"You're going home, aren't you, Asad?" asked the butterfly in a tiny voice.
Asad was astonished "Do you know me?" he asked.
"Of course I do," smiled the butterfly. "I've heard your grandfather telling the neighbours about you."
"Why didn't you come and talk to me before?" Asad inquired.
"I couldn't, because I was in a cocoon up a tree in the garden," explained the butterfly.
"A cocoon? What's that?" asked Asad, who was always a curious boy.

"Let me explain from the beginning," said the butterfly as it took a deep breath. "We butterflies hatch out of the egg as tiny caterpillars. We feed ourselves by nibbling leaves. Later we use a liquid which comes out of our bodies like thread and wrap ourselves up in it. That little package we weave is called a cocoon. We spend a while inside that package as we wait to grow. When we wake up and come out of the cocoon we have brightly coloured wings. We spend the rest of our lives flying and feeding ourselves from flowers."

Asad nodded thoughtfully "You mean all those colourful butterflies were once caterpillars before they grew wings?"
"Can you see the green caterpillar on that branch?" asked the butterfly.
"Yes, I see it. It's nibbling away hungrily at a leaf."
"That's my little brother," smiled the caterpillar "In a while he'll weave a cocoon too, and one day he'll be a butterfly like me."
Asad had lots of questions to ask his new friend. "How do you plan this change? I mean, when do you come out of the egg, how long do you stay as a caterpillar and how do you make the thread to weave your cocoons?"
"I don't plan any of it at all," explained the butterfly patiently. "Allah has taught us what we need to do and when we need to do it. We just act in the way our Lord wills."
Asad was really impressed. "The patterns on your wings are wonderful. And all butterflies have different patterns, don't they? They are really colourful and eye-catching!"
"That's a proof of Allah's incomparable artistry. He created us one by one in the most beautiful way possible," explained his friend.
Asad agreed enthusiastically: "It's impossible not to see the beautiful things Allah has created. There are hundreds of examples all round us!"
The butterfly agreed: "You're right Asad. We need to give thanks to Allah for all these blessings."

Asad looked over his shoulder: "My father's coming. It looks like we're about to set off. It was really great to meet you. Can we talk again when I come next week?"
"Of course," nodded the butterfly. "Have a safe journey home."

Everything in the heavens and the earth glorifies Allah... (Surat al-Hadid, 1)

Do you not see that Allah sends down water from the sky and by it We bring forth fruits of varying colours? And in the mountains there are streaks of white and red, of varying shades, and rocks of deep jet black. And humankind and beasts and livestock are likewise of varying colours. Only those of His servants with knowledge have fear of Allah. Allah is Almighty, Ever-Forgiving. (Surah Fatir: 27-28)

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Lebanese group Hezbollah has handed over the remains of two Israeli soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. The handover is part of a prisoner swap with Israel.

NATO soldiers in Afghanistan have abandoned an outpost in remote northeastern area just days after it was attacked by the Taliban. 9 US soldiers were killed in the attack. The soldiers left the base in mountainous Kunar province late yesterday.

Malaysia's de facto opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, has been arrested shortly before he was due to give a statement to police over allegations that he sexually assaulted a male aide.

The Congress of South African trade union (Cosatu) protest march in Mpumalanga has left thousands of commuters without transport in Nelspruit and surrounding areas.

Another ATM was bombed in Lenasia South this morning. Residents across the road from the Mochacho’s on Starling Street said they heard a big bang at around 03:30am. The bang was followed by sporadic gunshots.

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PAKISTANI CURRY
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INGREDIENTS
1 kg boneless lamb thick rib, cubed 30 ml cooking oil 1 onion, sliced 4 sprigs dhania (fresh coriander) 50 g slivered almonds Marinade: 15 ml ground coriander 2 ml ground cinnamon 2 ml ground cloves 5 ml freshly-ground black pepper 2 ml salt 2 ml turmeric 5 ml ground cardamom seeds 1 piece of fresh ginger root, finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, crushed 1 onion, finely chopped 150 ml natural yoghurt.

Mix all the marinade ingredients together, place meat into it and marinate for a few hours. Drain, keep marinade aside. Saute onion in heated cooking oil till transparent. Add meat and marinade. Cover with lid, lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes or till meat is tender. Place 4 sprigs of fresh dhania (coriander) on top of meat and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Remove dhania. Spoon meat out into a meat platter and garnish with toasted almonds. Serves 6.

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EFFECT OF RECITING QURAN
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Since an idle word often excites keen resentment, the word of Truth is capable of having a thousandfold effect even though you are unconscious thereof. The reading of the Quran is effectual, although the reader might not understand it, just as a potion of which the ingredients are unknown.

~MUSSM - ATTAR~