BISMILLAH IR RAHMAN IR RAHEEM THE MIRACULOUS PIECE OF BREAD Adapted for children from an authentic Hadith of Prophet Muhammad may Allah praise and venerate him by Khadeijah Stephens www.mosque.com Copyrighted 2000, The Mosque of the Internet and Khadeijah Stephens 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. 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. No alterations whatsoever are made. Reference to The Mosque of the Internet with its internet address www.mosque.com appears on the front cover. Should artwork be included in its publication the artwork must conform with Islamic principles, for example no drawings of human beings. The Mosque of the Internet is informed of its publication and ten copies of the published book sent to the Mosque of the Internet. If any of these conditions are not met then all previously mentioned permission/s are automatically revoked and legal action will be taken to the maximum extent of the copyright infringement jurisdiction law in the State of Delaware, USA will be sought. When the companions were forced to migrate to Medina they had left in secrecy to avoid further persecution by the Koraysh. The only possessions they were able to take with them were the bare necessities of life which did not amount to much. Poverty had become a fact of life to the Muslims of Medina. Even those that had once been wealthy in Mecca were now reduced to poverty. This, however, did not matter to them, they were grateful for their freedom to worship Allah and for the safe arrival of His Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, in Medina. Occasionally, gifts were given to the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, sometimes it would be food, at other times clothing and other items. However, he never kept the gifts for himself, rather, he would share or sell and then distribute the proceeds among the companions. Whenever anyone asked for something he never refused. One day, Anas, the son of Abu Talha and Umm Sulaim happened to overhear the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, speaking to his companions. His voice, which was usually clear and sweet, was, that day, unusually weak and Anas knew it must be due to extreme hunger. He was even more troubled when he drew nearer and noticed that the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, had strapped a stone firmly to his stomach to prevent it from swelling with air. Seeing the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, in such a condition upset Anas to such an extent that he rushed home to tell his mother and father of his concern. Abu Talha and Umm Sulaim, were very sad to learn of the Prophet's hunger and Abu Talha asked his wife if she had any food in the house. They too were very poor, and the only food she had was a few scraps of barley bread and something similar to butter. Without another thought, Umm Sulaim wrapped the bread in her scarf and told her son to take it to the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him. Anas found the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, surrounded by his companions sitting in the Mosque. As Anas approached he looked up and said: "Has Abu Talha sent you?" Anas replied that he had, whereupon the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, inquired: "Is it about food?" and Anas replied that it was. The Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, arose and invited all his companions to come with him to Abu Talha's house. Anas rushed on ahead to tell his father what had happened. Abu Talha was alarmed, and feared that there was only sufficient food for one and called out to his wife saying: "The Messenger of Allah, praise and veneration be upon him, is coming with his companions and there is not enough food!" Umm Sulaim replied: "Allah and His Prophet, know best". A few minutes later Abu Talha greeted the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, and invited him to enter his home whereupon the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, asked Umm Sulaim to bring whatever food she had. Umm Sulaim placed the bread before him and he asked her to break it into smaller pieces. This she did and spread some butter over the bread, then, the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, supplicated to Allah to bless the food. After he had finished his supplication, the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, invited the first ten people to eat. As soon as they had taken their fill, he invited the next ten, and so it continued until between seventy and eighty people had satisfied their hunger. It was only after all of the companions had eaten that the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, ate. Even after all had eaten food remained, so the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, told Umm Sulaim to distribute it among her neighbors. By the blessing of Allah, even after distributing the bread the remaining amount of bread was the same amount Umm Sulaim had before the invitation was made! Al Hamdulillah. QUIZ TIME 1.What was the name of the mother? 2. Was Anas the son or the father? 3. Why was Anas so upset? 4. What did the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, tell his companions to do? 5. What did Umm Sulaim say when she heard the companions were coming as well? 6. What did the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, do before anyone ate? 7. Did the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, eat the food in the mosque? 8. When did the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, eat? Did he eat before his companions, with them, or after they had finished? 9. What did the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, tell Umm Sulaim to do with the remaining food? 10. Was there any food left over after everyone had eaten? QUIZ TIME ANSWERS 1.Her name was Umm Sulaim, which means mother of Sulaim. 2. Anas was the son 3. He was upset because he realized the Prophet, praise and veneration be upon him, was very hungry. 4. He told them to come with him to Abu Talha's house. 5. She said: "Allah and His Prophet know best." 6. He supplicated to Allah. 7. No, he ate in Abu Talha's house 8. He ate after they had all finished. 9. He told her to give it to her neighbors. 10. Yes, the same amount of food as there was in the beginning. SCORE 1-3 answers right? We think you can do better than this, why don't you read the story again or ask your parents to read it to you, and try again? 4-6 Good! You tried hard. 7-8 VERY GOOD WORK! 9-10 E X C E L L E N T! You are a star pupil. When you are older you can read the hadith in a book called "The Gardens of the Righteous" which is a collection of Hadith by a famous scholar of Islam called Imam Nawawi.