For children, - Lovely Stories: Parents are a Great Gift from Allah! (Happy Parents Day, Islam and Parents)

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When we were young, we loved to play with our Mum and Dad. When we grow up, many of us leave them and only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents are always there and give everything they could just to make us happy.
It is time to really evaluate what kind of relationship we have with our parents. Below are few questions that may help:
1. When was the last time you visited your parents if not living with your parents?
2. When was the last time you called your parents if not living with your parents?

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Hajj & Umrah, - Hajj: A Training School for Sound Morals - I

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Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}And ]mention, O Muhammad[, when We Designated for Ibraaheem )Abraham( the site of the House, ]saying[, "Do not associate anything with Me and purify My House for those who perform Tawaaf and those who stand ]in prayer[ and those who bow and prostrate.*And proclaim to the people theHajj; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass* That they may witness benefits for themselves and mention the name of Allaah on known days over what He Has Provided for them of ]sacrificial[ animals. So eat of them and feed the miserable and poor.*Then let them end their untidiness and fulfill their vows and perform Tawaaf around the ancient House."{]Quran 22:26-29[
}Do not associate anything with Me{This verse plainly clarifies the great rule upon which the Sacred and that this House was built for worshipping Allaah Alone.
Then, Allaah The Almighty ordered Ibraaheemto proclaim the obligation of pilgrimage to all people and call them visit the Sacred House. Allaah The Almighty promised Ibraaheemthat people will answer the call by coming from every distant place. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}And proclaim to the people theHajj ]pilgrimage[; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass{]Quran 22:27[
The promise is still being fulfilled from the days of Ibraaheemuntil this moment and will remain so in the future. People’s hearts – whether they are rich or poor – long for the Sacred House and desire to see it and performTawaafaround it.
Then, the verse sheds light on some features and goals ofHajjas Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}That they may witness benefits for themselves.{]Quran 22:28[ These benefits include religious, political, economic, cultural, social and literary benefits.
Trade is the first worldly benefit of Hajj:
Merchants and traders find an active market in theHajjseason where goods from all over the world are brought to this Holy Land. Pilgrims come from distant parts of the world bringing some goods from their countries making an annual international market for trade. Therefore, Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}There is no blame upon you for seeking bounty from your Lord ]duringHajj[.{]Quran 2:198[ This indicates the trade that does not violate the original intention ofHajj. However, if preoccupation with trade results in a deficiency in the performance of theHajjrituals, it becomes disliked or even unlawful in proportion to the magnitude of the deficiency.
Knowing other races is one of Hajj benefits:
Allaah The Almighty madeHajjan annual global conference where all races and peoples meet in various places to perform the rituals. The old, the young, the rich and the poor see each other. They may gather around the Ka‘bah, Zamzam, between As-Safa and Al-Marwah, in markets and residential places, on the way to Mina, in ‘Arafaat, Muzdalifah, Al-Khayf Mosque, and so on. Allaah The All-Knowing, The All-Wise made these movements for the purpose of meeting and knowing each other even at the time of throwing pebbles. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allaah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allaah Is Knowing and Acquainted.{]Quran 49:13[ A pilgrim should utilize this opportunity in this large gathering that brings about benefits in various walks of life.
Humbleness is one of the benefits of Hajj:
You cannot distinguish from the unified look, chant and clothes ofHajjthe rich from the poor and the ruler from the ruled, and so on. The Prophet,, said:“Whoever refrains from dressing )in fancy, expensive clothes( out of humility towards Allaah, even though he is able to do so, Allaah will call him on the Day of Resurrection before His creation and will give him the choice of whatever garment of faith he wishes to wear.”]Ahmad and At-Tirmithi[ All pilgrims move from one place to another making the earth their mattress and the sky their cover. Hence, no one looks down on the other. The Prophet,, said:“Allaah revealed to me that 'You should be humble so that you would not boast to each other.”]Ibn Maajah[
)To be continued(

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Hajj & Umrah, - The Story of Hajj - II

