Islamic Ethics

Islamic Ethics75%

Islamic Ethics Author:
Translator: Hamid Hussein Waqar
Publisher: www.al-islam.org
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Islamic Ethics

Islamic Ethics

Author:
Publisher: www.al-islam.org
English

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Islamic Ethics

This is the English translation of the book: 'Akhlaq Islami' by Shaheed Ayatullah Sayyid 'Abd al-Hussayn Dastghayb, translated by Hamid Waqar. This book presents a discussion on the importance of Ethics in Islam covering areas like the intellect, religious laws and purifying one's self, and covering such topics as anger, lust, envy, arrogance, etc.

Author(s): Ayatullah Sayyid 'Abd al-Husayn Dastghayb Shirazi

Translator(s): Hamid Hussein Waqar

Table of Contents

Introduction. 6

Muhammad (S) Had The Best Ethical Traits 6

Allah Purifies (Spiritually) Whoever He Desires 6

Obtaining Correct Ethical Traits 6

Purifying Comes Before Teaching. 7

Theoretical And Practical Ethics 7

The Importance That Shahīd Dastghayb Gave To Lectures On Islamic Ethics 7

Footnotes 8

Lecture 1: Do Not Rebuild A Broken Dam. 9

Why Should We Be Separate? 9

Self-Building Along With Understanding. 9

The First Step In Purifying One’s Self Is Thought 9

Thinking About One’s Creation. 9

Standing Up Against False Ideas 10

Humility, Only For Allah. 10

Freedom Is In Piety. 10

Allah Swears 14 Times About The Importance Of Purifying One’s Self 10

Footnotes 12

Lecture 2: Human Intellect 13

Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs1 13

It Is Impossible For Something To Come Into Existence Without A Creator 13

The Fingernail 14

Was The Creator Unaware? 14

A Proof Of The Day Of Judgment 14

The Pious Will Benefit From Allah’s Everlasting Rewards 15

How Much Should Man Strengthen His Nature 15

Greed Compels One To Commit Any Crime 16

Bearing The Difficulties With Travelers Who Are Visiting Imām Husayn’s Grave 16

I Wish I Could Be A Flower, But If I’m Not I Do Not Want To Be A Thorn  16

Bashīr And Mubashshir Are The Same As Nakīr And Munkar 17

Footnotes 18

Lecture 3: Prophets and Religious Laws Were Sent For Mankind. 19

Knowing One’s Self Will Help In Ridding One’s Self Of Animalistic Characteristics 19

Others are for you and you are for Allah. 19

Why Doesn’t A Dead Body Have Feelings? 19

An Intellectual Proof Of The Immateriality Of The Soul 20

Ability In All Fields 20

They Have Forgotten Themselves 20

Believers Will Enter Heaven With Young Bodies 20

People Will Be Raised According To Their Nature 21

The Spirit Has Pleasure Or Pain. 21

The Punishment Of The Hereafter Is Different Than The Punishment Of This World  21

