May 13, 2025 ⢠13 mins
When a traveler leaves a bag of gold with young Muhammad (peace be upon him), a quiet test of trust begins. Join Zaki and Captain Suhail as they uncover a story of honesty, patience, and the meaning of true integrity. Even the smallest choices can reveal the biggest truths!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Zaki (00:02):
Oh, what is this?
Captain Suhail (00:04):
Looks like a suspiciously shiny box just
sitting there all alone,unguarded, practically begging
to be opened.
Zaki (00:13):
It's got gold ribbon and twinkly stars. It's twinkling,
captain. Twinkling.
Captain Suhail (00:19):
Yes. Quite the visual siren song. Open it. Let
chaos reign.
Zaki (00:24):
What? No. I I can't. It's not mine.
Captain Suhail (00:27):
I didn't say you should open it. I merely admire
its unspoken invitation.
Zaki (00:35):
But what if it's a birthday present or a surprise
or a test?
Captain Suhail (00:38):
Ah, yes. The old mystery package moral character
check. Classic.
Zaki (00:45):
What if someone's watching? What if it's for me?
But what if it's not? But whatif it is? What if it has an
expiration date?
Captain Suhail (00:54):
Oh, boy. He's spiraling again.
Zaki (00:57):
I must resist. I must stay strong. I must sit on my wings.
I shall not peek.
Captain Suhail (01:04):
A bird of honor, a feathered fortress of
willpower. Thank you. You'resitting on a jelly sandwich, by
the way. Do you plan to eat it?
Zaki (01:20):
Meraj Digital presents The Amazing Stories with Zaki the
Hoopoe. Season two, episode six,The Secret Gift.
Salaam, my amazing friends. It'sme, Zaki the Hoopoe, back again
(01:41):
with another incredibleadventure. And yes, if you were
wondering, I did sit on a jellysandwich earlier.
It was grape. My feathers arestill sticky.
Captain Suhail (01:52):
A sticky hoopoe is a quiet hoopoe, a rare
delight.
Zaki (01:57):
Captain Suahil!
Captain Suhail (01:58):
I said it was a delight.
Zaki (01:59):
Anyway, let me ask you something, have you ever been
asked to keep a secret? Maybeyour friend said, Don't tell
anyone but I have a pet lizardnamed Marshmallow. Or maybe
someone gave you a gift andsaid, Don't peek until your
birthday. Did you peek? Behonest.
No. Good job. That's what wecall trustworthy. Can you say
(02:21):
that with me? Trustworthy.
Captain Suhail (02:24):
Who's giving away lizards? That sounds highly
unsanitary.
Zaki (02:29):
The point is, it's not always easy to wait or to not
peak or to keep a promise whenno one's watching. Today's story
is about someone who had to dojust that. Someone who was
trusted with something veryspecial, something shiny, and
something secret. And he heldonto it for a long, long, long
(02:49):
time.
Like longer than a nap thatnever ends. How long? Longer
than it takes a turtle to tieits shoes. Turtles wear shoes.
Don't think too hard about it.
So fluff up your pillows, zip upyour listening ears and get
ready for a story people toldfor generations. A story about
trust, about honesty, and aboutsomeone known by a very special
(03:13):
name. A long, long time ago, ina sunny city called Makkah,
there lived a young man namedMuhammad He wasn't known as the
Prophet yet. Nope, he was stillgrowing up, kind, helpful, and
always smiling, just like someof you.
Captain Suhail (03:33):
Except he probably didn't spill seed
crumbs everywhere he went.
Zaki (03:38):
The people of Makkah called him something very
special, a Lameen. Can you saythat with me? It means the
trustworthy one. Becauseeveryone knew if you gave
something to Muhammad, peace beupon him, he would never ever
lose it. He would never peek atit.
He would never use it withoutasking. He would keep it safe
for you, even if it was shiny oryummy or super duper tempting.
Captain Suhail (04:01):
Sounds suspiciously unlike my cousin
Jamshi.
Zaki (04:05):
One hot morning, while the sun was shining and the market
was full of people talking andclinking coins, a man came
running up to prophet Muhammadpeace be upon him. He looked a
little sweaty, a littleflustered, and a lot worried. He
had to go on a long, longjourney, maybe across the
desert, maybe across the sea.And in his hands, he held a bag,
(04:30):
a special bag. Inside it wasgold, 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 inthe whole city he knew would
keep it safe. The man said, OhMuhammad, can I leave this with
you? And guess what Muhammadsaid?
