Cathy and Elliot Lewis on stage. Cathy Lewis, Elliot Lewis. Two of the most distinguished names in radio. Appearing each week in their own theater. Starring in a repertory of transcribed stories of their own and your choosing. Radio's foremost players in radio's foremost plays. Drama, comedy, adventure, mystery, melodrama. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Elliot Lewis. Good evening. May I present my wife, Cathy? Good evening. A thief and his money are soon parted. What was that? A misquote. It should be a fool, but I want to explain something about tonight's story. Which is called Dig the Thief and is about a man named John Digby, played by you. And his adventures in the state of New Mexico with a lovely girl named Cecily, played by you. The script was written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. And, as a matter of fact, there are several thieves involved. I'm not the only one. But to find that out, we dig the thief. Oh, there! Oh! Well, there it is. There's the town. Spread out like she is. Like a little jewel in the valet. Can I say something, Mr. Digby? It's allowed. I never saw the town as old as looking so pretty. Full of moon and all. All the people sleeping peaceful. Ain't gonna last long, is it? As long as I've been hanging around the ranch, Mr. Digby, we never had a chivalry like this. Are you sure of something? Well, good to have you aboard. Is the Jameson girl okay? I'm right here beside you, Mr. Digby. I'm fine.  Well, pass the word back. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. What? Get ready. Oh, get ready. All set, Mr. Digby. All set then. All right. Well, let's go! You can get back to the ranch. And you, Digby, you can drop dead. What do I do? He didn't do anything. See? You've been chewing local weeds, Digby. What are they?  You shoot up the town of Otis. What do you... You used blacks, Mr. Cornel. I told you to take the guests from Moonlight Rad. I told you no hanky-panky, Digby. I specifically told you. I remember saying it. I can recall you were leaning up against the corral fence, chopping on a straw, and covering up the turf. And I told you... Yeah, yeah, yeah. No. Now I remember. Uh, Mr. Cornel. You're fired. Mr. Cornel. When you hired me to take charge of guest relations, you said I could have a free reign. You impressed me with the importance of recreating the Old West. I also told you no hanky-panky. Well, that's the kind of ombre you are. Noted for it. Okay, Mr. Cornel. Three days I worked for you. $15 a day. That means you owe me five. Your bail was 50. Well, we'll pay for him, won't we, fellas? Yeah, sure, sure. What? You're always so sleepy, Mr. Southgate. We are taking a collection for Digby. $5. Oh, I'll pass the word. We're taking a collection... Oh, here's a five bucks. It'll be worth it. You happy now, Mr. Cornel? Get out of here, Digby. Get back to the ranch. Get your gear and get. I was walking the street some blue rail. Hey, how about a lift? Hey, are you... Hey, you're going my... You betcha. Get in. You can sit up front with me. Oh, that's fine. You know what? Begin to think this ride would never come. I'm sorry. I was a little late leaving the Hacienda. Uh... Ask you a question? Sure. What tribe you come from? Apache. Left the reservation last year. How's tricks? Can't complain. What are you doing now? You know. Yeah. You know, took up a trade at the reservation school. Learned how to drive a Cadillac. Got a job. All the boys are doing that now. All the boys still wearing long braids like you? Oh, that's Mr. Ramsey's idea. For local color. You know how Mr. Ramsey is. Mr. Ramsey? How he is? Oh, well, sure. Sure glad I caught you else. Mr. Ramsey would have... Well, you know... Oh, had your bite and dust, eh? What's that? Uh, you got a cigarette? If you like cork tip. Yeah, sure. Here. Yeah, thanks. Oh, Mr. Ramsey, sure gonna be glad to see you. Just walk right up there into the house. You're expected. Thanks a lot, chiefie. Get along, we're due. Thank you. Oh, howdy. Please come in. Mm-hmm. I'm Cecily Ramsey. Of course. Uh, how's Mr. Ramsey? Fine. Dad and I just came in from a gallop. He's tethering the horses. Uh, Dad's tethering them? He never lets anyone else do it. Well... Well, what? Well, I hope I'm not interrupting anything. Oh, no, no. Oh, what's the matter? Why are you staring at me? I'm sorry. You're not the type. That's all. Oh. Please don't do that. It scuffs the rugs. Oh, sorry. No, you're not the type at all. Well, I've had the virus.  