What Are We Teaching Our Children?

What Are We Teaching Our Children?


I was visiting a friend when her six-year old son came in crying and complaining. A playmate had hit him. Instead of saying a few loving words and wiping his tears, his mother exploded. With a sneer she said, “How many times have I told you to hit back with a greater force? Then he will be afraid of you, that shameless, monkey-faced brat. But no, you have to get beaten like a little girl.” I tried to suggest to my friend that it was not right to teach a child to hit back and to equate him with a girl in order to imply a negative trait. I chose to ignore the fact that she indulged in name-calling which her son will surely pick up from her. She looked at me as if I were from Mars. “Children have to learn to be tough in today’s world. My son has to learn to fight back and defend himself”.

I have also heard mothers tell their children not to share their school notes with their friends. “Don’t be stupid and go around sharing your notes with everyone, otherwise they will get higher marks than you.” Most children today are not taught to say “thank you” and “please”. They are not taught to dispose of garbage in the proper containers. They are not even told to clean their plates and be grateful for the food they get everyday. They are also not instructed to eat without a fuss. “Oh, my son is such a picky eater. He does not eat any vegetables. He won’t eat anything unless he gets a burger and fries.” I have often heard mothers make this complaint, almost with pride! Our parents who taught us simple, useful and common sense things like kindness, selflessness and helpfulness seem so outdated today. My favorite anecdote comes from something my grandfather Abdus Samad was taught by his mother who was not literate, among other things to be hard-working and completely honest. One day when my grandfather was only 12, an opportunity came to him to practice what he had been taught. He went to buy a ream of paper from a small shop, three miles away from his village home. His parents were poor so he had to walk the distance. On returning home, he found that instead of one ream, he had two. The shopkeeper had obviously made an error. Abdus Samad was horrified because he had paid for only one ream. He immediately retraced his steps and walked the three miles all over again. The shopkeeper was surprised and told him, “Abdus Samad, one day you will be a great man.”The shopkeeper’s words were true. My grandfather left his village and became a director of public institutions. He received many awards. He was always famous for his honesty and hard work and never failed to attribute his success to what his mother had taught him in childhood. Abdus Samad’s mother, a villager who never set foot in the modern world, taught him well. What do we, who have access to so much scientific and psychological knowledge, teach our children? Courtesy: Arab News

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Prophet's Companions
Hazrat Suhaib Rumi
Lesson in Humility!

A lesser known fact about Hazrat Suhaib Rumi is that he was an Arab. Rumi got attached to his name because he spent a considerable part of his childhood and youth in the Roman sultanate as a slave. Suhaib was born in a Numairi family near Basrah. His father, Sanan bin Malik Numeiri was Governor of the old city of Aballah near Basrah under the Persian empire. He was a very handsome child with blonde hair and fair complexion. He was gifted with gentle manners and keen intelligence. He was perhaps only five years old when he was taken away from his mother by a horde of Roman soldiers who had ambushed their party, camping at a health resort at Sunni in current Iraq. Taken to Rome, he was passed on from one master to another. This provided him a chance to look inside the Roman society. He found it highly corrupt and full of vices. The weak were being oppressed. All kinds of perverse rituals were being practised. He developed intense hatred against the Roman society. He often thought the society needed a shattering storm to cleanse it.

Suhaib almost forgot speaking. Arabic. Yet he knew in the heart of his heart that he was an Arab and never for a moment gave up the thought of going back to his Arab family, tribe and desert land. Moreover, he had heard a Christian soothsayer saying that one day a Prophet would appear in the city of Makkah in the Arabian Peninsula. One day, he headed towards for Makkah. Arriving at Makkah, he set up a business which thrived very soon. His business partner was Abdullah bin Jadaan. One day after he returned from a business tour, he heard that Muhammad had claimed the Prophethood. Oneness of God is the crux of his teaching and he calls for justice, righteous deeds and forbids evils. Suhaib knew about the growing opposition against Muhammad’s message and knew quite well that the man was known as Al-Ameen (Honest) and Sadiq (truthful). He had no reason to disbelieve Muhammad (Pbuh). One night he secretly reached Dar e Arqam near Safa and heard the message of Prophet Muhammad from his own lips. The impact was instant and he entered the fold of Islam at the hands of the Prophet. This opened a new chapter of atrocities on Suhaib Rumi. But he bore it all with patience. When the Prophet advised his friends to migrate to Madinah, Suhaib also decided to go over to Madinah. But he feared that the Quraish would not allow him to leave Makkah with all the wealth he had earned over the years. Sensing his mood, Quraish set spies upon him who would not let him go away so easily.

One night Suhaib pretended as if he had indigestion and began to go out for answering the call of nature frequently. The guards set upon him were happy at the turn of events. Seeing his plight, they went to sleep. Suhaib escaped and headed for Madinah.