(04:53):
He said, yes. Prophet Muhammadpromised to take care of it. He
wrapped it up tight, tied thestring carefully, and tucked it
away somewhere safe, somewherequiet, somewhere only he knew.
Captain Suhail (05:06):
And then prophet Muhammad waited. Not even a
peek. I peek at seashells justin case one's hiding a snack.
Zaki (05:14):
Days passed, then weeks passed, then months passed, but
the man didn't come back.
Captain Suhail (05:21):
Oh dear, I didn't see that coming.
Zaki (05:24):
Mohamed waited, he checked on the gold, still there, still
safe, still untouched. Would yoube able to wait that long,
without touching, without evenshaking the bag to hear it go
jingle jingle? What would youdo? It's okay if you'd be
tempted. Grown ups get temptedtoo.
Captain Suhail (05:43):
I would have definitely jingle jingled for
quality control purposes. Butnot prophet Muhammad,
Zaki (05:52):
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, theman didn't come back.
Blimey, this story just took aturn, didn't it? Zucky, are we
(06:13):
sure this is still bedtimeappropriate? Don't worry,
captain. It's not scary. It'simportant.
Because something big washappening inside Muhammad's
heart. People in Makkah startedto notice. They might have said
stuff like, why hasn't thatmerchant come back? Or maybe,
does Mohammed still have thegold? Or, I mean, it's been a
(06:36):
long time.
Some people whispered, somepeople wondered. And some
people, well, they might havetempted him. Since the man was
gone for so long, some peoplestarted saying, maybe the gold
is yours now, Mohammed. Can youbelieve that?
Captain Suhail (06:52):
Oh, ho. I've heard that tune before. Finders,
keepers, losers, weepers. Aye,that's the kind of thinking that
gets you tossed overboard, thenhired back as the ship's honesty
officer.
Zaki (07:08):
But Muhammad didn't listen. Not even when it was
hard. Not even when it was soquiet and so easy to just take
one little peek. But friends,you know who was listening?
Captain Suhail (07:20):
Someone with a clipboard. Allah,
Zaki (07:24):
always watching with love, and he knew what was in
Muhammad's heart. Muhammad wasstill young. He didn't have
guards. He didn't have cameras.He didn't even have a safe.
Captain Suhail (07:36):
No security parrot either. Although, the
amount some parrots talk can bea liability.
Zaki (07:44):
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.
Captain Suhail (07:56):
Might have. You sniffed jelly sandwiches through
gift wrap.
Zaki (08:01):
Okay. Okay. But that's why this story means so much.
Because Muhammad didn't do whatwas easy. He did what was right.
Then one day, after years, themerchant came back. Yes, really,
his clothes were dusty, hisbeard was longer, his sandals
(08:23):
were falling apart. He lookedtired, like he'd walked through
10 deserts and half a mountain.But the biggest thing on his
face was
Captain Suhail (08:31):
worry. Worry? What was he worried about?
Zaki (08:35):
He didn't know if Muhammad would still have the gold. Maybe
someone else had taken it, maybeMuhammad forgot, or maybe, just
maybe, Muhammad had used it forhimself. The man asked
nervously, Muhammad, do youremember me? I left something
with you long ago. His voice wasquiet.
(08:56):
His hands were shaking. His eyespeeked behind Mohammed like he
was looking for a missingtreasure. And do you know what
Mohammed did? He smiled, walkedto that special hiding place,
and brought out the very samebag, still wrapped, still full.
It had never been opened.
Not one gold coin missing.
Captain Suhail (09:15):
Not one coin? Not even one. That's like
guarding a pie for an hour andnot even licking the crust.
Zaki (09:22):
The man's mouth dropped open. His eyes filled with
tears. He held the bag like itwas a lost friend. The man said
softly, You truly are al Amin,the most trustworthy of all. I
think I realized something, myfriends.
Being trustworthy doesn't justmean not taking what's not
yours. It means doing the rightthing, even when no one's
(09:44):
looking, even when it's hard,even when you could get away
with it. And okay, okay, maybe Idid peek at my surprise seed
muffins last eid, but I'mlearning.
Captain Suhail (09:56):
Aye, Zaki. We're all learning. One promise, one
coin, one crust, one crumb at atime.
Zaki (10:06):
So, my little listeners, what did we learn today? We
learned that being trustworthymeans keeping your promises,
even when no one is watching.Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon
him, didn't take what wasn'this. He didn't peak. He didn't
spend even 1 coin.