What? I guess it's silly of me, Mr. Honeywell, but I expected someone dusty. And with a peth helmet. Oh. Don't do that. The rugs. Yeah, I'm sorry. You're the most bashful archaeologist I ever saw. Oh. Well, we don't come up very often. That's why. All this sunlight. Phew. Must be very interesting work, though. Oh, my, yes. Digging up artifacts. Well, that's the best part. Oh, you and Dennis will get along just fine. Dennis? My fiancee. Daddy wrote you about him, sure. Oh, oh, that Dennis. Yeah, Dennis. I can hardly wait to meet him. Is he here? He's flying in. Dennis is flying in, is he? As soon as he heard. Oh. About the pots. Oh, of course. You'll be here the first thing in the morning. You two will get along. Well, he's so very interesting. Like you. Oh, well, sure. That's because he's in... Archaeology. Archaeology, sure. Oh, he's just a student. He's at Harvard, you know, majoring in archaeology, but he's having such a difficult time. Oh. You know, this is the second time he's repeating a Syrian tombs one. Well, no wonder. That's the hardest part. Oh. Hey, Clay. Certainly, where are you? In here. Look who's here, Daddy. Well, hello, young man. Howdy. Good. Very good. You're Honeywell, aren't you? I've made arrangements that Mr. Honeywell take the spare suite in the West Wing. Good. Very good.  Mr. Honeywell and I have a lot to talk about. I remember we were having such an interesting conversation. Isn't he the youngest archaeologist ever? And with such a reputation. Yeah. Uh, don't do that with the rug, Honeywell. Oh, sorry. Run along, Cecily. You'll see Mr. Honeywell at dinner. Bye, Mr. Honeywell. Yeah, bye, ma'am. Well, Honeywell, let me take a look at you. Yes, sir. Sir, indeed, sir. You'll do, you'll do fine. Now, uh, look, Mr. Ramsey, my time's pretty valuable. There's digging to be done. You'll do, you'll do fine. Yes, siri, yes, siri. Archaeologists come high. There's a lot of education, supplies, pit helmets and all. I wrote you in the letter 10%, didn't I? Uh, 10%? Well, yeah. I just dropped in today to tell you it wasn't enough. All the way from Chicago? Well, I was passing by anyhow on my way to Pultepec. Uh, Inca country, you know. Okay. Make it 15%. Ah, well, that's a lot better. Come on. I'll show them to you. This way. I bet you. Ah. Yeah. Well, what have you got to say? I hardly know. I thought so. Stunners, aren't they? All three. Have you ever seen better examples of prehistoric Indian pottery in your life? Hardly ever. Those pots are 4, 5,000 years old, wouldn't you say?  Without a crack. Well, I really build them in those days. I think we can get 10 grand a piece for them. Yeah. 10 grand sounds fair, especially since the ceiling's off. Huh? Uh, which one do you like? Who cares? Oh, that middle one's my favorite. Black buffalo's too. Who's he? The Indian boy that made him. Four or 5,000 years ago? Last Thursday. Now, remember, my daughter thinks they're yours. You shipped him ahead. That's the story in case anyone asks. You mind if I ask you a question, Mr. Ramsey? Well, how else are you going to know? Who's going to give you 10,000 a piece for last Thursday's pots? Have you ever heard of Harvard boy? Dennis, your daughter's fiance? Loaded boy. And I'm the archeologist who's going to tell him they're worth 10,000. He worships you. Why, that boy rocks himself to sleep reading your pamphlets. Yeah, but these pots are phony. They fooled you, didn't they, anyway? Well, flash judgment. I didn't put the calipers on them or even, uh... Phony? Yeah, well, these Harvard boys haven't got your ear. And Dennis is loaded, huh? Four million, and he ain't real bright. He collects old crocs. So he's my intended son-in-law. I shouldn't speak too harshly. He's a fine boy, great swimmer. Always swims underwater. Remarkable. And you're going to swindle him out of $30,000? We are. You and me. For 20% I am.  