Oh, what is this?

Looks like a suspiciously shiny box just sitting there all alone, unguarded, practically begging to be opened.

It's got gold ribbon and twinkly stars. It's twinkling, captain. Twinkling.

Yes. Quite the visual siren song. Open it. Let chaos reign.

What? No. I I can't. It's not mine.

I didn't say you should open it. I merely admire its unspoken invitation.

But what if it's a birthday present or a surprise or a test?

Ah, yes. The old mystery package moral character check. Classic.

What if someone's watching? What if it's for me? But what if it's not? But what if it is? What if it has an expiration date?

Oh, boy. He's spiraling again.

I must resist. I must stay strong. I must sit on my wings.

I shall not peek.

A bird of honor, a feathered fortress of willpower. Thank you. You're sitting on a jelly sandwich, by the way. Do you plan to eat it?

Meraj Digital presents The Amazing Stories with Zaki the Hoopoe. Season two, episode six, The Secret Gift.

Salaam, my amazing friends. It's me, Zaki the Hoopoe, back again with another incredible adventure. And yes, if you were wondering, I did sit on a jelly sandwich earlier.

It was grape. My feathers are still sticky.

A sticky hoopoe is a quiet hoopoe, a rare delight.

Captain Suahil!

I said it was a delight.

Anyway, let me ask you something, have you ever been asked to keep a secret? Maybe your friend said, Don't tell anyone but I have a pet lizard named Marshmallow. Or maybe someone gave you a gift and said, Don't peek until your birthday. Did you peek? Be honest.

No. Good job. That's what we call trustworthy. Can you say that with me? Trustworthy.

Who's giving away lizards? That sounds highly unsanitary.

The point is, it's not always easy to wait or to not peak or to keep a promise when no one's watching. Today's story is about someone who had to do just that. Someone who was trusted with something very special, something shiny, and something secret. And he held onto it for a long, long, long time.

Like longer than a nap that never ends. How long? Longer than it takes a turtle to tie its shoes. Turtles wear shoes. Don't think too hard about it.

So fluff up your pillows, zip up your listening ears and get ready for a story people told for generations. A story about trust, about honesty, and about someone known by a very special name. A long, long time ago, in a sunny city called Makkah, there lived a young man named Muhammad He wasn't known as the Prophet yet. Nope, he was still growing up, kind, helpful, and always smiling, just like some of you.

Except he probably didn't spill seed crumbs everywhere he went.

The people of Makkah called him something very special, a Lameen. Can you say that with me? It means the trustworthy one. Because everyone knew if you gave something to Muhammad, peace be upon him, he would never ever lose it. He would never peek at it.

He would never use it without asking. He would keep it safe for you, even if it was shiny or yummy or super duper tempting.

Sounds suspiciously unlike my cousin Jamshi.

One hot morning, while the sun was shining and the market was full of people talking and clinking coins, a man came running up to prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. He looked a little sweaty, a little flustered, and a lot worried. He had to go on a long, long journey, maybe across the desert, maybe across the sea. And in his hands, he held a bag, a special bag. Inside it was gold, real gold.

All his money, his savings, everything he had. The man didn't want to take it with him, and he didn't trust just anyone. So he went to the one person in the whole city he knew would keep it safe. The man said, Oh Muhammad, can I leave this with you? And guess what Muhammad said?

He said, yes. Prophet Muhammad promised to take care of it. He wrapped it up tight, tied the string carefully, and tucked it away somewhere safe, somewhere quiet, somewhere only he knew.

And then prophet Muhammad waited. Not even a peek. I peek at seashells just in case one's hiding a snack.

Days passed, then weeks passed, then months passed, but the man didn't come back.

Oh dear, I didn't see that coming.

Mohamed waited, he checked on the gold, still there, still safe, still untouched. Would you be able to wait that long, without touching, without even shaking the bag to hear it go jingle jingle? What would you do? It's okay if you'd be tempted. Grown ups get tempted too.

I would have definitely jingle jingled for quality control purposes. But not prophet Muhammad,

he just smiled and waited because he knew what it meant to be trusted. Time kept moving. The days got hotter. The stars came and went. And still, the man didn't come back.

Blimey, this story just took a turn, didn't it? Zucky, are we sure this is still bedtime appropriate? Don't worry, captain. It's not scary. It's important.

Because something big was happening inside Muhammad's heart. People in Makkah started to notice. They might have said stuff like, why hasn't that merchant come back? Or maybe, does Mohammed still have the gold? Or, I mean, it's been a long time.

