A Bitter Reality written by an indian software engineer

As the dream of most parents I had acquired a degree in Software Engineering and joined a company based in USA, the land of braves and opportunity. When I arrived in the USA, it was as if a dream had come true. Here at last I was in the place where I want to be. I decided I would be staying in this country for about Five years in which time I would have earned enough money to settle down in India.

My father was a government employee and after his retirement, the only asset he could acquire was a decent one bedroom flat. I wanted to do some thing more than him. I started feeling homesick and lonely as the time passed. I used to call home and speak to my parents every week using cheap international phone cards. Two years passed, two years of Burgers at McDonald's and pizzas and discos and 2 years watching the foreign exchange rate getting happy whenever the Rupee value went down.

Finally I decided to get married. Told my parents that I have only 10 days of holidays and everything must be done within these 10 days. I got my ticket booked in the cheapest flight. Was jubilant and was actually enjoying hopping for gifts for all my friends back home. If I miss anyone then there will be talks. After reaching home I spent home one week going through all the photographs of girls and as the time was getting shorter I was forced to select one candidate.In-laws told me, to my surprise, that I would have to get married in 2-3 days, as I will not get anymore holidays. After the marriage, it was time to return to USA, after giving some money to my parents and telling the neighbors to look after them, we returned to USA.My wife enjoyed this country for about two months and then she started feeling lonely. The frequency of calling India increased to twice in a week sometimes 3 times a week. Our savings started diminishing.After two more years we started to have kids. Two lovely kids, a boy and a girl, were gifted to us by the almighty. Every time I spoke to my parents, they asked me to come to India so that they can see their grand-children.

Every year I decide to go to India. But part work part monetary conditions prevented it. Years went by and visiting India was a distant dream. Then suddenly one day I got a message that my parents were seriously sick. I tried but I couldn't get any holidays and thus could not go to India ... The next message I got was my parents had passed away and as there was no one to do the last rights the society members had done whatever they could. I was depressed. My parents had passed away without seeing their grand children. After couple more years passed away, much to my children's dislike and my wife's joy we returned to India to settle down. I started to look for a suitable property, but to my dismay my savings were short and the property prices had gone up during all these years. I had to return to the USA.My wife refused to come back with me and my children refused to stay in India... My 2 children and I returned to USA after promising my wife I would be back for good after two years.Time passed by, my daughter decided to get married to an American and my son was happy living in USA... I decided that had enough and wound-up every thing and returned to India... I had just enough money to buy a decent 02 bedroom flat in a well-developed locality.

Now I am 60 years old and the only time I go out of the flat is for the routine visit to the nearby temple. My faithful wife has also left me and gone to the holy abode.Sometimes I wondered was it worth all this? My father, even after staying in India, Had a house to his name and I too have the same nothing more.I lost my parents and children for just ONE EXTRA BEDROOM.Looking out from the window I see a lot of children dancing. This damned cable TV has spoiled our new generation and these children are losing their values and culture because of it. I get occasional cards from my children asking I am alright. Well at least they remember me.Now perhaps after I die it will be the neighbors again who will be performing my last rights, God Bless them.

But the question still remains 'was all this worth it?' I am still searching for an answer.................!!!

START THINKING
IS IT JUST FOR ONE EXTRA BEDROOM???
LIFE IS BEYOND THIS …..DON'T JUST LEAVE YOUR LIFE ……..
START LIVING IT …….
LIVE IT AS YOU WANT IT TO BE ……

7 Tips for Muslim Businesses

Below are some tips on how one can improve service and profits of one’s Halal business. This can be applied to all business: Below are some tips on how one can improve service and profits of one’s Halal business. This can be applied to all business.

1. MAKE PROFIT THE SECONDARY AIM
The first goal of a Muslim business should not be cashing in on a Muslim market. It should be pleasing Allah and establishing Halal as a way of life.

Seeking profit is not a bad aim, but it should be secondary.