You've got a good reputation, but you haven't got two shovels to rub together. Take it or leave it. I'll take it. Fine. Well, what time's dinner, sir, Mr. Ransey? You are listening to Kathy and Elliot Lewis on stage. Tonight's play, Dig the Thief. In your town, in the next town across the nation, you'll find the Red Cross. But the Red Cross is above and beyond all boundary lines, for it is infinite in its scope. In time of hardships, epidemics, floods, fires, the Red Cross is the symbol and soul of humanity. You are part of that symbol, because it is the money you contribute that enables the Red Cross to continue its great work. Answer the call, and humanity will answer you with gratitude. Hey, Miss Cecily. Hi. Good morning. Good morning. What are you doing out here so early? Scanning the horizon. Where? Anyplace, the whole horizon, for Dennis. He's arriving this morning. He flies, you know. Oh? His own plane. He'd be furious if he knew I was scanning for him. Oh? He doesn't like people to watch. Swims a lot underwater, you know. Well, things like that you have to respect, Miss Cecily. Why don't we just take a walk, work up an appetite for breakfast, see the haze on the gore. You know, walk. I'd love to. Let's. What should we talk about? Adiak. Who? Adiak. Dennis was telling me about the remarkable work you did there. Must be so fascinating working in those old excavations. You're well. There's no excavation like an old excavation. Dennis always says that, too. He must have read it in one of my pamphlets. That was the title of one of your pamphlets, don't you remember? Oh, Miss Cecily, let's not talk about old ruins. Let's talk about you. Why? I'm really nothing here. No, no, I must tell you something. It's amazing, and perhaps you won't believe it, but it's true. When I dug up the sarcophagus of a wondrous and beautiful Egyptian princess... No, don't walk. Stay here. I really must tell you about it. All right. On her tomb was painted her portrait, unbelievably beautiful with a serenity almost goddess-like. The first time I saw you, I said to myself, Princess Osiris of the seventh moon. You want to wade? What? Let's take off our moccasins and wade. That's just what I've been trying to say, Miss Cecily. Let's take off our moccasins and wade. Isn't this wonderful? I haven't had a cold foot bath before breakfast since Antioch. You better hold my hand, Mr. Honeywell. Oh, fine. Thank you, yes. Isn't this wonderful? Dennis never goes in here with me. But you love him anyhow, don't you? Very much. Why? He's sweet. He's charming. And really, he's only bashful when other people are around, when Dennis and I are alone. Don't tell me about it. He's a very gentle boy, that's all. Mr. Honeywell. He really, that's Daddy. Yes, I know. Mr. Honeywell. Here. Here we are, Daddy. How did he get you in that stream, Cecily? It was my idea, Daddy. What's the matter? Get your shoes on, Honeywell, and come with me. You ought to try this, Mr. Ramsey. I was just telling your daughter when I was an Antioch. You heard what I said. Get your shoes on. Something's happened, Mr. Honeywell. You still haven't told me what's the matter, Mr. Ramsey? In here, in the library. Hello. Hello. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Mr. Honeywell. Oh, no, you're not. Well, heck, I'm not. I'm Honeywell, the archeologist. Oh, no, you're not. Sure I am. You just asked Mr. Ramsey here. Oh, no, you're not. Two against one, huh? All right. Who am I? Who are you? Eliminate Honeywell. I'm Honeywell. I ask you a question. Who are you? Your chauffeur said I was Honeywell. Your daughter said I was Honeywell. You said I was Honeywell. Now, I'm all confused. My chauffeur was supposed to pick up Mr. Honeywell in front of that dude ranch yesterday.  So we all thought you were Honeywell. How dare this young man assume...  