That's what made him al Amin,the trustworthy one. Because
(10:26):
when people gave him something,they knew he'd keep it safe. And
you can be trustworthy too. Whensomeone asks you to keep a
secret, or take care ofsomething, or wait until after
dinner to eat that cookie, youcan show them that you
Captain Suhail (10:38):
are someone who keeps their word. So if I ask
you to guard my treasure chestof seaweed biscuits while I take
a nap, you won't eat them.
Zaki (10:48):
You have a treasure chest of seaweed biscuits?
Captain Suhail (10:51):
Never you mind. I said nothing.
Zaki (10:54):
And that's the end of our story, friends. I hope it made
your heart feel full, just likethat little bag of gold kept
safe and sound for all thoseyears. Prophet Muhammad, peace
be upon him, didn't just say hewas trustworthy, he showed it.
In private, in silence, evenwhen no one was watching. That's
why they called him Al Amin, thetrustworthy one.
(11:17):
But guess what? Next time, we'regoing to see what happens when
Muhammad starts working out inthe big world. The markets, the
caravans, the trade routes. Willhe still be honest when money's
involved? When people arewatching?
When huge business deals are onthe line?
Captain Suhail (11:32):
Spoiler alert. He's still Al Amin, even when
camels and coins are flyingeverywhere.
Zaki (11:39):
That's right. In our next episode, we'll see how the
Prophet's honesty earned himmore than gold. It earned him
the trust of the most respectedwoman in Mecca. Things are
starting to move, my friends.The world is watching, the story
is picking up pace, and the nextchapter, oh, it's a good one.
Captain Suhail (11:57):
Ay, the winds are shifting. History's about to
set sail.
Zaki (12:02):
So come back soon for episode seven. Until then, keep
your promises, guard yourtreasures, and remember, you can
be someone people trust.
Captain Suhail (12:11):
Unlike the time I promised not to eat captain
salty's emergency biscuit stash.I technically kept the promise
until I got hungry.
Zaki (12:28):
This story was produced by Meraj Digital. Voices provided
by Wayne Holland as Zaki andCurtis Fletcher as Captain
Sohail. Episode written,directed, and edited by Syed
Kashif and Atif Hussein. Formore content by Meraj Digital,
please visit our site atwww.meraj.digital.
Captain Suhail (12:51):
Content copyright and production
copyright twenty twenty five byMeraj Digital.
Oh, what is this?
Captain Suhail (00:04):
Looks like a suspiciously shiny box just
sitting there all alone,unguarded, practically begging
to be opened.
Zaki (00:13):
It's got gold ribbon and twinkly stars. It's twinkling,
captain. Twinkling.
Captain Suhail (00:19):
Yes. Quite the visual siren song. Open it. Let
chaos reign.
Zaki (00:24):
What? No. I I can't. It's not mine.
Captain Suhail (00:27):
I didn't say you should open it. I merely admire
its unspoken invitation.
Zaki (00:35):
But what if it's a birthday present or a surprise
or a test?
Captain Suhail (00:38):
Ah, yes. The old mystery package moral character
check. Classic.
Zaki (00:45):
What if someone's watching? What if it's for me?
But what if it's not? But whatif it is? What if it has an
expiration date?
Captain Suhail (00:54):
Oh, boy. He's spiraling again.
Zaki (00:57):
I must resist. I must stay strong. I must sit on my wings.
I shall not peek.
Captain Suhail (01:04):
A bird of honor, a feathered fortress of
willpower. Thank you. You'resitting on a jelly sandwich, by
the way. Do you plan to eat it?
Zaki (01:20):
Meraj Digital presents The Amazing Stories with Zaki the
Hoopoe. Season two, episode six,The Secret Gift.
Salaam, my amazing friends. It'sme, Zaki the Hoopoe, back again
(01:41):
with another incredibleadventure. And yes, if you were
wondering, I did sit on a jellysandwich earlier.
It was grape. My feathers arestill sticky.
Captain Suhail (01:52):
A sticky hoopoe is a quiet hoopoe, a rare
delight.
Zaki (01:57):
Captain Suahil!
Captain Suhail (01:58):
I said it was a delight.
Zaki (01:59):
Anyway, let me ask you something, have you ever been
asked to keep a secret? Maybeyour friend said, Don't tell
anyone but I have a pet lizardnamed Marshmallow. Or maybe
someone gave you a gift andsaid, Don't peek until your
birthday. Did you peek? Behonest.