By making Allah the goal, and implementing Islamic rules of honesty, truthfulness, and good behavior with customers, Insha Allah, any Muslim business is bound to boom.

2. BE TRUTHFUL AND HONEST
The Prophet has said the the honest and truthful businessman will be in Jannah amongst the Prophets the Truthful and the martyrs. Honesty and truthfulness are essential in this business. And when it comes to Muslim businesses, it means building a relationship of trust with customers, which cannot be done with lies and deceit.

3. BE OPEN TO SCRUTINY AND CRITICISM
While this may be a bitter pill to swallow, being ready to have your product or business scrutinized for cleanliness or the “Halalness” of products indicates a willingness to work with the consumer. This serves to build trust.

For those business people who may feel hesitant or downright angry with a Muslim consumer for even asking about the acceptability of a given product in their store, remember that this is the right of the consumer.

Remember, ultimately, we are all responsible to Allah. If a business is cheating Muslims, Allah will eventually expose those involved.

As well, a Halal business is not just one person’s profit-making machine. It is also an institution of the Muslim community. Therefore, it must be ensured that it meets not just state and federal standards, but most importantly, the Quran and Sunnah’s standards.

4.BE CLEAN!
This is especially important for Halal grocery stores where the presence of animal blood is expected. Not being careful of this means not only lost customers, but also possible sicknesses from the germs in the blood.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Cleanliness invites towards faith (Iman) and faith leads its possessor to paradise.” (Tabarani)

This cleanliness, by the way, does not just apply to those areas of a store a customer will see. It includes equipment and storage areas as well.

5. AIM FOR A HIGHER GOAL
Don’t just aim for one successful Halal grocery shop in your chosen neighborhood. Think big. Improve the inventory of your store, the types of items in it, and strive to find ways to improve service and profit margins.

As well, look into the possibility of pooling resources within the Muslim community or with other shareholders to expand the business. Doing this will also reduce overhead costs and in the long run, the price of products for your consumers.

6. WORK WITH OTHERS IN YOUR MARKET
Yes. This can be very difficult. Finger pointing, accusations and nasty rivalry often characterize Muslim businesses aiming to market the same products. But this is not the way a Muslim economy should work.

Brotherhood in the Ummah cannot be forgotten. Consider forming an association of Muslim meat retailers or distributors that can sit down together share experience, and learn to cooperate. This cooperation could, in the long run, benefit the Muslim consumer, and in turn the Muslim businesses themselves.

One example of where cooperation can take place in the Halal meat industry is by having all grocers or butchers slaughtering the animals in one place, Instead of doing it the way it’s been done since the beginning: every individual or couple of retailers slaughtering their own animals.

By slaughtering in one place, costs are reduced, and in turn, the Muslim consumer pays less for the same product.

7. DO NOT SELL THE HARAM
While there are more “Muslim” businesses sprouting up, not everything they sell is Islamic.

It is not difficult to find Muslim owned businesses selling pork, alcohol, pornographic magazines, and renting these kinds of movies on the one hand, while selling Halal meat on the other.

Of a less offensive nature, perhaps, are those businesses which sell Halal products but rent or sell cultural (especially Indo-Pakistani) movies. While these movies may seem harmless in comparison to those of the pornographic variety, what must be remembered is that when Muslim parents and elders indulge in watching such cultural films, their children can very easily find an excuse to watch their own “cultural” films (i.e. American-Hollywood).

This requires efforts on the part of Muslim business owners to wipe out the Haram and ensure the Halal in their businesses.

A telling anecdote about Haram business practices was provided by Imam Siraj Wahhaj of Brooklyn, New York during a Khutbah.

He recounted the case of a Muslim who owned a shop that sold newspapers and magazines-including pornographic magazines. The Imam tried to convince the Muslim brother to stop selling these publications. At one point he agreed, and removed them from his shelves.

But after a while, Imam Wahhaj noticed they were back on the shelves. When he asked the brother about their reappearance, he said he was losing money.

Shortly after that, the entire store was destroyed in a fire.

Source: everymuslim