THE PILLAR THAT CRIED



Adapted for children from an authentic Prophetic Saying in Bukhari
and Muslim with a quiz by Khadijah Stephens Mosque of
the Internet

Whenever Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, used
to teach his companions about Allah in the Mosque, he would
often lean against an old wooden pillar that supported the
roof. Nobody thought very much about the old wooden pillar until
one day it occurred to some of his companions that it would
be a good idea if they made a pulpit for the Prophet, praise
and peace be upon him, to stand on. This way the ever
growing number of people could see him more easily when he talked
about Allah. With this in mind the companions searched
for a piece of wood and at last they found a piece that was
just the right size. Together, they set about cutting and carving
the piece of wood, and at last it was finished. They
picked the new pulpit up very carefully and set it down near
the Kibla. Then, they stood back, and thanked Allah. Insh'Allah,
they were going to get an extra reward in Paradise for
having such a good idea and another for making the new pulpit!
All was quiet in the mosque, people came in and out during
the day and night to offer their prayers and then left, and
so it continued throughout the rest of the week. When Friday
came, the Mosque was busier than ever. People flocked to
it from all parts of the city so that they could offer their
Jummah prayer behind the Prophet, praise and peace be upon
him, and learn more about Allah. When the time for Jummah prayer
came to be offered the Muazin made the call to prayer.
Everyone sat in silence waiting for the Prophet, praise and
peace be upon him, to enter. When the Prophet entered the Mosque,
he offered some private prayers and then climbed upon
the beautiful new pulpit to give the sermon. It was very quiet,
there wasn't a sound to be heard, everyone was anxious
to hear what he had to tell them. Then, suddenly, a sound just
like a child crying filled the air and it would not stop.
The congregation wondered where the crying was coming from
-- none of the little children were crying. The Prophet, praise
and peace be upon him, glanced around the Mosque then climbed
down from the new pulpit and went over to the old wooden
pillar that he used to lean on when he gave the sermon. Then
he patted the old wooden pillar with his hand, held it close
to him and after a while the crying stopped. Everyone was
most surprised when they realized it was the wooden pillar
crying, they had never heard or seen one cry before. Now that
the old wooden pillar felt much better the Prophet, praise
and peace be upon him, turned towards the congregation and
told them: "The reason the pillar cried was because it remembered
my recitation of the Koran and how I would tell you
some Hadiths as I leaned against it." All was quite now that
the old pillar had been comforted and the Prophet, praise and
peace be upon him, returned to the new pulpit to begin his
sermon. The EndNEW WORDS


SERMON: A sermon is a lesson an Imam gives. Sometimes it is called
preaching. When the Imam give his sermon it is forbidden
for us to talk. If we do we have to say the prayer again.
In this story, the sermon was given by the Prophet, praise
and peace be upon him. The Arabic word for sermon is Khutbah.
IMAM:  An imam is the name given to the person who stands
in front of everyone and leads them in the prayer. PULPIT: A
pulpit is a type of platform on which the imam stands to give
his sermon. The Arabic word for pulpit is "Mimbar". JUMMAH
This is the most important day of the week. We know it as
Friday. It is the day when we go to the Mosque to say our prayers
at midday. This prayer is called the Jummah prayer. MOSQUE:
Sometimes a mosque is called a masjid. It is a building
in which we all gather together to worship Allah.
COMPANIONS: Companions are friends. However, in this story, the
word "companions" refers to the friends of the Prophet, praise
and peace be upon him. KIBLA:   The Kibla is the direction
we face when we say our prayers. When we face the Kibla,
we are facing the direction of the Ka'ba in Mecca. All Muslims
face the Kibla when they say their prayers. HADITH:  Hadiths
are what Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him,
prophetic sayings. Sometimes he would tell us how to be good,
at other times he would tell of all the wonderful things
that are waiting for us in Paradise, if we do what Allah tells
us. He spoke about lots of things and we are very lucky
to have them all written down so we can know exactly what he
taught. This story is one of Prophet Muhammad's Hadith, praise
and peace be upon him.QUIZ TIME

1.  What kind of tree was the old pillar made from? 2. Who used
to lean against it? 3. What did the companions make? 4. Who
or what was crying? 5. What did Prophet Muhammad, praise
and peace be upon him, do to the old wooden pillar?QUIZ TIME
ANSWERS


1. It was made from an old palm tree. 2. Prophet Muhammad, praise
and peace be upon him.* 3. A new pulpit. 4. The old wooden
pillar. 5. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, patted
it and held it close to him.
SCORE


1 - 2 answers right? You tried hard, but I am sure you can do
much better. Why not read the story again or ask someone to
read it again for you? 3 answers right? GOOD! You have answered
over half the questions correctly. 4 answers right? VERY
GOOD WORK! You listened well! 5 answers right? EXCELLENT!
You are an excellent student. Do you remember seeing * at the
end of question number 2? If you said "Prophet Muhammad" you
only get half a mark because you forgot to say "praise and
peace be upon him".
THE END



I hope you have enjoyed this story, Insh'Allah I will write some
more Islamic stories for you soon. © 1993-2004 The Mosque
of the Internet