Bilal's Bedtime Stories (part Two)

Al Quran - the Great and Holy Book

About a hundred years ago, England had a powerful Prime Minister. He was a Christian belonging to a high section of the Anglican Church. His name was Gladstone. One day in the year 1882, he was speaking in the British Parliament on how to weaken the power of Muslims in Egypt so that the British could continue to rule over them.

At one stage he raised a copy of the Holy Qur'an in his hand and said that so long as this book remained with the Muslims in that country and they respected and followed it, the British would never be able to dominate them. He added that the only solution was to try and separate the Holy Qur'an from the Muslims of Egypt.

At the end of the speech; a committee was formed to decide upon ways and means of carrying out Gladstone's recommendation. The committee resolved to send some experts to Egypt who would launch a campaign which would weaken the faith of people and make them suspicious of the truth of the Holy Qur'an. The aim was to discourage people to refer to the Holy Book and gradually make them turn against the Islamic way of life.

In the course of this political and vicious programme, a learned man by the name of Dunlop was sent to Egypt as a teacher. He prepared many books containing lessons which were nothing but propaganda in disguise.

One of the lessons on history was based on showing how Egypt was lagging behind and was not making progress because of Islam and the Qur'an. It alleged that people of Egypt were much more civilized prior to the coming of Islam.

Such ill-intentioned programme first succeeded to a small extent in influencing the youths at schools. Then the Holy men of Al-Azhar university protested to the authorities and demanded that an end be put to it. Now let us find out what are the qualities of this book which the enemies wished to remove from the Muslims.

The Holy Book is known as 'Al Qur'an' which means 'The Reading', the reading of the Prophet of Islam who never went to any school. Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) had retired to a cave on Mount Hira not far from Mecca. One day Angel Jibrail (Gabriel) came to him and said "Read".

The Holy Prophet said: "What should I recite?" Jibrail said: "Read in the name of thy Lord, who created; created man out of a mere clot of concealed blood; read; and thy Lord is most bountiful; He who taught (The use of) pen; taught man that which he did not know."

The Holy Qur'an as word of God, the Almighty, as revealed to his Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.). This book gives guidance for our daily life. It appeals to our power of reasoning, and exhorts us to follow the commands of Allah. It is a living miracle of Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.), the last of the Prophets who came from God. It is not surprising at all that this Holy Book has remained intact for the last 1400 years. And it shall remain so till the day of judgement, for Allah has taken it on himself to protect it.

"Surely We have revealed the Reminder and We will most surely be its guardian." (15:9) The Qur'an is divided into 114 chapters (Suras). There are in it 6226 verses (Ayats) containing 99,464 words made up of 330,110 letters. Imam Jaafer Sadiq (A.S.) has said that one should at least recite 50 Ayats everyday. Let us, therefore, value and respect this Great Book by reading it with understanding and follow its teachings.

MUST GOD BE JUST?

Kisra, A Persian King, was once asked, "How did you learn Justice?" He replied, "Because I know for sure that every man will be judged according to his deeds." He was then asked: "How do you know that?" He replied:

"One day when I was on my way to the forest, I saw a Gazelle. I sent my dog after it and it caught the Gazelle by the leg. But the dog did not catch the Gazelle in the usual way, for it bit and broke the Gazelle's leg.

Not long after, the dog was in front of a horse, that kicked it in the leg and the dogs leg was broken. Soon after, the horse's leg slipped into a hole and it broke.

Therefore, I realised that every person's award depends upon his deeds. When he does a good deed, he will be rewarded for it, and if he does an evil deed, he will be punished. Hence, I always do good deeds."

God does no wrong or evil. Anybody who commits wrong or injustice does so either because he does not know that it is wrong (but God knows everything) or because he needs something which cannot be obtained without wrong doing (But God has no need) or because he has been compelled by somebody else to commit that wrong (But God is all-powerful and nobody can compel Him to do anything). So it makes sense that it is impossible for God to do any injustice or wrong.

So logically we say that God is Adil, meaning that he is just. He is neither cruel nor does he do anything that lacks in wisdom. Whatever he does be it endowing life or giving sustenance or depriving us of anything, it has inherent benefit in it; Though the Benefit may not be apparent to us.

For example, when a doctor treats an illness, we know the patient benefits from the treatment, though we do not know how the treatment brings about the benefit. Thus, when we see God endowing one with riches, while leaving another in poverty, or granting one person greatness while denying it to the other, or bestowing health on one while the other is stricken with disease, we have to accept that these actions are based on rationalism even though we may not be able to understand the wisdom behind them.