Perfection Is In The Hereafter 21

Expect Mercy If You Were Merciful 22

Imām Sajjād’s Conversation With His Servant 22

Footnotes 23

Lecture 4: Divine Wisdom is Found From One’s Head To Toe 24

Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs1 24

Nature’s Choice, A Clear Contradiction. 24

Millions Of Cells In Each Body Part 24

Humility In Front Of Allah’s Favors 25

Understand The Favor Before It Goes Away. 25

Footnotes 26

Lecture 5: The Means Of Understanding Man’s Beginning And End. 27

Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs1 27

Lifeless Objects Are Unable To Create 27

A Big Problem With Darwin’s Proposition. 27

Man’s Understanding Is Not An Offspring Of Something Material 27

Encompassing Knowledge Is A Sign Of The Immaterial Soul 28

The Body In The Hereafter is not Affected by Materialism. 28

The Rejectors Do Not Have Any Proof 29

The Differences In People’s Faces 29

Respecting Graves Is A Sign Of Accepting The Hereafter 29

The answer to this question is found in chapter Qiyāmat: 29

Hārūn And Mamūn Knew The Station Of The Imāms 30

Love Of This World Is The Root Of Sin. 30

Footnotes 31

Lecture 6: Purifying One’s Self; Knowledge and Action. 32

Habits Are Not Formed Spontaneously. 32

‛Alī (A) Also Struggled To Perfect Himself 32

Anger, An Animalistic Trait 33

What should we do when we are left without Choice? 33

Mālik Ashtar And A Young Man. 33

Showing Patience in Anger is a Human Characteristic 34

Muhaqqiq Tūsī’s Interesting Answer To An Ignorant Person. 35

How Does It Come To A Dispute? 35

I Deserve More Pain. 35

Refraining From Anger Is Refraining From Spilling Blood. 36

Footnotes 37

Lecture 7: Anger is Both Merciful and Satanic 38

The Existence of Anger In Man Is Necessary. 38

Animalistic Anger 38

Imām Sajjād (A) And The Servant That Killed His Son. 38

Do Not Get Angry From False Reports 39

Acting In Opposition To Expectations Causes Unwarranted Anger 39

Lower Your Expectations 39

Anger At Oppressors And Open Sin. 40

If One Over-Retaliates The Other Person has the Right to Counter-Retaliate 40

The Hereafter Is For One Who Does Not Seek Superiority. 41

One’s Love Of The Hereafter Becomes Clear When One Is Angry Or Lustful 41

Footnotes 43

Lecture 8: Lust Results In The Continuation Of Human Life 44

Spiritual Growth Is Also Found In Anger and Lust 44

Becoming Too Angry Or Lustful Or Not Angry Or Lustful Enough Is Dangerous 44

The Middle Course In Eating; Not Being Excessive 44

A Colorful Dinner Table And Different Diseases 45

One Must Follow The Middle Course In Sexual Desires As Well 45

The Middle Course In Marriage Is Relative 46

The Spiritual Benefits Of Making A Family. 46

Do Not Oppress Nor Be Oppressed. 46

Being Indifferent 46

The Prophet (S) Did Not Want Respect 47

Be Happy If Someone Did Not Treat You Ill 47

The Prophet (S) And Imāms (A) Did Not Have Expectations 47

We Should Not Expect Greetings And Respect 47

Footnotes 48

Lecture 9: Lust And Anger Must Be In Accordance To One’s Intellect And Divine Decree 49

Physical And Spiritual Benefits Found In Food. 49

Worshipping One’s Stomach. 49

One, While Eating, Should Remember That Allah Blessed Him With This Food  49

The Middle Course In Marriage And Anger 50

The Prophet (S) Never Had Personal Anger 50

Imām ‛Alī’ (A) And ‛Amr Bin ‛Abd Wudd. 50

Tribalism. 50

Tribalism Is Against The Divine Decree 50

Loving One’s Family And Tribalism Are Two Different Things 51

Footnotes 52

Lecture 10: Showing Anger with The Tongue, Hand or Heart 53

Answer Bad With Good. 53

The Other Person Will Be Ashamed When You Act Well With Them. 53

An Eye For An Eye Limited By The Divine Decree 53

Dignity And Comfort In Front Of Tribalism. 54

The Peace Treaty Of Hudaybīyah. 54

In Any Case, Muhammad (S) Is A Prophet 55

Do Not Lose Your Calm. 55

Stepping Over The Limits Of Anger 55

Do Not Bear Oppression At The Beginning. 55

Footnotes 57

Lecture 11: Envy Destroys One’s Health. 58

Envy Does Not Allow Faith To Remain In One’s Heart 58

Envy Kills Scholars 58

The Envious Judge Tries To Give The Imām The Death Penalty. 59

Understanding Reality Will Not Come From Reading Books Alone 60

Footnotes 61

Lecture 12: Knowledge, Like Property and Social Status, Brings About Arrogance 62

Compound Ignorance Makes One Forget That He’s A Servant 62

He Tried To Kill Himself In Two Different Ways, But Survived. 62

A Scholar Is Also In Need Of Allah Regarding His Knowledge 63

A Doctor Who Accidentally Killed His Own Son. 63

A Scholar Must Be Humble 63

Lecture 13: The Cure of Arrogance, According To Imām ‛Alī (A) 65

One Becomes The Measure Of Reality When Arrogance Grows In One’s Spirit 65

Arrogance Because Of Property Is The Result Of Being Ignorant About Reality  65

Being Arrogant Because Of Knowledge Is Dangerous 66

I Am The Lowest Of The Lowest 66

I Feel Lower Than You. 66

An Undeserving Scholar’s Fanaticism. 67

The Cure Of Arrogance 67

Practice Not Giving Orders 67

Footnotes 69

Introduction

Prophet Muhammad (S) said: “I have not been sent except to perfect the ethical system (makārim al-akhlāq).”1

One's actions, when performed out of choice, are due to knowledge, belief and habits. For example, suppose one is thirsty, knows that water is near him and knows that water will relieve his thirst. In this case he will drink water because of his knowledge.