Yes. You assume Mr. Honeywell's identity. You assumed it for me, Ramsey. Let's not turn blue over a mistake you made. I must say, Mr. Ramsey, the whole thing is your chauffeur's fault. Just because I arrived at the dude ranch a few hours later... Yes, sir. Now, you. What's your real name? Digby, Johnny Digby. And you're Honeywell, the dishonest archeologist. I won't be called dishonest. Your profession's robbing graves, isn't it? Very old graves. Nobody wants them anyhow. All I can say is you fellas have got yourselves in a bind. Here you are going to cheat Dennis out of $30,000. First boy. Mm-hmm, yes. Stop at the kitchen and have the cook fix your real chuck wagon lunch. Then blow. A real big bind. And here's $50 for your trouble. That all right with you, Mr. Honeywell? I don't care if I never see you again, sir. But think what would happen to your reputation if I went out and spread it around among your buddies of the shovel that you were party to a fraud. That you verified that last Thursday's pots were old Indian relics. How about that? How, Mr. Honeywell? I really must go, Mr. Ramsey. Hey, now, wait a minute. This young man is perfectly right. Now, listen, Honeywell, we had a deal. Those pots in the closet were supposed to be your pots. Dennis will take your word for it that they're authentic. $10,000 a piece. Now, you can't run out on me now. Really, Mr. Ramsey? Really what? Really, I must go. Hello, Mr. Ramsey. Hello, Mr. Honeywell. Name's Digby. Boy, boy. Johnny Digby. A flat fee, $1,000. Oh, listen. Now, come here to the window. Plane overhead. Get away from the window. Dennis don't like anybody to watch. Dennis don't, huh? What were you saying, Ramsey? A flat fee, $1,000. Last night you offered me 20% of $30,000. I offered that to Honeywell. Who am I? How are you, Mr. Honeywell? Very well, thank you. I'm just fine. I'll take $6,000, please. Loud question. Write your check. Please do. Make it out to John Digby. Here you are, boy. Ramsey. Yes? You signed Honeywell's name to the check. I did. Sounds like Dennis' plane is coming in for a landing, Ramsey. I'd hate to disillusion Dennis about his future father-in-law. You'd better write me another check, hm? Digby, you're the biggest thief in the state of New Mexico. You write the check, sign your name, then call your chauffeur. I want to get to the bank and cash this check before I say hello to Dennis. As a matter of fact, in the whole Southwest. Write the check, Ramsey. This is Dennis. Put her there. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to meet you to plane, Dennis. But I had to stop at the bank. Mr. Honeywell. Yes? Mr. Honeywell. Oh, yes? Gee. No, don't mention it. Oh, I must. Your last paper, the one on the Ptolemies of Egypt. Yes, it had a certain style, didn't it? The way you just looked at that sand dune in the middle of the Sahara and made an X on the sands and said, Dig here. Oh, that was the most... Well, everybody mess, everybody else? They're talking. Oh, sorry. Mr. Ramsey, my intended father-in-law. Dad-to-be. My boy. When he wrote that you would be here expressly to meet me. Well, I... Well, what, Dennis? And when Mr. Ramsey, my intended father-in-law... Dad-to-be. Of course. When he told me that he was interceding in my behalf and that the pot could be bought for only $30,000. Oh, your dad-to-be drives a hard bargain. Of course you know I would have paid twice that much. Mr. Honeywell, may I see you for a minute? What for? Well, if Dennis feels the old pots are underpriced, we don't want to take advantage of you. That's all. No, no, no, no, no. My pleasure. I know they'll be in good hands.  We've got a spot in the living room for them. A niche, Cecily. A niche. Oh. Daddy's been keeping them from me. I haven't seen them yet. Well, Dennis... I guess now is as good a time as any. Well, let's take a look, Ramsay. Right. This way, next door to the sunroom. Mr. Honeywell and I made a display. Dennis, my boy, what do you think? Oh, my. Feel that quality, Dennis. Wait till my friends at Harvard see these. Here, we keep them away from the hasty pudding boys. And only $30,000. Oh, I feel like a thief.  Oh, no. I brought along a certified check. For $30,000. Of course. Made out to Mr. Honeywell. Oh, good. Here. And thank you. Thank you so much. You're quite welcome. Honeywell, what are you doing? Dennis, he tore up the check. Oh, it was too good to be true. Dennis will pay you any price. These two kids have got to fill their niches, Honeywell. Dennis. Yes, sir. Will you go $40,000? Yes, sir. Honeywell, $40,000. Take it or leave it. Cecily.   