No. Good job. That's what wecall trustworthy. Can you say
(02:21):
that with me? Trustworthy.
Captain Suhail (02:24):
Who's giving away lizards? That sounds highly
unsanitary.
Zaki (02:29):
The point is, it's not always easy to wait or to not
peak or to keep a promise whenno one's watching. Today's story
is about someone who had to dojust that. Someone who was
trusted with something veryspecial, something shiny, and
something secret. And he heldonto it for a long, long, long
(02:49):
time.
Like longer than a nap thatnever ends. How long? Longer
than it takes a turtle to tieits shoes. Turtles wear shoes.
Don't think too hard about it.
So fluff up your pillows, zip upyour listening ears and get
ready for a story people toldfor generations. A story about
trust, about honesty, and aboutsomeone known by a very special
(03:13):
name. A long, long time ago, ina sunny city called Makkah,
there lived a young man namedMuhammad He wasn't known as the
Prophet yet. Nope, he was stillgrowing up, kind, helpful, and
always smiling, just like someof you.
Captain Suhail (03:33):
Except he probably didn't spill seed
crumbs everywhere he went.
Zaki (03:38):
The people of Makkah called him something very
special, a Lameen. Can you saythat with me? It means the
trustworthy one. Becauseeveryone knew if you gave
something to Muhammad, peace beupon him, he would never ever
lose it. He would never peek atit.
He would never use it withoutasking. He would keep it safe
for you, even if it was shiny oryummy or super duper tempting.
Captain Suhail (04:01):
Sounds suspiciously unlike my cousin
Jamshi.
Zaki (04:05):
One hot morning, while the sun was shining and the market
was full of people talking andclinking coins, a man came
running up to prophet Muhammadpeace be upon him. He looked a
little sweaty, a littleflustered, and a lot worried. He
had to go on a long, longjourney, maybe across the
desert, maybe across the sea.And in his hands, he held a bag,
(04:30):
a special bag. Inside it wasgold, 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 inthe whole city he knew would
keep it safe. The man said, OhMuhammad, can I leave this with
you? And guess what Muhammadsaid?
(04:53):
He said, yes. Prophet Muhammadpromised to take care of it. He
wrapped it up tight, tied thestring carefully, and tucked it
away somewhere safe, somewherequiet, somewhere only he knew.
Captain Suhail (05:06):
And then prophet Muhammad waited. Not even a
peek. I peek at seashells justin case one's hiding a snack.
Zaki (05:14):
Days passed, then weeks passed, then months passed, but
the man didn't come back.
Captain Suhail (05:21):
Oh dear, I didn't see that coming.
Zaki (05:24):
Mohamed waited, he checked on the gold, still there, still
safe, still untouched. Would yoube able to wait that long,
without touching, without evenshaking the bag to hear it go
jingle jingle? What would youdo? It's okay if you'd be
tempted. Grown ups get temptedtoo.
Captain Suhail (05:43):
I would have definitely jingle jingled for
quality control purposes. Butnot prophet Muhammad,
Zaki (05:52):
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, theman didn't come back.
Blimey, this story just took aturn, didn't it? Zucky, are we
(06:13):
sure this is still bedtimeappropriate? Don't worry,
captain. It's not scary. It'simportant.
Because something big washappening inside Muhammad's
heart. People in Makkah startedto notice. They might have said
stuff like, why hasn't thatmerchant come back? Or maybe,
does Mohammed still have thegold? Or, I mean, it's been a
(06:36):
long time.
Some people whispered, somepeople wondered. And some
people, well, they might havetempted him. Since the man was
gone for so long, some peoplestarted saying, maybe the gold
is yours now, Mohammed. Can youbelieve that?
Captain Suhail (06:52):
Oh, ho. I've heard that tune before. Finders,
keepers, losers, weepers. Aye,that's the kind of thinking that
gets you tossed overboard, thenhired back as the ship's honesty
officer.
Zaki (07:08):
But Muhammad didn't listen. Not even when it was
hard. Not even when it was soquiet and so easy to just take
one little peek. But friends,you know who was listening?
Captain Suhail (07:20):
Someone with a clipboard. Allah,
Zaki (07:24):
always watching with love, and he knew what was in
Muhammad's heart. Muhammad wasstill young. He didn't have
guards. He didn't have cameras.He didn't even have a safe.
Captain Suhail (07:36):
No security parrot either. Although, the
amount some parrots talk can bea liability.
Zaki (07:44):
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.
