بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
I pray that you are well.
My brother and I had the opportunity to visit China, the land of our maternal ancestors. This was several years ago. After the Tiananmen Square massacre, China was not in the list of places I wanted to visit but this one hadith always play in my mind since I was little (Seek knowledge even if you have to travel to China--not sure if this is a real hadith but we grew up with this hadith) and alas it sparked my curiosity about China so I made that trip.
Once I was there I was pleasantly surprised by the place and the Chinese warm hospitality. People were very pleasant despite the poverty. And it was among the most safest place that I had been so far. I felt right at home. SubhanAllah. What was so incredible was people walking around with black plastic bags and I wondered what that was.
One day my brother and I went to the bank to collect some money. The teller gave us 2 big black grocery bags. In it were packs of money! I said to my brother in disbelief: Don't expect me to carry the money around like this! Everybody would know what's inside since we came out of a bank. My brother was bewildered as well but then he said: In Rome do as Romans do, by extrapolation, in China do as the Chinese do! Tawakkal ala Allah Subhanahu! We saw around us people carrying black grocery bags walking nonchalantly.
I learned a lot from this trip about the Chinese. They have many great virtues. Chinese were among the most hardworking people and family is central to their lives. They work together as a family--I could see this in action. One time I saw a skinny man riding a trishaw with a heavy load of things on a hilly road and his wife was helping pushing the trishaw up. While in state of much physical exertion, they could still cast a big friendly smile at me. It was a sight that would make any heart sink. And truly, happiness lies in the heart--not in the worldly comfort and material things!
We went again a few years ago and things hadn't changed but it was a great reflection of the mercy of Allah and a good boost of our Iman. Alhamdulillah. If you have the resource, China would be a good place to visit. Bring with you some Islamic literature for the Muslims there as they are quite deprived of this due to some governmental censure.
May Allah bless your day with your loved ones. Ameen. Please don't forget me in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Wassalaam