What do you want? Cecily, I think you're one of the loveliest young ladies I've ever met. How much do you want, Mr. Honeywell? Nothing. Oh, no. I don't understand you. I don't understand him either, Cecily. All the trouble he went through digging out these perfect examples of- Cecily. What? They're yours. A wedding present. From me to you. Oh, I can't accept them. No, of course you can't. I'm going to be your father-in-law, and I say you can't accept them. It's-it's impossible. Cecily. You're a very sweet man. I want you to have them. Yes.  I wish you would. Well, thank you. Bless you both, my children. This has been the most touching day of our lives. Hasn't it been Dennis? Mr. Honeywell. Yes, Dennis. You're a very superior man. I was walking the streets of Laredo. Hey, how about a lift? Uh-huh. Hop in. Yeah, thank you. Where you headed? Texas. Nice place, Texas.  Got a couple hundred acres north of Amarillo. Used to be peaceful there. Not going to be peaceful no more. Oh, what's the matter? You called me this morning in Albuquerque where I was selling some hogs. Wife says the hog trough back in Texas is running oil. Oh, tough. Yeah. I know hogs, but I don't know oil. I know oil. Where you headed for? Amarillo. Do tell. Hey, uh, you wouldn't consider... Well, I might if the deal was right. You got a cigarette? If you roll your own. Only way I smoke them. Thank you. I like a man rolls his own. Sign honesty. We ain't going to have any trouble. None at all. Dig the Thief starring Kathy and Elliot Lewis. In a moment, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis will tell you about next week's play. When is a man not a man? Why, when is an institution, of course, like Bing Crosby? And when is a Thursday not a Thursday? Well, for loads of Crosby fans it wouldn't be Thursday without the Bing Crosby show. Fortunately, all of us, we have no such problem confronting us this Thursday. The Groner and his many guests, along with Ken Carpenter, the Rhythmairs, and John Scott Trotter's orchestra, will all be on hand with the music, the songs, and, of course, the merriment that have truly characterized this great program week in and week out for many a season. That's Thursday nights on CBS Radio. And now, once again, Kathy and Elliot Lewis. What did you do when you got to Texas? Well, maybe in about six months, I'll tell you. If Morton Fine and David Friedkin can be prevailed upon to continue the adventures of Dig the Thief. Tonight, while in New Mexico, John Digby was shrewder than my father, John McIntyre, my fiancee, Lee Millar, and the legitimate archaeologist, Hal Gerard. While the same Mr. Digby got fired earlier in the play by Ken Christie, because he shot up a town with the help of Gigi Pearson, Byron Kane, and Bob Sweeney, who was a writer a few weeks ago. Next week, we're going to do a new adaptation of a story you all know about, but if you're at all like Elliot and me, don't remember very well in its original form. It was written by Frank Stockton, and it's called The Lady or The Tiger. We'll be with you next week. Until then, thank you for listening. And good night. Good night. Music for Tonight's Story was composed by Fred Steiner and conducted by Lud Gluckin. The Kathy and Elliot theme is by Ray Noble, and the program is transcribed and directed by Mr. Lewis. George Walsh speaking. And remember, for music and song, join Vaughn Monroe Saturday nights on the CBS Radio Network.


Are you being unintentionally manipulative? You might be if you do these four things. Number one, do you say, I'm just telling it like it is, or just being honest, to say whatever you want?  Number two, do you always have people come to your place to chill instead of everyone having a chance to host or meeting up somewhere? This can actually be manipulating the situation so you have the upper hand and your guest is in a vulnerable position. Number three, do you change your opinions, how you dress or how you act? Depending on who you're around, this manipulates other's opinions of you in hopes they'll like you more. Number four, if someone tells you to relay a message, do you, or do you keep some bits to yourself? A 2009 study found that withholding or changing info that needs to be relayed is a way to make you feel powerful or superior. Do you know any other ones? It can be tough to stop toxic habits like manipulative tactics, especially if they're learned behaviors, but...