But the Quraish pursued him on horses and he was traced on the way. Suhaib climbed a hill and threatened to kill each of them with his sword. The threat worked. The Quraish proposed that he leave his wealth with the Quraish and in return he would migrate to Madinah. Suhaib agreed and told them where he had buried his gold and jewellery. Now there stood nothing in his way to Madinah. When he reached Madinah, the Prophet was very happy to see him. He told him he had made “a very profitable deal” with the Quraish. The Prophet repeated it thrice. At this Suhaib told him that this news must have come to him through angel Jibraeel. In fact one of the verses of the Quran testified to his sacrifice in these words: “And among the people is there somebody who devotes his life for seeking the pleasure of Allah. And Allah is very merciful upon such people. “This much was enough for Suhaib bin.

(Translated and abridged by Maqbool Ahmed Siraj from Suwarum min Hayathus Sahaba by Egyptian writer Dr. Abdur Rahman Rafat Pasha.)

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Pride and Vanity

When a man feels a superior over others and inwardly he feels an elationelation, this is called pride. It differs from vanity as vanity means consciousness of one’s elation while pride requires a subject and an object. Suppose a man is born solitary in the world, he may be vain but not proud, because in pride, man considers himself superior to others for certain qualities of his self. He allots one position to his self and another to others, and then thinks that his position is higher, and is therefore elated. This “puffed up” feeling which imparts a sense of “touch me not” is called pride. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) always used to pray: “0 God, save me from the puffing up of pride”.

People feel elated with their possessions. A merchant is elated with his stores, a landowner with his fields and groves, and nobleman with his retinue and riches. In short, every person feels proud of his worldly possessions and looks down on those who are lacking in them. He has no idea of what is meant by: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazzali

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Islamic Voice Quizzer January 2002

1. Where did Prophet Muhammad receive the first revelation?
2. Which is the longest Surah in the Quran?
3. What is Hadith?
4. What is wudu? How many rakahs of farz do you pray during the maghrib and isha prayers?
5. Name four angels as mentioned in the Quran?
6. What is Hajj?
7. What is the extra phrase in the Azan for the early morning prayer (Fajr)?
8. What does the word Caliph mean?
9. What was the name of Prophet Muhammad’s father?
10. Which are the two most important gifts Hajis bring back with them for their friends and relatives?
11. What is the sacrifice of an animal made during Bakrid called?

Write the correct answers on a separate sheet of paper and send it along with the coupon given in this page. Write your name, full address, age and school where you study. Entries without address will not be considered. The first three all-correct entries will be given Rs 100 each and three others will receive a children’s novel. Last date to send the entries is 10-02-2002.
November 2001 Word Jumble Results

First Prize-Halima Sadiya-Mysore-Rs. 200

The jury has found six other all-correct entries as the winners by drawing of lots. Each winner will receive a Children's Novel. Chowdhry Nazi Nasrin-Ambur, Ameen Shariff-Mysore, M. Asadullah-Trichy, Aafreen Fathima-Tamil Nadu, M. D. Zamir-Hyderabad, Fathima S. Beary-Bangalore

Answers to November 2001 Word Jumble are BAQRA, BAKKAH, BAMBOO, SIKKIM and RAMADAN
The name of the Monument is BIBI KA MAQBARA


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Double Vision
A. I. Makki

A long time ago, the world witnessed the birth of a nation, which was to become the greatest on the earth. Its founding fathers were men of great wisdom and the foundation of this great nation was laid on the noble principles of liberty, equality, justice and fraternity for the people of all races who were citizens of the country. As civilization progressed, this remarkable nation got the other good qualities in its guiding principles that would make its people the kindest among the entire human race. They were the best in taking care of the poor, they protected the weak and the orphans. Over the years, they learned to cope with all troubles. These people would be among the first in the world to raise their voice against injustices practised by other people.

All these qualities pleased God greatly and one day, one of the leaders of this nation had a strange vision in which he was told that the leaders of this nation would be gifted by a rare insight not found among other leaders of this world. They would be born with a vision and they would perceive with their right eye the faults of his people and with the left eye the faults of the other people of the world. The leader was warned to keep both his eyes open to fill the world with justice and pass this good news to other leaders who would be elected after him. For a long time, everything went well. Armed with this unique gift he saw the faults of his own people and those of others in the world. The leaders who came after him did likewise. Very soon, they came to be known as the leaders of the world enjoining upon the people of the world on what was right and forbade them from evil.

One day the leader of this great country who had just been elected to this office was told by his predecessor about this unique gift of God and passed on the tradition of double vision to him as another had done before him. The newly elected leader was extremely amused to hear this tradition. He joked about it to the leader who had conveyed the message to him. The leader who had finished his term in the office told his successor not to joke about such a serious matter for he had conveyed a fact to him and not a fairy tale. The new leader recognized this fact immediately on assuming office and what he saw with his right eye alarmed him a great deal. This powerful insight made him see his own faults and along with that those of his people. He did not like what he saw for their faults that they had developed within them made him feel ashamed. On the other hand, he liked very much that which he saw with his left eye. With this insight, he saw the faults of other nations and its people. That indeed, was nice. He broke into a smile of delight for this was much better than seeing the faults of his own people. He immediately devised a solution by which he would stop watching faults with his right eye. He covered it with a black patch. He set about the task of correcting the other nations of the world. The nations of the world soon started competing with each other in pleasing the people of this great nation and its leader. They did not want to risk offending this mighty nation in any way.

