BITS ‘N’ PIECES

Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas (R.A):

The Prophet (S.A.W) was the most generous amongst the people, and he used to be more so in the month of Ramadan when Gabriel visited him, and Gabriel used to meet him on every night of Ramadan till the end of the month.

The Prophet used to recite the Holy Qur’an to Gabriel, and when Gabriel met him, he used to be more generous than a fast wind (which causes rain and welfare).

Sahih Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 31, Number 126

DID YOU KNOW?

The Boston Tea Party was perhaps one of the major events that led to the American Revolution

If you think Boston Tea Party was a grand event where tea was served, think again! It was, in fact, one of the events that led to the American Revolution. It happened in the American colony of Massachusetts in 1773.

At the time, the colonies were ruled by Great Britain. For many years the American colonists had complained about the way the British government treated them. One of the complaints was that the government made the colonists pay taxes on goods that were shipped to them. They complained so strongly about the taxes that the government eventually ended most of the taxes. The colonists still had to pay a tax on tea, however. And there was only one company that was allowed to ship tea to the colonies and to sell it there, you guessed it right: The notorious British East India Company. Colonists in New York City and Philadelphia refused to allow the East India Company’s ships to unload their cargo. In Massachusetts, however, the governor was loyal to the British. He allowed the ships to enter Boston Harbor and unload their cargo, and made merchants pay the tax on the tea. On the night of December 16, 1773, a group of about 60 colonists decided to protest the tax. They dressed as Native Americans and went aboard the ships in Boston Harbor. They dumped more than 300 chests of the tea into the harbor. This act of defiance was one of the major events that led to American independence.

The British government soon imposed several new laws that were meant to punish the colonists. One of the new laws closed Boston’s harbor until the colonists paid for the tea that was ruined. Although the new laws were aimed mainly at Massachusetts, they made the colonies want to work together to end British rule. Representatives from the 13 colonies met to protest the laws in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774. The meeting became the First Continental Congress. Finally, on July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, announcing the colonies’ separation from Great Britain. The United States of America was born.