Hello, kids! Let's talk about sets. A set is a group of things. Here are some examples. A set of envelopes. A set of rulers. A set of paper clips. A set of pencils. A set of books. How about this? It has nothing in it. You call this an empty set. Now let's talk about equal sets. You can say that sets are equal when you see that set A and set B have the same objects and the same number of objects. So you can say that 2 ice creams is equal to 2 ice creams. Now if set A and set B have the same objects but different in number, these sets are not equal. You can say that 2 ice creams is not equal to 3 ice creams. Now what are equivalent sets? If set A and set B have different objects but have the same number of objects, we say that they are equivalent sets. But if set A and set B have different objects and have different number of objects, we say that they are not equivalent. Some sets have more and some sets have less. We can use less than and greater than symbols to compare them. If set A has more objects than set B, we say that set A is greater than set B. If set A has less objects compared to set B, we say that set A is less than set B. That's all for today kids and I hope you understood what sets are and how to compare them. It's time to answer your book. Good luck!


I'm Dermot Gavin. Every year, plant pests and disease destroy up to 40% of the global food crops. This results in the loss of more than US$220 billion in trade in agricultural products. We must work together to protect handhelds and sustain our futures.


Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim.  There's a hadith that's related by Imam al-Tirmidhi from Anas ibn Malik, where the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, يأتي على الناس زمان الصابل فيهم على دينه قلقابتي على جمر. And he said that there will come a time upon the people when the one who is steadfast in his religion will be like a person clutching onto a burning piece of coal. Simply maintaining that there is an absolute truth or that there is a moral right and wrong will make you the target of ridicule and verbal attack in our culture. Abrahamic tradition is under ideological attack. In the media and in the academy, they'll call you all sorts of things.  And people don't like to be ridiculed or verbally attacked. So what do they do? Well, they're going to drop the coal and say, wow, that is just too hot. I can't handle it. People are led to believe nowadays that atheism is better for societal well-being than theism. There was an 18th century French philosopher, a believer in God, who said it like this, imagine you had a magic button. And if you press this button, all of the wealth of the entire world would come into your possession. But there's one catch.  It could be anyone. It could be your own mother. It could be a total stranger halfway around the world. So he says, to whom would you entrust this button? To a very devout, God-fearing Abrahamic theist who believes in absolute moral accountability, who believes in a day of reckoning, a day of judgment, or to a very committed atheist who believes in natural selection, who believes in survival of the fittest, does not believe in an afterlife, who does not believe in any type of supernatural moral accountability. Think about it. Ibn Jusea Al-Kalbi, he said that there are seven compositional forms in the Quran. In other words, seven types of ayat in the Quran. Two of them are covenantal and retributive, or wa'ad and wa'id, promise and threat. The following is a retributive verse that I find myself quoting a lot these days. Allah SWT says, ''O ye who believe, may the Sufi come to Allah with a people who love Him and love Him. Shadr over the believers and as a respect for the disbelievers. You strive in the cause of Allah, and fear not even if you meet Him. So be a favour to Allah and deliver Him whom He wills.  But izzatina ala kaafirin, but having izzat, having honor, having a type of strictness with the unbelievers, yujahiruna fi sabilillah, striving and struggling in the way of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and never afraid of those who find fault, never afraid of being blamed for being believers. That is the grace of Allah, that He gives to whomever He wills and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is wasiun aleem, He is the one who is all encompassing and omniscient. So what do we glean from this ayah? We glean that the main reason for the irti dad, the main reason for the apostasy that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is describing in this ayah is a lack of love because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, ya'di, ya'di Allahu bi qawmin, yuhibbuhum wa yuhibbunahu, that if you turn away, then Allah will bring a people, a people that He will love and they will love Him. So it's a lack of love according to the exegetes, the ulama, the mufassereen of this verse. Whom does Allah love and why? Well in the Quran, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala explicitly tells us the categories of people whom He loves. These are believers who exemplify some sort of character virtue. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, inna allaha yuhibbu attawabin, for example. