For children, - Quran Stories for Children: Who will take the Noble Qur'an?

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A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso (Spanish artist who lived in France) to Raphael (Italian painter). They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.
When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Eid ul-Fitr, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.
He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art."
The young man held out this package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this."
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift."
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.
On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?"
There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, "We want to see the famous paintings! Skip this one."
But the auctioneer persisted. "Will somebody bid for this painting. Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?"
Another voice angrily, "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs (Dutch painter), the Rembrandts (Dutch artist). Get on with the real bids!"
But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?" Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting.' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.
We have $10, who will bid $20? Give it to him for $10. "Let's see the masters...." $10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?
The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!"
A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!"
The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over."
"What about the great paintings?"
I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!
Allah (SWT) gave His Noble Qur'an hundreds of years ago to guide us. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: "The Noble Qur'an, the Noble Qur'an, who'll take the Noble Qur'an? Because whoever takes the Noble Qur'an gets everything."

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Family Issues, - Daughters - A Blessing

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Allaah Almighty says (what means): “To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; He creates what He wills. He gives to whom He wills female [children], and He gives to whom He wills males. Or He makes them [both] males and females, and He renders whom He wills barren. Indeed, He is Knowing and Competent.” [Quran 49:50] Allah is the One, based on His ultimate wisdom, who grants whomever He wills sons and daughters; He grants sons only to whomever He wills, and grants daughters only to whomever He wills, and if He so wills, He makes whomever He wills infertile.
We notice in the above verse that the mention of daughters preceded that of sons, and the scholars commented on this saying: “This is to hearten daughters and encourage kindness towards them, because many fathers feel burdened by receiving a daughter. The common practice of the people during the pre-Islamic era was to hate receiving daughters, to the extent that they would bury them alive; therefore, it is as if Allah is saying to people: `This inferior child in your estimation takes precedence in My scale.' He also mentions daughters first to indicate their weakness, and that they are therefore more deserving of care and attention.”
Such honouring of daughters is the complete opposite of how people were accustomed to dealing with females in the pre-Islamic era, when they would degrade women and consider them a part of their wealth, and if news of a baby girl would come to any of them, it would be as if he was hit by a thunderstorm; Allaah says (what means): which means: “And when one of them is informed of [the birth of] a female, his face becomes dark, and he suppresses grief. He hides himself from the people because of the ill of which he has been informed. Should he keep it in humiliation or bury it in the ground? Unquestionably, evil is what they decide.” [Quran 58:59]
It is said that some enemies of Qays ibn ‘Aasim At-Tameemi, who was a pre-Islamic Arab, attacked his premises and captured his daughter. Later, one of these enemies married her. After some time, the clan of Qays and that of his enemies reconciled, so they gave this daughter of his the freedom to go back to her father or remain with her husband, and she preferred to stay with her husband. At that point, Qays took a pledge upon himself to bury alive any new daughter that he would receive, and the Arabs imitated him after that. It was, therefore, this man who introduced this evil practice, and thus he will shoulder his own sin as well as the sin of all those who did it thereafter.
One of the companions who had killed his daughter in the era that preceded Islam narrated his story: "We would worship idols in the pre-Islamic era and kill our daughters. I had a daughter, who, when she was old enough to comprehend and talk, would rejoice whenever she saw me and would immediately respond. One day, I called her and told her to follow me, so she did, until we reached a well that belonged to my tribe. I then took her by her hand and threw her in the well, and the last thing I heard her cry was: ‘O father! O father!'" (Ad-Daarimi)
During the era that preceded Islam, there were two methods that people used to kill their daughters:
· At the time of the delivery of the child, a man would order his wife to give birth next to a hole dug in the ground; if the newborn was a male, she would return home with him, otherwise, she would throw her into the pit and bury her alive, or:
