BISMILLAH IR RAHMAN IR RAHEEM THE WISDOM OF PROPHET SOLOMON Adapted for Children from an Authentic Hadith of Prophet Muhammad praise and veneration be upon him by Khadeijah Stephens Copyrighted 2000 by 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. Many centuries before the birth of Prophet Muhammad, praise and veneration be upon him, a Prophet named David was sent to guide the Children of Israel. He was a very pious man, he prayed half the night and fasted every other day. Prophet David was blessed to have a son and named him Solomon. As he grew, Allah blessed Solomon with wisdom and he too became a Prophet of Allah. On the outskirts of the city of David two ladies gave birth to lovely, healthy babies. One of the mothers was young whereas the other was several years older. They could not have been happier and the babies grew stronger and healthier every day. In those days housework was a lot harder than it is today. They had to fetch water from a well, grind whatever grain they had to make bread and search in the woods to find dry wood with which to make a fire to bake the bread. It was not only hard, but very time consuming. One day the two ladies settled their babies down for a nap together and went about their daily chores. During their absence, and unseen by anyone, a sly wolf crept into the house, stole one of the babies and ran off with it. The older mother was the first to return and went to see her baby. You can imagine how absolutely horrified she was when she saw a baby was missing. She looked all over the place for the missing baby but could not find it, all she could see were the paw prints of the wolf and she feared the worst. Sometime after, the young mother returned and she broke the bad news saying: "A wolf has carried off your baby." The young mother was devastated, but when she looked at the baby the older mother was carrying she knew the baby was hers and that the wolf had stolen the older lady's baby. Both ladies were extremely upset so they decided to go to Prophet David, who, incidentally was also a king, and ask him to resolve the matter. Prophet David listen patiently to the story and decided the baby belonged to the older lady and they left. As they were leaving they met Prophet Solomon and the younger mother told him what had happened. Now Prophet Solomon had an excellent idea. Without a second thought, he called for a sword and said: "I will divide the baby in two, so you can each have half!" The young mother was panic stricken at the thought of her baby being killed and cried out: "O Allah, have mercy on us, do not let this happen!" Then she turned to Solomon and said in desperation: "The baby belongs to her!" Prophet Solomon had no intention of killing the baby and knew from the immediate reaction of the young mother that the baby was rightfully hers, because no mother would ever want to harm her baby. He knew that the real mother would rather see someone else raise her child than let it be killed. The matter was settled, and so the baby was handed back to its rightful mother. QUIZ TIME What was the name of Prophet Solomon's father? How often did Prophet Solomon's father fast? Were the two mothers the same age? What happened to one of the babies? Who did the mothers go to first? What did Solomon call for? What did he say he was going to do? What did the young mother say? What was the decision of Prophet Solomon? Was Prophet Solomon's father a king? QUIZ TIME ANSWERS Prophet David. Every other day. No. A wolf stole it. Prophet David. A sword. He was going divide the baby in two. "O Allah, have mercy on us, do not let this happen!" He gave the baby to the younger mother. 10.Yes. SCORE 1 - 3 Why not read the story again or perhaps ask your parents or teacher to read it to you and try and get a better score? 4 - 5 Good, you tried hard. 6- 8 VERY GOOD, well done! 9 - 10 EXCELLENT, you are a STAR PUPIL of the Mosque of the Internet! Congratulations!