BISMILLAH IR RAHMAN IR RAHEEM THE BOY WHO TALKED WHEN HE WAS A BABY Adapted for children from an authentic Hadith of Prophet Muhammad praise and peace be upon him with a quiz by Khadeijah Stephens Mosque of the Internet www.mosque.com TERMS OF PUBLICATION AND DISTRIBUTION The Mosque of the Internet grants permission to Islamic schools, organizations or Muslim individuals to download, copy, print, publish, record and/or distribute this story either for profit or non-profit without reimbursement to the Mosque of the Internet providing the following six conditions are complied with in full and without exception. 1. The Mosque of the Internet owns and retains the copyright of this story and no other person/s, school, organization or individual etc., owns or has any right or claim to the copyright. 2. No alterations whatsoever are made. 3. Reference to The Mosque of the Internet with its internet address www.mosque.com appears on the front cover. 4. Should artwork be included in its publication the artwork must conform with Islamic principles, for example no drawings of human beings. 5. The Mosque of the Internet is informed of its publication and ten copies of the published book sent to the Mosque of the Internet. 6. If any of these conditions are not met then all previously mentioned permission/s are automatically revoked and legal action will e taken to the maximum extent of the copyright infringement jurisdiction law in the State of Delaware, USA will be sought. BISMILLAH IR RAHMAN IR RAHIM Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, told us that a long time before he was born, there were three babies that spoke when they were still tiny babies. One was Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, another the son of a shepherd and the other the son of a pious lady who was the hairdresser of Pharaoh. This story is the story of the little baby that belonged to the pious lady. A very long time ago there was a lady who had given birth to a lovely bouncing baby boy. She loved her baby very much. He was a good baby. As soon as he saw his mother he would chuckle and kick his feet with joy hoping that she would come and pick him up -- which of course she did. He was so cuddly, and as all mothers do, she wanted only the very best for her son. One day as she was sitting nursing her son in a room that overlooked the street, she heard the sound of horse's hooves outside. Cautiously, she glanced out of the window to see who was riding by. As she peered out of the window she saw a handsome young man wearing very fine clothes riding the most beautiful horse she had ever seen. Wanting the best for her son, she immediately prayed to Allah saying: "Oh Allah, please let my son be like that young man." Her tiny baby heard what his mother said, stopped nursing straight away and said: "O Allah, do not let me grow up to be like that man." Needless to say his mother was astonished. She had never known or even heard of a baby that could talk, let alone be able to reply in such a grown up manner. However, the baby didn't say anything else, he just went on nursing. Sometime later there was a terrible noise down below in the street. Once again the baby's mother glanced curiously out of the window to see what all the noise was about. As she looked out of the window she saw a young girl being beaten by several men. The men were shouting as they accused her of doing bad things and for stealing. She tried to tell them she was innocent, but they would not listen to her but kept on beating and beating her. As they beat her, the young girl exclaimed: "Allah is enough for me, He is an Excellent Guardian." But the men would not listen and kept beating and accusing her. The baby's mother prayed again saying: "O Allah, please do not let my son be like her." Once again her baby stopped his nursing and said: "O Allah, please let me be like that girl," then continued to nurse just as if nothing had happened! His mother didn't know quite what to make of all this, what could it mean? She had asked Allah for good things for her son and for him to be protected from being like the girl. Yet her baby had spoken and asked Allah not to let him be like that fine young man, but asked Allah instead to let him be like the girl who had been beaten for doing bad things and stealing! Just then her baby looked up at his mother with his beautiful eyes, smiled and said: "Mummy, the man on the fine horse that you wanted me to be like is a cruel person and harms good people, he is a tyrant. As for the young girl, she did not do any of those bad things, neither did she steal. She is a good girl and worships Allah. That is why I asked Allah to be like her." The tiny baby didn't say another word and continued his nursing until he dropped off to sleep. His mother was overcome. She knew without doubt that her baby had spoken wisely and realized that not everything is at it appears. THE END WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED 1. We have learned that Allah always knows what is best for us. He knows lots of things that we do not know. So, when we want something, we must ask Him to choose whatever is best for us. 2. We have also learned that although some things look nice and we would really like to have them, they may not be good for us. So, if mummy or daddy say: "No" for something, we must be patient. 3. We have learned that even if someone wears nice clothes and has lots of things, that person may not be nice or as good as he or she appears to be. It is not necessary to have lots of things to make us a nice, good sort of person. What makes us special is how good we try to be for Allah, and part of being special is how good we are to our parents, brothers and sisters. QUIZ TIME What did the young man look like? 2. What did the baby's mother ask Allah for when she saw the young man? 3. What did her baby say? 4. Was his mother surprised when her baby spoke? 5. Name one of the reasons why the men were beating the girl? 6. What did the baby's mother ask Allah for when she saw the girl? 7. What did her baby say? 8. What kind of man did the baby say he was? 9. What kind of girl did the baby say she was? 10. Who did the baby want to be like? QUIZ TIME ANSWERS 1. He looked very handsome. 2. She asked Allah for her son to be like him. 3. The baby asked Allah not to be like him. 4. Yes. 5. They said she had done bad things and had stolen something. 6. She asked Allah for her son not to be like the girl. 7. The baby asked Allah to be like her. 8. He was a cruel person, a tyrant. 9. She was good and had not done what the men said she had. 10. The girl. SCORE 1 - 3 answers right? You tried hard, but I think perhaps you could do better. Why not either read the story again, or ask someone to read it to you. 4 - 6 answers right? Good! 7 - 8 answers right? Very Good!! All the answers right? EXCELLENT!!! This book is copyrighted 1993 - 2000 by Khadeijah Stephens and the Mosque of the Internet www.mosque.com