· When the daughter reached six years of age, the man would tell his wife to adorn and perfume her, then he would take her to a well in the desert and tell her to look down into the well; when she would do this, he would push her into it from behind.
There were some men among these people who would forbid such acts, such as Sa’sa’ah ibn Naajiyah At-Tameemi, who would go to those attempting to kill their daughter offering money to ransom their lives.
There are people nowadays who share these same pre-Islamic beliefs; if they are granted only girls, which is of course something decreed only by Allah, they become angry, discontent and grieved.
With the advent of Islam, the darkness of that era vanished and Allah enjoined kindness, love and compassion towards girls. Taking good care of girls was encouraged, as was giving them special attention in the process of their upbringing. In fact, Islam has designated a special reward for raising them that is not granted for raising sons. Anas reported that the Prophet said: "He who raises two daughters until their puberty will be with me in Paradise like this", and he symbolized the proximity by showing two of his fingers with a slight gap between them." (Muslim)
`Aa’ishah(ra) related: "A woman by the name of Jameelah came to me with her two daughters. She asked me for charity but found nothing with me except a date, which I gave her. She divided it between her two daughters and ate nothing herself; then, she got up and left. After this, the Messenger of Allah came, so I narrated this story to him; he said: “He who is involved (in the responsibility) of (nurturing) daughters and is generous to them, will have them as a fortification for himself against the Hellfire.” (Al-Bukhari & Muslim).
In another narration of this incident, `Aa’ishah (ra) related: "A poor woman came to me with her two daughters. I gave her three dates; she gave each of them a date and was about to eat the third one when one of her daughters asked her for it, so she divided it between her two daughters and ate nothing herself, and I liked what she did. After this, the Messenger of Allaah came, so I told him what she did, and he said: 'Allaah obligated Paradise for her due to this date, and (also) freed her from Hell.'"(Muslim)
Pay close attention to wording of the following narration: the Prophet said: “He who is tested by (the guardianship) of daughters….” Why did he use the word: “…tested…”? He said it because raising them is a responsibility and a test from Allaah to see how His slave would act: Will he be kind to them? Will he raise them correctly?
The nature of this responsibility was further clarified in other narrations, such as: “If he patiently feeds them and endows them with clothing …" (Ibn Majah)., and: “…Provides for them and marries them off…” (At-Tabarani)., and: “…Properly raises them and fears Allah in the manner in which he deals with them.” (At-Tirmithi)
This is what is required when dealing with daughters: kindness, which results in Paradise, as the Prophet(saw) said: “Whoever Allah has given two daughters and is kind towards them, will have them as a reason for him to be admitted into Paradise.” And: “Whoever Allah has given three daughters and he perseveres through raising them, will have them as a shield for him from the Hellfire on the Day of Resurrection.”
A daughter is a great bounty and an honour granted by Allah, Hasan (ra) said: “Girls are a source of reward and sons are a blessing; rewards are in one's favour (on the Day of Judgement) whereas one will be held accountable for blessings.”
Thus, it is incorrect to believe that one has been humiliated by being granted a girl; rather it is an honour, a bounty and a gate towards Paradise. Daughters are a greate responsibility to rear, and entail greater expenditure, and this is why the reward for raising them correctly is greater than that for a son.
Once, one of the leaders of the believers was receiving people when a small daughter of his entered the room, so he kissed her; a Bedouin was also in attendance and saw this, so he mentioned daughters in a very evil manner. A wise man who was also present witnessed all of this and therefore said: "O leader of the believers! Do not listen to him. I swear by Allaah, that it is they (i.e., girls) who stay up to care for the sick in the family, who show mercy towards the elders, and who stand next to men during hardships."
A man was granted a baby girl, so he became angry and isolated himself from his wife for a long time, and after few months, he overheard his wife reciting the verse (which means): “…But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you…” [Quran 2:216]
How many girls have been far more merciful and beneficial to their parents than their brothers? How many times has a son been a source of grief for his parents, to the point that they wished he was never born?
Why do we raise this topic now? It is due to the vicious attacks on the Muslims under the pretext of defending 'women’s rights' which is in reality an evil attempt to play on the emotions of women so that they will become rebellious towards their fathers and husbands, and to encourage them to leave their homes and demand their 'freedom'. This is a gate towards evil and immorality which gradually attracts women and then traps them in prohibitions. One cause of girls falling into this is people neglecting their daughters and undermining their rights, which makes them easily fall into the traps of the hypocritical writers and columnists, male and female, who wish to see corruption prevail.
It is enough of an honour for girls that the Prophets may Allah exalt their mention, had daughters and that most of the children of our beloved Prophet(saw) were daughters, namely: Zaynab(ra), Ruqayyah(ra), Umm Kalthoom(ra) and Fatimah (ra) .