There are also examples of habits. For example, a stingy person will not want to help a needy person, even if he realizes his need, while a generous person will help a needy person without thinking about it. His generosity pushes him towards helping the needy person.

There are rules found in Islam with the purpose of obtaining correct beliefs and habits. The blessings of good habits are found in one's actions.

There are many traditions from the infallibles (a) that claim that good ethics were the Prophets' most important trait. They said that Allah gave them these high traits and that they encouraged mankind to obtain these high traits.2

Muhammad (S) Had The Best Ethical Traits

Prophets were chosen by Allah and ordered to guide mankind and better humanity. The leader of the Prophets is the seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (S). He was raised by Allah. In the Qurān it says that Allah taught him what he did not know.3 The Qurān says that he had the best ethical traits in order for him to be able to improve his nation until the Day of Judgment.4 The Qurān says that he is high in every ethical trait.5 The Qurān also says that his mission was to teach and better humanity.6

Imām ‛Alī (a) said the following about Prophet Muhammad (S): “Allah sent his highest angel to show Muhammad (S) the right path and correct ethical traits from the time he breastfed.7

With this said he would ask Allah to give him good ethical traits and to be safe from bad ethical traits.8

Allah Purifies (Spiritually) Whoever He Desires

It is clear that 'muzakka' is Allah's purifying ability found in the verse:“..Allah purifies whomever He wishes.” 9 Nobody can purify his own self; instead he must follow the Islamic laws which would result in purification. How is one able to purify himself when it is necessary to have complete knowledge of one's self and complete knowledge of how to correct one's self?

Man only has surface knowledge of himself. The Qurān even says that man has been given only a little bit of knowledge.10

Obtaining Correct Ethical Traits

Man, from childhood, begins to be attracted to certain things, for example milk and toys. Eventually, he becomes attracted to money and he finds a sense of self-love. A child struggles to get what he wants, delicious food or interesting toys, and shows a negative reaction when denied what he wants.

Purifying Comes Before Teaching

The Qurān mentions two verses11 regarding the Prophet's duties. The word purifying has been mentioned before teaching in these two verses. The reason for this might be that one must build the foundation before he can fill the house with knowledge.

A person who has knowledge, but does not act upon it, is, as the Qurān says, like a dog.12 The Qurān also likens him to a donkey that carries books.13

Theoretical And Practical Ethics

One can obtain good ethical traits by both theory and practice. One who wants to rid himself of bad ethical traits and obtain good ethical traits must know what good and bad characteristics are. After he knows the good and bad traits he should take advice from the best ethical teachers, Prophet Muhammad (S) and the Ahl al-Bayt (a).

A point that must be mentioned is that Allah is the one who purifies people. So, one must ask Allah for help in obtaining these traits. Imām Sādiq (a) said: “Whoever has these great ethical traits should thank Allah, and whoever does not have them should ask Allah for them.”14

The Importance That Shahīd Dastghayb Gave To Lectures On Islamic Ethics

The martyr had a special desire to help the seminary students purify themselves. He would teach Islamic ethics every Thursday. He would tell them that they would have to be the role models of the Islamic ethical system in the society and that the more they worked on themselves, the more they worked on society. This is because one must guide people with their actions and manners before their words.

After Imām Khomeini (r) talked about the importance of unity between the university and the religious seminary, Shahīd Dastghayb invited university students to his Thursday lectures as well. Many young men and women accepted his invitation and took part in his lectures every week.

Thirteen lectures were given and then the class was cancelled due to summer vacation. Shahīd Dastghayb wanted to continue them, but the hypocrites took him away from us.

This book is a collection of these lectures.

Footnotes

1. Shaykh ‛Alī Namāzī, Mustadrak Safīnat al-Bihār, volume 1, page 410.

2. Shaykh Kulaynī, Usūl al-Kāfī, volume 3, page 95.

3. Refer to 4:113.

4. Refer to 93:6.

5. Refer to 68:4.

6. Refer to 3:164.

7. Shaykh ‛Alī Namāzī, Mustadrak Safīnat al-Bihār, volume 1, page 415.

8. Shaykh ‛Alī Namāzī, Mustadrak Safīnat al-Bihār, volume 1, under the word ‘khalq’.

9. 4:49.