Captain Suhail (07:56):
Might have. You sniffed jelly sandwiches through
gift wrap.
Zaki (08:01):
Okay. Okay. But that's why this story means so much.
Because Muhammad didn't do whatwas easy. He did what was right.
Then one day, after years, themerchant came back. Yes, really,
his clothes were dusty, hisbeard was longer, his sandals
(08:23):
were falling apart. He lookedtired, like he'd walked through
10 deserts and half a mountain.But the biggest thing on his
face was
Captain Suhail (08:31):
worry. Worry? What was he worried about?
Zaki (08:35):
He didn't know if Muhammad would still have the gold. Maybe
someone else had taken it, maybeMuhammad forgot, or maybe, just
maybe, Muhammad had used it forhimself. The man asked
nervously, Muhammad, do youremember me? I left something
with you long ago. His voice wasquiet.
(08:56):
His hands were shaking. His eyespeeked behind Mohammed like he
was looking for a missingtreasure. And do you know what
Mohammed did? He smiled, walkedto that special hiding place,
and brought out the very samebag, still wrapped, still full.
It had never been opened.
Not one gold coin missing.
Captain Suhail (09:15):
Not one coin? Not even one. That's like
guarding a pie for an hour andnot even licking the crust.
Zaki (09:22):
The man's mouth dropped open. His eyes filled with
tears. He held the bag like itwas a lost friend. The man said
softly, You truly are al Amin,the most trustworthy of all. I
think I realized something, myfriends.
Being trustworthy doesn't justmean not taking what's not
yours. It means doing the rightthing, even when no one's
(09:44):
looking, even when it's hard,even when you could get away
with it. And okay, okay, maybe Idid peek at my surprise seed
muffins last eid, but I'mlearning.
Captain Suhail (09:56):
Aye, Zaki. We're all learning. One promise, one
coin, one crust, one crumb at atime.
Zaki (10:06):
So, my little listeners, what did we learn today? We
learned that being trustworthymeans keeping your promises,
even when no one is watching.Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon
him, didn't take what wasn'this. He didn't peak. He didn't
spend even 1 coin.
That's what made him al Amin,the trustworthy one. Because
(10:26):
when people gave him something,they knew he'd keep it safe. And
you can be trustworthy too. Whensomeone asks you to keep a
secret, or take care ofsomething, or wait until after
dinner to eat that cookie, youcan show them that you
Captain Suhail (10:38):
are someone who keeps their word. So if I ask
you to guard my treasure chestof seaweed biscuits while I take
a nap, you won't eat them.
Zaki (10:48):
You have a treasure chest of seaweed biscuits?
Captain Suhail (10:51):
Never you mind. I said nothing.
Zaki (10:54):
And that's the end of our story, friends. I hope it made
your heart feel full, just likethat little bag of gold kept
safe and sound for all thoseyears. Prophet Muhammad, peace
be upon him, didn't just say hewas trustworthy, he showed it.
In private, in silence, evenwhen no one was watching. That's
why they called him Al Amin, thetrustworthy one.
(11:17):
But guess what? Next time, we'regoing to see what happens when
Muhammad starts working out inthe big world. The markets, the
caravans, the trade routes. Willhe still be honest when money's
involved? When people arewatching?
When huge business deals are onthe line?
Captain Suhail (11:32):
Spoiler alert. He's still Al Amin, even when
camels and coins are flyingeverywhere.
Zaki (11:39):
That's right. In our next episode, we'll see how the
Prophet's honesty earned himmore than gold. It earned him
the trust of the most respectedwoman in Mecca. Things are
starting to move, my friends.The world is watching, the story
is picking up pace, and the nextchapter, oh, it's a good one.
Captain Suhail (11:57):
Ay, the winds are shifting. History's about to
set sail.
Zaki (12:02):
So come back soon for episode seven. Until then, keep
your promises, guard yourtreasures, and remember, you can
be someone people trust.
Captain Suhail (12:11):
Unlike the time I promised not to eat captain
salty's emergency biscuit stash.I technically kept the promise
until I got hungry.
Zaki (12:28):
This story was produced by Meraj Digital. Voices provided
by Wayne Holland as Zaki andCurtis Fletcher as Captain
Sohail. Episode written,directed, and edited by Syed
Kashif and Atif Hussein. Formore content by Meraj Digital,
please visit our site atwww.meraj.digital.
Captain Suhail (12:51):
Content copyright and production
copyright twenty twenty five byMeraj Digital.
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