a story

--
Amina is not feeling very well today. She has caughta cold and she
coughs. Mummy tells her: "What you need is a nice hot drink with
honey. Let's go and buy some honey, and you'll see your cough will get
better insha Allah."
Amina and her mother go out to the supermarket. They stop in front of
the shelf where the honey is.
"Oh, Mummy, there are all sorts of different colours!"Amina says
excitedly. "Look, this honey is almost white, andthis one is golden,
and that one over there is brownish."
"Yes, Amina", her mum answers. "They are different sorts of honey.
There's clover honey, lavender honey, eucalyptus honey… and mixed
wildflower honey."
"But then, does honey come from flowers?"Amina asks.
"Come on, you know it doesn't!" her Mum answers. "You know bees make
honey. The bees fly from flower to flower to collect a fine powder
called pollen and a liquid called nectar. And then they make the honey
with their bodies. Since there are different sorts of flowers with
different colours and smells, this produces different sorts of honey.
If the bees have been only on clover flowers, they make clover honey,
which is almost white, like the one in this jar.
If the bees have been on lavender, as in the South of France, you get
this nicegolden colour. And if the bees go about on all sorts of wild
flowers, they produce mixed wildflower honey."
Amina asks: "And what colour is mixed wildflowerhoney?"
"Well, it depends on the flowers!" Mummy answers,. "Look, the honeyin
this jar is yellow, this one is brownish, and yet they're both mixed
wildflower honey."
Amina thinks for a while and then she asks: "But who has taught the
bees how to make honey?"
"Allah has taught them, darling", Mummy explains. "When the bees make
honey, they obey Allah.
Do you know Allah tells us about bees in the Quran? Listen to what He says."
And then Amina's Mum recites for her the verses from surat an-Nahl, "The bees".
"And your Lord inspired the bees, saying 'Take yourhabitations in the
mountains and in the treesand in what they erect. Then, eat of all
fruits, and follow the ways of your Lord.' There comes forth from
their bellies a drink of varying colours whereinis healing for men."
(Qur'an - Surah Nahl l, 68-69)
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