Thus to this very day, the giant among the nations of this world, have gone through the world carrying on in this fashion, their leaders always wearing the black patch on their right eye, enjoining upon others right conduct and never following it themselves. Gradually the secret of this double vision enjoyed by the leaders of this great people came to be known to the world. From time to time well-meaning friends have tried to advise its leaders to remove the black patch over his right eye, but the elected leaders have consistently turned them down. Others in desperation have tried to snatch it away but have been totally unsuccessful. Whereas some others believe there is no point in removing this black patch from the right eye of the leaders of this great nation for they think that all of its leaders have gone blind in the right eye for having deprived it of light during their long terms in their high offices

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Its All in Your Heart
Asma Humera

You believe in the existence of Allah, but you do not fulfill His commands.
You say you love Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh), but you do not follow his Sunnah.
You read the holy Quran, but you do not put it into practice.
You enjoy all the benefits from Allah, but you go against Him.
You acknowledge shaitan as your enemy, but you do not go against him
You want to enter paradise, but you do not work for it.
You do not want to be thrown into the hell-fire, but you do not try to run away from it.
You believe that everyone will face death, but you do not prepare for it.
You gossip and find faults with others, but you forget your own faults and bad habits.
You bury the dead, but you do not take a lesson from it.

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Would You Believe!
Shafia Ahmed
Red Cabbage - Acid Test

Red cabbage juice is called an indicator. It changes colour-red when it is mixed with an acid, green when it is mixed with a base. You can test some of the liquids you drink-soda, milk, lemonade to find out whether they are acids or bases. If the cabbage juice turns the liquid reddish, it is an acid. If it turns greenish, it is a base. Cabbage juice can be prepared by boiling five or six red cabbage leaves with two cups of water for 15 minutes. Cool and squeeze out the purple juice.

Milk - Invisible Ink

You can make invisible ink out of milk!

You need: milk, a cup, a piece of white paper, an iron box a thin paint brush.

Pour some milk into the cup. Dip paintbrush into the milk and start writing with it on a piece of white paper. When you finish writing, set the paper aside to dry. In a short time, you won't see anything on thepaper. Press the paper with a warm iron. The words will appear in a dark colour.

When the milk writing dries on the paper, it is white. The white writing is invisible on white paper. By heating the paper, you burn the dried milk slightly. It changes to a dark brown colour that you can easily see on white paper.

Vinegar - Clean Old Coins

White vinegar, salt, a small glass jar, measuring spoons, dirty coins or pennies, water, a towel.

Mix three tablespoons of vinegar and one tablespoon of salt in the jar. Put the dirty pennies and coins in the jar. In a few minutes they will be clean and shiny. Rinse them in water and dry them.

The chemical name of vinegar is acetic acid. The chemical name of table salt is sodium chloride. When you mix vinegar and salt you make hydrochloric acid which takes the dirt off the coins. Have fun with your friends showing them these science tricks.

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A Doll for Muslims Girls

Doll

So here is a doll for Muslim girls! A US-based Mus-lim company producing toys and games for childrens has created a doll for Muslim girls. Called ‘Razanne’, the doll was displayed in this year’s Eid ul Fitr celebration at Capitol Expo Center in Washington. Razanne creators, Noor Art, based at Dearbon in Michigan, said the doll is 12 inches tall and comes in three colours of skin, brown, tan and white, with blonde, black or brown hair. She could be seen in five outfits- Schoolgirl Razanne with books; Teacher Razanne with laptop, cell phone, glasses and a briefcase; Prayer Razanne wears a white veil and gown; and ‘In and Out’ Razanne has choice of two outfits for home and outside and finally Fun-time Razanne in a shalwar-kameez. In all moods, she has a head-covering which is removable.

Noor Art was set up by a new Muslim convert, Noor Saadeh who was a musician in New York before embracing Islam. She now teaches at several Islamic schools across the US and has designed Islamic toys and games. Among these are Mid-Eastern woodblock and Race to Kaabah Board Game. The price of the doll price ranges from $15 to $25. Log on to www.noorart.com or write to Noor Art, Suite 215, Livonia MI 48150, Phone: (734) 266-9953 or sales@noorart.com

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Amazing Facts About Arabic

Arabic is the language of Prophet Muhammad, the Messenger of God. The holy Quran is in Arabic. Arabic is spoken by over 160 million people, in an area extending from the Arabian Gulf in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. More than 600 million people use it as a prayer language in their daily lives. The United Nations adopted Arabic as one of its six official languages in 1974. In addition to the Palestinians, the governments of 19 countries use Arabic as their daily mode of communication.

“Arabic belongs to the Semitic family of language. Other principal members of the family are Ugaritic and Accadian (both now are dead). There are only 28 letters and most of them correspond to sounds in the English alphabet. Only three letters are vowels, and the rest are consonants. The earliest manifestation of a linguistic form which can be identified as Arabic is on a tombstone at Nemara in the Syrian desert, dated A.D. 328, The diligent study of Arabic can lead to exciting careers in various fields-like communications, foreign correspondent, reporter, translator, foreign service officer or interpreter.

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