BED TIME STORIES

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Thirst for Learning


Hadhrat Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) says:


"After the passing away of the Prophet (peace be upon him), I said to an Ansari friend of mine: ‘The Prophet is not now with us. But a large number of Sahabah are still among us. Let us go to them and get knowledge of the Islamic practices.’ He said: ' Who is going to approach you for learning a regulation in the presence of these eminent Sahabah?' I was not discouraged. I kept up my quest for knowledge and approached every person who was supposed to have heard something from the Prophet. I managed to gather substantial information from the Ansar.


If on my visit to someone of the Sahabah, I found him asleep, I spread my shawl at the gate and sat waiting. Sometimes my face and body would get covered with dust, but I kept sitting till they woke and I was able to contact them. Some of them said: 'Abdullah you are the cousin of the Prophet; you could have sent for us. Why did you take the trouble of coming to our places?' I said to them: 'I must come to you, for I am a student and you are my teachers.' Some people for whom I had waited said:






'Since when have you been waiting for us?' I informed them that I had been sitting there for a pretty long time. They said: 'What a pity! You could have awakened us from our sleep.' I said: 'I did not like to disturb you for my own sake.' I thus carried on my pursuits, till there came a time when people began to flock to me for learning. My Ansari friend realized this at that time and remarked: 'This boy has surely proved himself more sensible than us.'"


Source: From the book "Stories of the Sahabah" by Shaikh Muhammad Zakariyya Kaandhlawi.


Besides our quest for knowledge to earn a livelihood in this world, we must as well gain sufficient knowledge of Islam. No matter what age group we belong to at this moment, we should atleast have that much Islamic knowledge with which we can turn our 24 hours life into worship. Those with knowledge and practice will be exalted in this world and in the hereafter.

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THE MILKMAID





A milkmaid was on her way to the market to sell some milk from her cow. As she carried the large jug of milk on top of her head, she began to dream of all the things she could do after selling the milk.



"With that money, I'll buy a hundred chicks to rear in my backyard. When they are fully grown. I can sell them at a good price at the market."


As she walked on, she continued dreaming," Then I'll buy two young goats and rear them on the grass close by. When they are fully grown, I can sell them at an even better price!"


Still dreaming, she said to herself, "Soon, I'll be able to buy another cow, and I will have more milk to sell. Then I shall have even more money..."



With these happy thoughts, she began to skip and jump. Suddenly she tripped and fell. The jug broke and all the milk spilt onto the ground.


No more dreaming now, she sat down and cried.


MORAL



Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.

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Reading Quran





An old man lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his



young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen


table reading his Qur'an. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried


to imitate him in every way he could.


One day the grandson asked, 'Grandpa! I try to read the Qur'an just like



you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as


I close the book. What good does reading the Qur'an do?'


The Grandfather quietly


turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, 'Take this coal basket



down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.'


The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got backto the house. The grandfather laughed and said, 'You'll have to move a


little faster next time,' and sent him back to the river with the basket to


try again.


This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty



before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was


impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead.


The old man said, 'I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of


water.


You're just not trying hard enough,' and he went out the door to watch the



boy try again.


At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his


grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would Leak


out before he got back to the house. The boy again dipped the basket into


river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was


again empty.


Out of breath, he said, 'See Grandpa, it's useless!'



'So you think it is useless?' The old man said, 'Look at the basket.'


The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the


basket wasdifferent. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now


clean, inside and out.


'Son, that's what happens when you read the Qur'an. You might not



understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be


changed, inside and out. That is the work of Allah in our lives.'