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Family Issues, - Easy tips to a sound upbringing

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The best way to discipline your children is to teach and guide them, more than obliging them to be disciplined. The process of improving a child’s behavior is an educational, not a punitive process. In this case, you should prefer a smile to frowning, a calm voice to shouting and a reward to punishment.
In this article, we offer you thirteen tips that will significantly affect your methodology while you change your child’s behavior. These thirteen tips will form a new atmosphere for discipline making it an easy matter. However, you should listen to, respond and consider every tip.
First: Be a good example:
Your child is watching you continuously and he absorbs the way you face frustration, your behavior while you are angry, the extent of your truthfulness, honesty, generosity, morals, and so on. Hence, it would be easier to change your child’s behavior if you are his role-model in doing what you order him to do. It should be known that you cannot give what you do not have.
Second: Encourage efficiency:
According to experts,“Self-confidence is a good cornerstone for self-control.”When you praise your child’s good behavior, you build his self-confidence. Such self-confidence will help you a great deal in improving his bad behavior.
Third: Teach your child social skills:
Getting the child accustomed to good social manners at a young age will save a lot of effort when he gets older. So, from now teach him to seek permission before entering others’ rooms, to say“Jazaak Allaahu Khayran(May Allaah reward you)” to anyone who does him a favor, to kiss his parents’ hands, to visit his relatives, and to help his mother with the housework. Every effort that you exert with a young child will be a great asset helping you to change his bad behavior when he gets older.
Fourth: Give your child authority to an extent that is proportional to his age:
The more you find ways to encourage independence, the more you save a lot of time in the future. You should teach your child to make his own decisions, for example, to choose his own clothes and to buy his own things. The child who has some kind of authority will control himself more and will be more capable of changing his behavior.
Fifth: Charge with responsibilities:
Many parents do not entrust tasks to their children because they feel that it is easier to do them themselves or they do not want to overburden their children. However, this attitude should be changed and the child should be encouraged to participate in the housework and to help his father at work. This should take place after teaching and training the child to do so in order not to feel a failure. The child who shoulders responsibility at a young age will be more able to change his own bad behavior.
Sixth: First attract their attention:
Your children may notice that you talk, but if they do not pay attention to your words, they will not respond. Therefore, your first step is to be keen on attracting their attention.
-Go to the room to speak directly to your child.
-Be keen on visual communication which requires flexibility to be on the same level of the child.
-Your demands should be simple and your explanation should be easy and clear to understand.
Seventh: Look for other means of rejection:
The child usually turns a deaf ear to everything that he does not like to hear. This means that the more interesting your speech is, the greater your chance is to gain their attention.
-Instead of telling the child,“Stop shouting”,you should say,“Please, speak in your normal voice.”
-Instead of saying to the child,“Stop throwing the ball inside the house”, you should say,“Take the ball and play outside”.
Guiding the child in a positive way will save you from direct confrontation related to his behavior. It will also give the child a space to choose. You should not say to him,“Do not play football”;rather, you should say,“Do not play football here.”
Eighth: Set limits:
Some parents fear setting limits thinking doing so will weaken the child’s personality. However, when you spend some time with children who have no limits, you will immediately realize the importance and positive effect of this approach on the child.
Ninth: Anticipate the situation and deal with it before it takes place:
For instance, if your child insists on having everything he wants from the toy store, then, you need to go there without accompanying him until he gets older. It is wise to avoid the development of some bad attitudes in our children.
Tenth: Setting punishments:
The best way to indicate your dissatisfaction with any bad behavior is to set punishments. For example, you may say,“If you do not go on time, you will not be able to go to the picnic”,“If you beat your young sister, you will not get your pocket money”,and so on.
Eleventh: Be flexible and ready to negotiate if necessary:
Flexibility in upbringing means having sufficient wisdom that does not drive the parent to ask the child to immediately do his homework after returning from a hard day at school. In this situation, the parent should say,“I think you should have some rest now. I will wake you up after you have rested.”
Twelfth: Using the method of rewards:
Reward is different from bribes.
A bribe is to make a previous agreement with the child, for example, to have a certain amount of money in order not to raise his voice in the market.
A reward is to give the child a reward in return for his polite behavior all the day.
Giving rewards enhances good morals and creates a new atmosphere. So, you should not forget to use it as a successful means of upbringing.
Thirteenth: Be firm on principle:
You should mind what you say and adhere to it. In this way, the child will understand that you are serious. This will save a lot of your efforts. Firmness on principles is the basis according to which you can bring up your child. If you can set some rules and behavior to be followed inside the family, you will grant your child the starting point according to which he can make his own decisions.

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Family Issues, - Love Her...

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Love her .when she sips on your coffee or tea. She only wants to make Sure it tastes just right for you.
Love her when she "pushes" you to pray. She wants to be with you in Jannah (Paradise).
Love her when she asks you to play with the kids. She did not "make" them on her own.
Love her when she is jealous. Out of all the men she can have, she chose you
Love her when she has annoying little habits that drives you nuts. You Have them too.
Love her when her cooking is bad. She tries.
Love her when she looks disheveled in the morning. She always grooms herself up again.
Love her when she asks to help with the kids homework. She only wants you to be part of the home.
Love her when she asks if she looks fat. Your opinion counts, so
Tell her she's beautiful.
Love her when she looks beautiful. She's yours so appreciate her.
Love her when she spends hours to get ready. She only wants to look her best for you.
Love her when she buys you gifts you don't like. Smile and tell her it's what you've always wanted.
Love her.when she has developed a bad habit. You have many more and With wisdom and politeness you have all the time to help her change.
Love her when she cries for absolutely nothing. Don't ask, tell her
Its going to be okay.
Love her.when she suffers from PMS. Buy chocolate, rub her feet and back and just chat to her.
Love her.when whatever you do is not pleasing. It happens and will pass.
Love her.when she stains your clothes. You needed a new thobe (kurta) anyway
Love her when she tells you how to drive. She only wants you to be safe.
Love her when she argues. She only wants to make things right for both of you.
Love her she is yours. You don't need any other special reason!!!!
All this forms part of a Woman's Character. Women are part of your Life and should be treated as the Queen.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) advised concerning the Woman: treat the women well. The best of you are those who are the best in the treatment of their wives.
No one honours the woman except an honorable man. And no one Humiliates her or holds her in contempt except one who is evil, vile, Wicked and depraved. Don't wait for that special occasion, take time Now to make her feel Special in Every Way.

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