Shuaib thought he had been given the best Eid present ever. After all, it was a brand new car. His brother had given it to him so generously, and as he came out of his house to take it for a drive, a street urchin was walking around the shiny vehicle, admiring it.
“Uncle, is this your car?” he asked shyly.
Shuaib nodded and proudly said, “My brother gave it to me for Eid.”
“Wow, you mean your brother gave it to you as a present? It did not cost you anything?” The boy was astounded.
“I wish…”, and then he stopped talking for a second.
Shuaib knew what the boy would wish for; he was going to say he wished he had a brother like that.
But that’s not what the boy said.
“I wish,” he continued “that I could be a brother like that.”
Shuaib, taken aback by his response, immediately offered him a ride in the car.
“I’d love that!” the boy exclaimed, and jumped in.
After a short ride, the boy asked Shuib, again rather shyly, “Uncle, would you mind driving in front of my house?”
Shuaib smiled to himself. He realized the boy must want to show his neighbors that he had ridden home in a shiny new car.
But that’s not what the boy wanted.
“Would you stop where those two steps are, please?” the boy asked. He ran up the steps and came back a little while later carrying his crippled brother. He sat him down on the bottom step, held him tight, and pointed to the car.
“That’s it, my little brother, just like I told you. His brother gave it to him for Eid and it didn’t cost him a penny. Some day I’m going to give you one just like that; then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the shop windows that I’ve been telling you about.”
Shuaib stepped out of his car and lifted the little boy into the front seat. The shiny-eyed elder brother climbed in behind him, and the three of them began the most memorable ride of their lives.
That Eid, Shuaib got the best present ever. He learned what the Rasul-Allah meant when he had said, “Love for your brother what you love for yourself.”