Some people whispered, some people wondered. And some people, well, they might have tempted him. Since the man was gone for so long, some people started saying, maybe the gold is yours now, Mohammed. Can you believe that?

Oh, ho. I've heard that tune before. Finders, keepers, losers, weepers. Aye, that's the kind of thinking that gets you tossed overboard, then hired back as the ship's honesty officer.

But Muhammad didn't listen. Not even when it was hard. Not even when it was so quiet and so easy to just take one little peek. But friends, you know who was listening?

Someone with a clipboard. Allah,

always watching with love, and he knew what was in Muhammad's heart. Muhammad was still young. He didn't have guards. He didn't have cameras. He didn't even have a safe.

No security parrot either. Although, the amount some parrots talk can be a liability.

Muhammad, peace be upon him, only had one thing, his promise, and that was enough. But I have to be honest with you, my friends. If it were me, I might have been tempted.

Might have. You sniffed jelly sandwiches through gift wrap.

Okay. Okay. But that's why this story means so much. Because Muhammad didn't do what was easy. He did what was right.

Then one day, after years, the merchant came back. Yes, really, his clothes were dusty, his beard was longer, his sandals were falling apart. He looked tired, like he'd walked through 10 deserts and half a mountain. But the biggest thing on his face was

worry. Worry? What was he worried about?

He didn't know if Muhammad would still have the gold. Maybe someone else had taken it, maybe Muhammad forgot, or maybe, just maybe, Muhammad had used it for himself. The man asked nervously, Muhammad, do you remember me? I left something with you long ago. His voice was quiet.

His hands were shaking. His eyes peeked behind Mohammed like he was looking for a missing treasure. And do you know what Mohammed did? He smiled, walked to that special hiding place, and brought out the very same bag, still wrapped, still full. It had never been opened.

Not one gold coin missing.

Not one coin? Not even one. That's like guarding a pie for an hour and not even licking the crust.

The man's mouth dropped open. His eyes filled with tears. He held the bag like it was a lost friend. The man said softly, You truly are al Amin, the most trustworthy of all. I think I realized something, my friends.

Being trustworthy doesn't just mean not taking what's not yours. It means doing the right thing, even when no one's looking, even when it's hard, even when you could get away with it. And okay, okay, maybe I did peek at my surprise seed muffins last eid, but I'm learning.

Aye, Zaki. We're all learning. One promise, one coin, one crust, one crumb at a time.

So, my little listeners, what did we learn today? We learned that being trustworthy means keeping your promises, even when no one is watching. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, didn't take what wasn't his. He didn't peak. He didn't spend even 1 coin.

That's what made him al Amin, the trustworthy one. Because when people gave him something, they knew he'd keep it safe. And you can be trustworthy too. When someone asks you to keep a secret, or take care of something, or wait until after dinner to eat that cookie, you can show them that you

are someone who keeps their word. So if I ask you to guard my treasure chest of seaweed biscuits while I take a nap, you won't eat them.

You have a treasure chest of seaweed biscuits?

Never you mind. I said nothing.

And that's the end of our story, friends. I hope it made your heart feel full, just like that little bag of gold kept safe and sound for all those years. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, didn't just say he was trustworthy, he showed it. In private, in silence, even when no one was watching. That's why they called him Al Amin, the trustworthy one.

But guess what? Next time, we're going to see what happens when Muhammad starts working out in the big world. The markets, the caravans, the trade routes. Will he still be honest when money's involved? When people are watching?

When huge business deals are on the line?

Spoiler alert. He's still Al Amin, even when camels and coins are flying everywhere.

That's right. In our next episode, we'll see how the Prophet's honesty earned him more than gold. It earned him the trust of the most respected woman in Mecca. Things are starting to move, my friends. The world is watching, the story is picking up pace, and the next chapter, oh, it's a good one.

Ay, the winds are shifting. History's about to set sail.

So come back soon for episode seven. Until then, keep your promises, guard your treasures, and remember, you can be someone people trust.

Unlike the time I promised not to eat captain salty's emergency biscuit stash. I technically kept the promise until I got hungry.

This story was produced by Meraj Digital. Voices provided by Wayne Holland as Zaki and Curtis Fletcher as Captain Sohail. Episode written, directed, and edited by Syed Kashif and Atif Hussein. For more content by Meraj Digital, please visit our site at www.meraj.digital.

Content copyright and production copyright twenty twenty five by Meraj Digital.