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves the people of tawbah, the people who repent. Inna allaha yuhibbu al muttahtahireen, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves the people of tahara, the people of purity who purify themselves. Inna allaha yuhibbu al muqsiteen, the people of qista, the people of justice. Inna allaha yuhibbu al mutawakireen, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves the people of tawakul, the people who put their trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Inna allaha yuhibbu al muttaqeen, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves the people of taqwa, the people of piety, the people who fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Inna allaha yuhibbu al sabireen, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves the people of patience, the people of perseverance, the people of sabr, Inna Allah yuhibu al-muhsineen, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves the people of ihsan, the people who make things beautiful, the people of spiritual and every other type of excellence. These are the virtues of the Hiba'u Allah, of the beloved ones of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Now there is a hadith in Tirmidhi, and there's some weakness in the hadith. With the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam, his reports have said something quite amazing. He said, Inna Allah ha'amaranee bihubi arba'ah, that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has ordered me to love four people, wa akhbarani annahu yuhibuhum. And he's informed me that he himself loves these people. Qila ya Rasulallah, it was said, O messenger of God, sanmihim lana, name them for us. Now he's going to name them, but if you look at all four of these names you'll notice that these were men who never wavered in the Deen. They were principled, they were dedicated, they were loyal, all of the virtues that are extolled in the Quran. People of repentance, of purity, of justice, of trust, of piety, of patience, etc. The first one that he named was Sayyidina Ali ibn Abi Talib, radiallahu tara'anhu. Imam al-Tabari says that in the early Meccan period when the ayah was revealed wa anzir ashirataka al-Aqrabin, warn your family who are nearest of kin. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam asked Sayyidina Ali to organize a dinner party. And 40 men of the aristocrats of Bani Abdul Muktalib attended. And Sayyidina Ali was maybe 13, 13 years old at the time. And so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam, he stood up and he said, I've been ordered to call you to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wa htahu la sharikala. Call, I've been ordered to call you to Allah as the singular God with no partners. Which of you will help me in my mission? And there was a long uncomfortable silence and then Sayyidina Ali stood up and said, I will help you. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam said, haadaa akhii. This is my brother. Ateehu, obey him. And all of the men started laughing and said, he's ordering us to be under your son. They were saying that to Abu Talib. But that was Sayyidina Ali. La yakhafu loma talaim. He wasn't afraid of people who who found fault in him or blamed him for his religion. And of course we have the famous hadith or the famous statement of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam. It's mentioned by Ibn Majah that when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam was at Khaybar, he said one night, la aba'atanna rajulan yuhibbu allahu wa rasulahu wa yuhibbu allahu rasulahu. Tomorrow I'm going to give the standard to a man who loves Allah in his messenger and who is beloved to Allah in his messenger. And he gave it to Sayyidina Ali. In Bukhari we are told that the mushriqeen wanted to revise the treaty of Hudaybiyyah from saying Muhammadur Rasulullah to Muhammad ibn Abdullah. And so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam, he ordered Sayyidina Ali, he said, erase where it says Rasulullah and Sayyidina Ali said, la wallahi la amhuka abada. I would never erase you. So Sayyidina Ali even disobeyed the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam, but it was out of love and reverence for the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam. The next name that he mentioned was Abu Dhar al-Ghifari. When Abu Dhar al-Ghifari became Muslim, he went to the Kaaba and started shouting la ilaha illallah and the mushriqeen beat him within an inch of his life. And al-Abbas had to throw his body over him to save his life. And the Prophet said to Abu Dhar, you should not have done that. And Abu Dhar said, I couldn't help it. And when the Prophet passed away sallallahu alayhi sallam, Abu Dhar moved to the Syrian desert. He never recovered from the passing of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam. He was never the same. He was terminally heartbroken. And the third man he mentioned al-Muqtad ibn al-Aswad that just before the Battle of Badr, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam, he held a war council. And the Prophet told the Ansar that the coming conflict was within the Quraish. In other words, between the polytheistic meccans and