"This is for what your own hands have sent on before, and because Allah is not in the least unjust to the servants" Qur'an: (8: 51)

From The Shadow Of a Tree To The Shadow Of Islam

Taif is a fertile green area around Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It has plenty of fruit gardens and a pleasant climate.

The people of the tribe of Bani Sakeef used to relax under the shadow of fruit trees in the Taif area. From the travellers of Mecca passing by, they used to hear reports about the Mission of Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W.). They came to learn from them how truthful, trustworthy and kind the Prophet of Islam was. They also came to know that among women Hazrat Khadija, the Prophet's wife and among the men Hazrat Ali (A.S.) - the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law vvere the first to declare faith and accept Islam.

They were also informed that the followers of the Prophet were still very few. That majority of the people from the tribe of Quraish did not yet accept Islam and were opposing to the spread of the religion. They had even offered Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W.) bribes of large sums of money and high post if he would stop preaching against idolworship.

One day when the people were resting under the shadow of fruit trees, they received news that Abu Talib, his uncle had come and told the Prophet "O my Nephew! the leaders of Quarish say that whatever wealth you demand they are willing to give provided you abandon the teaching of Islam." The Quraish tried again by sending Ataba to persuade the Prophet and offered everything that he would wish to have. In reply the Prophet recited this verse from the Holy Qur'an:

"Say: I am only a mortal like you; it is revealed to me that your god is one Allah, therefore whoever hopes to meet his Lord, he should do good deeds, and not join any one in the service of his Lord. " (18:110) Ataba was very moved to hear this and returning to the Quraish saying,

"From Mohammad (S.A.W.), I have heard words which did not at all sound a poem nor witchcraft!" He advised the Quraish to leave him on his own and added "Mohammed grew up among you and has always been most trustworthy and of good character. Now that he has come out with a message of one God, it is not fair to accuse him of witchcraft or lying. Do not molest him and let us see what will happen!"

Thus the Prophet of Islam went on preaching the message of one God and persuaded people to abandon the worship of Idols. On the other hand, the people of Quraish continued to interfere and oppress him and the new followers of Islam.

They asked everyone to boycott and not to have any dealings with them. They wrote the following orders on the skin of a sheep and hung it on the door of Kaaba in Mecca.

"Do not buy or sell to Muslims. Do not salute the Muslims nor speak to them. Do not give or take daughter in marriage from any Muslim. Do not have any dealings with them."

Thus the people of Quraish went on oppressing and torturing the Prophet and his follower Muslims. They would throw dirt on him when he walked in the street of Mecca.

One day Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) secretly went out of Taif to convey the message of Islam to the people there. But the leaders of that place laughed and jeered at the Prophet. They were always intoxicated by drinking wine made from the grapes. The Prophet was persuading them to leave this bad habit and was saying that drinking wine has no benefit, it makes man senseless, it badly affects health and more so, it draws man far away from God.

That day, the Prophet having conveyed to the people of Taif what he wished to about Islam, decided to return to Mecca. But on the way the children threw stones and laughed at him. When he managed to rid them, he took shelter and rested under the shadow of a grape tree. He raised his face toward the sky and said:

"Oh God! I complain to Thee for my inability Oh God! I pray to Thee to lead these people to the right path Oh God! You are the forgiver and kind". Incidentally Ataba and his brother Shaiba were in the same garden. On hearing this prayer of the Prophet, they felt sorry.

They called their servant Adas and gave him a plate full of sweet grapes and asked him to deliver them to the Prophet so that he may recover from fatigue. Adas took the plate of grapes and presented it to the Prophet. Before he started eating the grapes, the Prophet said "Bismillah" (in the name of one God). Adas was a Iraqan Arab. On hearing this, he began to wonder and asked what are these words! I have never heard them before!

Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) asked, "Where are you from?" Adas replied, "I have come from Nainawa" (a region in Iraq presently known as Kerbala). The Prophet asked, "Have you heard of the Prophet Yonus?"

Adas said, "Yes! Yonus was a Prophet. But why have you mentioned his name to me?" The Prophet replied, "I like Yonus, also am a Prophet and have come from the One God for the guidance of mankind."

