxford...i was embarassed being a kid and having some guy share his marital problems with me and my pal..*hey being 17 im still a kid as i dont qualify for even min. wage.*

but yeah found out he was lying man i was mad...tut tut...i felt so offended...so i gave him "The Look"

and guess what saw him again a few months later..he tapped either me or herbs on the shoulder... *well we're both joined at the hip so its difficult to tell* and when we turned around...he recognised us and ran! ha the joys of giving "The Look"...but unfortunately he got the last laugh and was talking to thr driver of the bus we were about to get onto and bus driver made us pay full fare...

so maybe im putting two and two together and getting five...but why should jessica fletcher get all the fun?

white african said...

waery loooool thanks ofr sharing the laugh sis, its pathetic how they target muslim woman thinking were going to fall for their tricks tut tut