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The Prophet,, continued:"Ismaa’eel's mother was sitting near the water. They asked her, 'Do you allow us to stay with you?' She replied, 'Yes, but you will have no right to possess the water.' They agreed to that.
"Ismaa’eel's mother was pleased with the whole situation, as she used to enjoy the company of people. So they settled there, and later on they sent for their families who came and settled with them so that some families became permanent residents there.
“The child, Ismaa’eel, grew up and learned Arabic from them, and )his virtues( caused them to love and admire him as he grew up, and when he reached the age of puberty they made him marry a woman from amongst them. After Ismaa’eel's mother had died, Ibraaheemcame to visit Ismaa’eelafter his marriage, in order to see his family that he had left before, but did not find him there. When he asked his wife about him, she told him that he went out seeking provision. He then asked her about their condition and way of living. She replied, 'We are living in misery; we are living in hardship and destitution,' complaining to him. He then asked her to convey his greetings to her husband and tell him to change the threshold of the gate )of his house(. When Ismaa’eelreturned home, he felt that someone had visited them, so he asked his wife about that. She replied, 'Yes, an old man of so-and-so description came and asked me about you and I informed him, and he asked about our state of living, and I told him that we were living in hardship and poverty.' He asked her whether the old man had left him a message and she conveyed his message to him. Ismaa’eelsaid, 'It was my father, and he has ordered me to divorce you. Go back to your family.' So, Ismaa’eeldivorced her and married another woman from amongst them )Jurhum people(.
“A long time passed before Ibraaheemrepeated his visit. When he visited Ismaa’eel, he again did not find him and asked his new wife the same questions that he had asked the first wife. She told him that they were in good living conditions and prosperity. She also praised Allaah. He asked her about their food and drink and she answered that they ate meat and drank water. He supplicated Allaah to give them blessings in their meat and water.”
The Prophet,, further said:“At that time they did not have grain, and if they had grain, he would have also invoked Allaah to bless it . Then Ibraaheemtold his daughter-in-law to convey his greeting to her husband and tell him to ‘keep firm the threshold of his gate.’ When Ismaa’eelreturned home, he asked his wife whether someone had visited them. She replied, 'Yes, a nice old man came to me,' so she praised him and added, 'He asked about you, and I informed him, and he asked about our livelihood and I told him that we were in a good condition. Ismaa’eelasked her, 'Did he give you any piece of advice?' She said, 'Yes, he told me to give his regards to you and ordered that you should keep firm the threshold of your gate’ Ismaa’eeltold her that the visitor was his father and that, ‘You are the threshold )of the gate(. He has ordered me to keep you with me.'
“After a long time Ibraaheemvisited them. He saw Ismaa’eelunder a tree near Zamzam, sharpening his arrows. When Ismaa’eelsaw him, he stood up to welcome him )and they greeted each other as a father does with his son or a son does with his father(. Ibraaheemthen told Ismaa’eelthat Allaah had ordered him to do a certain thing. Ismaa’eelsaid, ‘Do what your Lord has ordered you to do.' Ibraaheemasked, ‘Will you help me?’ ‘I will help you,’ answered Ismaa’eel. Ibraaheempointing to a hillock higher than the land surrounding it said, `Allaah has ordered me to build a house in this place.’
"Then they raised the foundations of the Sacred House. Ismaa’eelbrought the stones and Ibraaheem, mayAllaah exalt his mention, was building, and when the walls became high, Ismaa’eelbrought a rock and put it for Ibraaheemwho stood over it and carried on the building, while Ismaa’eelwas handing him the stones. During this they repeated the following expression)what means(:}O Our Lord! Accept )this service( from us, for Thou art the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.{]Quran 2: 127[

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Hajj & Umrah, - The Story of Hajj - I

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Ibn `Abbaassaid,
“The first lady to use a girdle was the mother of Ismaa’eel. She used a girdle so she could hide her tracks from Sarah. Ibraaheembrought her and her son, a suckling baby, Ismaa’eelto a place near the Ka'bah under a tree above the location of the well of Zamzam at the highest place in the mosque. In those days, no one dwelt in Makkah, nor was there any water. He settled them there and placed a leather bag near them containing some dates, and a small water skin contrainer containing some water. Ibraaheemthen set out homeward.
Ismaa’eel's mother followed him saying, ‘O Ibraaheem! Where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there is no person whose company we may enjoy, nor is there anything )at all(?’ She repeated the question to him many times, but he did not look back at her. Then she asked him, ‘Has Allaah ordered you to do so?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ She said, ‘Then He will not neglect us,’ and returned while Ibraaheemproceeded onwards. On reaching the Thaniyah ]a mountain trail[ where they could not see him, he faced the House and raised both hands in supplication to Allaah, saying:}O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in a valley without cultivation, by Thy Sacred House in order, O our Lord, that they may establish regular Prayer: so fill the hearts of some among men with love towards them, and feed them with fruits: so that they may give thanks.{]Quran 14: 37[
“Haajar went on nursing Ismaa’eel and drinking from the water. When the water in the water-skin had been used up, she became thirsty and her child also became thirsty. She looked at him tossing about in agony; so she left him, for she could not endure looking at him, and found that the mountain of As-Safa was the nearest to her on that land. She climbed up, stood on it and started looking at the valley keenly, that she might see somebody, but she could not see anybody. Then she descended from As- Safa and when she reached the valley, she tucked up her robe and ran in the valley like a person in distress and trouble, till she crossed the valley. When she reached Al-Marwah she stood on it and started looking, expecting to see somebody, but she could not see anybody. She repeated that seven times )walking between As-Safa and Al-Marwah(.”
Ibn `Abbaasreported that Allaah’s Messenger,, said:
“For this reason, people walk )Sa’y( between them )As-Safa and Al-Marwah(. When she reached Mount Marwah, she heard a sound and said, ‘Hearken!’ )talking to herself(. She then listened attentively and heard the same sound again. She then directed her speech to the sound saying, ‘I have heard you, so appear if you can help.’ She then found an angel in the location of the Well of Zamzam, digging the earth with his heel )or with his wing( until water sprung forth. She started to make something like a basin around it, using her hands in this way, and started filling her water-skin with water with her hands, and the water was flowing out after she had scooped some of it.”
The Prophet,, also said:“May Allaah have mercy on the mother of Ismaa’eel! Had she let the Zamzam flow )without trying to control it( )or had not scooped from t hat water to fill her water-skin( Zamzam would have been a stream flowing on the surface of the earth.”
He,, further added:
"Then she drank and nursed her baby. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid of perishing, for this is the place of the House of Allaah which will be built by this boy and his father later on, and Allaah never neglects His people.’ The House )the Ka'bah( at that time was on a high place resembling a hillock, and when torrents came, they flowed to its right and left. She lived in that way till some people from the tribe of Jurhum, or a family from Jurhum passed by her and her child as they )the Jurhum people( were coming through the way of Kada’. They landed in the lower part of Makkah where they observed a bird flying round and round. They said, ‘This bird must be flying around water, though we know there is no water in this valley.’ They sent one or two messengers who discovered the source of the water. So they all came )towards the water(."
)To be continued(

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