Adas had already heard before of the truthfulness and trustworthyness of Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.). Now he became attracted towards him because of his kindness and good character. With tearful eyes he said; "Oh Mohammad! I put my faith in your prophethood, because no one would be willing to face such torture and trouble unless he was on the right path and had come to lead others on the path!"

This is how Adas, a pagan unbelieving Arab accepted the religion of Islam whilst under the shadow of a grape fruit tree and joined the Islamic brotherhood. Thus Islam spread gradually, not with compulsion or at the point of a sword, but through noble character and kindness of Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.).

ON THE PATH OF RELIGION

In a class at the Jaffery Primary School of Mombasa, it was time for religious instruction. The subject was: The meaning and benefits of following a religion. This is how the lesson went. Pupil: Teacher: Please, Sir, tell us the meaning of religion.

Religion is a collection of beliefs. It lays down the rules of character, how to deal with your family members as well as with other people. It also teaches us rules concerning money matters. They have been taught to us by the Prophets who were messeners of God, sent for the guidance of Mankind.

May I know what benefit do we get from following a Religion? By following the teachings of true religion, a person becomes happy in this world as well as in the next one.

Please, Sir, tell us what religion teaches us. The teachings of religion mainly consist of:

1. Beliefs: To believe in One God, who created this world, the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, and other planets and everything in them. Because of his kindness, he did not leave humanbeings without guidance. He sent Prophets to guide them to the right path so that they fulfill the duties he has laid down. Those who follow the teachings of the Prophets would be successful and happy in this as well as the next world.

2. Character: Religion teaches us to be good and kind to everyone, to love everyone, to respect parents and teachers, to seek useful knowledge, to protect our rights and thoseofothersandtolivemoderately.

3. Social and Economic Guidance: A perfect religion lays down rules about how to behave and deal with people when they do wrong. It also teaches us rules about money matters, how one should earn one's living, how one should take care of the poor and needy relatives, what type of business is allowed.

4. Worship: Religion teaches us that we pray to God and fast, so that by such actions we rememberGodandpurifyourBodyand Mind.

We should obey God only and not follow people. God has created all of us. Therefore he knows better what is good for us. He has laid down a code of life for our benefit. Therefore, it is in our interest to follow it. Pupil:

Teacher:

May I know, Sir, how belief in a religion affects our lives? Belief in Religion not only affects a person's spirit or soul but also his body and action. A person who believes in one God, acts differently from a person who does not believe in God. He who believes in God cannot at any time become proud, because he knows that whatever he has acquired has been given to him by God and God can take it back whenever he wishes.

He does not look down upon other people as he knows that all of them have been created by God in the same way as he was created.

He does not bow down before anyone but God. He knows that everything has been created by God and he provides for all our needs. He alone is worthy of being worshipped. He also believes in life in the next world and always tries to do good and refrains from doing bad. The better his deeds, the better will be his life in the next world.

A person who believes in God does all the good work even if he is not paid for it or appreciated by others. He continues to do good to others. He sacrifices his time, money and energy in serving people for the sake of God, as this pleases God. He does not become selfish.

Thus belief is connected with character and character with actions. They are all connected to Now Sir, can you tell us what would happen if a person did not believe in Religion? A person who does not believe in God and life in the next world does not know who created him, why he was created and what is the purpose of his life. He is like a traveller who is lost and moves around aimlessely.

When such a person falls into trouble, he has no where to look for help. If he wants anything, he has no one from whom he can ask to fulfill his wishes.

A person who believes in religion asks for help from God when he is in difficulties. He asks God to fulfill his wishes. He is sure that God will help him and will grant him his desires if they are good for him. But a person who does not believe in God has no one. A non-believer acts according to his whims. He is most of the time selfish. He is not prepared to help others for he does not expect to get God's reward for his sacrifices for the trouble he takes for others.

His only aim in life is to find happiness for himself at all cost. He does not know what is the purpose of his life. He does not hesitate to tell lies, steal, hurt others and do all sorts of bad things; if these actions will gain something for him. He does not know that God will punish him for his bad deeds in the next world.

A person who believes in religion is afraid of God and will not do bad things. He knows that any difficulty that comes to him in this world is meant to test his faith in God. He, therefore, faces it patiently and prays for God's help. He knows that this will please God and he will be rewarded for it by God in the next world.

The bell rang. It was time for another lesson. When the children went home, they fully realised the need for a religion. Since then, they respected their religious teachings more and more and made every effort to follow them. In so doing they became happier and successful in life.