the Muslim immigrants. So the Ansar were not required to join the fight. Imam al-Bukhari, he relates on the authority of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud that al-Muqtad ibn al-Aswad, he stood up in the council. And he said, Ya Rasulallah, inna la naqoolu laka kama qalat banu Israel li Musa fathhab anta wa rabbuka fa qatilaa inna haa hunaa qa'idun. We will not say to you. As the Bani Israel said to Musa alayhi sallam, go you and your Lord and fight and we will sit here. Walakin imdi wa na'hnu ma'ak, but advance and we are with you. Faka anna hu surriya an Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi sallam. And it was as if the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam's face was beaming with joy at the words of al-Muqtad ibn al-Aswad. In the fourth name, he mentioned Salman al-Farisi. Salman, of course, was a scholar of religion who traveled the world to find the truth. He was told by a Christian bishop in Iraq that the appearance of a Prophet was imminent in the hijaz. Salman arrived in Medina and he was captured as a slave of the Bani Qureda and he was a slave for years. And once in a while he'd see the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam and feel absolutely elated until finally the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam found a way for him to be free from his so-called master. And the Prophet said in a hadith in Tirmidid that if Eman, if faith was suspended from the Pleiades, haa tha wa ashaabuhu, this man and his companions would find a way to reach it. The Prophet said about him, Salmanu minna ahl al-Bait, Salman is from us, the people of the house, an honorary member of the ahl al-Bait. Amarani bihubbihim wa akhbarani annahu yuhibbuhum. The Prophet said that I've been ordered to love them and I've been informed by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that he loves them. So look at the qualities of these beloved ones of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So my advice, my parting advice is to be patient, to keep going, to keep the faith, to understand that life is a marathon and that we need to pace ourselves. But don't stop running. Don't sell out the religion and don't check out of the religion.  And many of the exigents, including Imam al-Qurtubi, Imam al-Razi, At-Tabariz al-Makshari, they say that the meaning of al-yaqeen here is probably a reference to death. Worship your Lord until death comes to you, because that's certain. One of the very last things that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said while he was in his final illness, he sat on the minbar in the mosque. And he said Inna Allah khayyara abdan, beina dunya wa beina ma'inda. Allah he said that indeed Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given a choice to one of his servants between what is in the world and what is with him. Fakhtaara thalika al-Abd ma'inda Allah and that certain servant chose what is with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Fabbaka Abu Bakr and at that Abu Bakr's Sadiq, he started to weep. And Abu Sa'id al-Khudr, he said Fajibna li-bukaihi, that we were very surprised at his weeping. Why was he weeping? And then he realized that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was talking about himself, that he was the servant, that his time was very short. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam Fasbiru hatta talqawni alal haud. Be patient, persevere until you meet me at the haud at my basin. So be patient, keep going, persevere. Until we meet the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, insha'Allah just outside of paradise. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and his messenger know we can't be perfect. Do the best we can. Fattaq allah masdataatum as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran, fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as much as you can. Do your best. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, try your best to be upright, although you will not be able to do so. We will never reach perfection, but do your best. And he said, work work and the best of your actions is the prayer. Wa khayru a'malukum as-salah. Wa la yuhafidu alal wudui illa mu'min and only a believer is constant in his ablutions. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to give us the Taufiq to understand. Wa sallallahu alayhi wa sallam wa alayhi wa sallam. Alhamdulillahi rabbil al-alameen.


Minnesota authorities issued more citations for distracted driving in 2017, while citations for speeding and lack of seat belt use saw declines. Authorities gave out 7,357 citations for texting while driving in 2017. That's up nearly 23 percent from 2016 and up 331 percent from five years ago. The Department of Public Safety says distracted driving contributed to an average of 59 deaths each year from 2012 to 2016. Authorities handed out 211,603 speeding tickets last year down slightly from the year before. The number of tickets given out for lack of seat belt use also dropped. A total of about 32,000 of those tickets were given out in 2017. That's a nearly 53 percent drop from seat belt citations issued in 2012. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.