10. Refer to 17:85.

11. Refer to 3:163 and 62:2.

12. Refer to 7:176.

13. Refer to 62:5.

14. Shaykh Kulaynī, Usūl al-Kāfī, chapter Makarim al-Akhlāq.

Lecture 1: Do Not Rebuild A Broken Dam

Imām Khomeini said that some subjects should be repeated in order to be effective. Likewise, many subjects are repeated in the Holy Qurān. This is the purpose of these lectures.

On the day of unity between university students and seminary students, Imām said: “With this revolution, you were able to break the dam that Ridā Khān and his son built between the university and the religious seminary, between the university students and the seminary students. They built this dam so that these two forces would not join hands and cause problems for their dictatorship. The revolution broke the dam; do not let this dam be built again.”

Why Should We Be Separate?

From the beginning of the revolution you have seen how some people disrespect the religious scholars in their speeches. They want to take the love that the youth have for scholars out of their hearts so that they can establish another dictatorship. University students must be one with religious students. The goal of both institutions are one; serving mankind. Both the university and the religious seminary study medicine. Those who specialize in physical medicine cure physical diseases and those who specialize in spiritual medicine cure spiritual diseases. Both have one goal; serving mankind. Why should they be separated from each other?

We will spend one day a week in this place to take care of the second goal. The second goal is what Imām said: “University and religious students must purify themselves.” They will cause harm to society if they are not purified. An unpurified doctor will cause harm to the society just like an unpurified mujtahid.1 Imām gave examples of these as well. Doctor Ahmadī, who lived in the Pahlavī period, was killed by an injection and Shaykh Nūrī was executed by the order of a Shaykh from Zanjān.

Self-Building Along With Understanding

One must both study and purify himself. The Qurān mentioned that the Prophets' duties were both purifying and teaching.2 If one refrains from purifying himself he would be like a donkey that carries books.3 An example is Pharaoh; he had so much knowledge, but still fought against Mūsa. He thought himself to be better than Mūsa.

In short, we must consider self-building more important than learning. Purifying one's self does not come with out struggle. Imām ‛Alī (a) said: “I struggle against myself so that I will be safe on the Day of Judgment.”4

The First Step In Purifying One’s Self Is Thought

Purification will not happen without struggle. The biggest part of the road to purification is thought and action. I will briefly explain this. The biggest step, as mentioned in the Holy Qurān, is thought. The Qurān has ordered us in different verses to ponder upon different subjects. One must think about where he came from, where he is and where he's going and why.

Thinking About One’s Creation

First, we were all drops of water, and then Allah ordered us to be created.5 One would understand many things if he ponders upon this. One can understand the glory of his body and the amazing relations between the different parts of the body. Allah created different parts of the body from this one drop of water. For example, one's eyes, ears, liver and heart. The liver does many things. Blood is always traveling through our veins. This is one thought where one can understand Allah as well as the fact that one is a servant of His. Allah's strength is unlimited; He is able to do all things. This thought is part of our fundamental beliefs.

Standing Up Against False Ideas

Everybody was a drop of sperm that did not have any knowledge or ability. There was no 'I'. If it was left that way, even for a hundred years, we would not have come into existence. The Question comes up, what is this 'I'? The thought that one has power which comes from seeing one's existence, one's eyes, ears, tongue and so forth, must be corrected.

One must understand that this power belongs to someone else; the one who created this body and allowed it to move. One stops saying 'I' when he understands this reality. One would no longer consider himself better than others, take pride in his self or seek popularity when he understands this reality. The beginning and end of two people are the same. Between the two ends, no one is able to help or hurt his own self.6 Who is able to stop old age?

One who sees power in himself forgets his beginning and his end. He is the one who says 'I'.

Humility, Only For Allah

One should not be humble in front of anyone except Allah. One should only prostrate in front of Allah. Everybody is a servant of Allah and needs Allah to the same degree. The Qurān says that man needs Allah but Allah does not need anyone.7 No group of people is better than another; the only thing that makes somebody better is piety. It is unreasonable for one person to follow another or to be the slave of another.

Freedom Is In Piety

Imām ‛Alī (a) said in the Nahj al-Balāghah: “Verily, piety frees one from every kind of slavery.”

Whoever walks on the road of piety is free, while those who are not pious must lower themselves to get what they want. As Shaykh Bahā'ī (r) said: “If the curtain was removed, we would see that they are dogs prostrating in front of dogs.”

One's life is his own when he does not have to perform low actions in order to breathe. This is just like the Messenger of Allah's (S) statement: “My life is yours and my death is yours.” The people who are not lowered by possessions, positions or popularity are free. Do not become the slave of anything. Only lower your head to one thing: Allah.

Allah Swears 14 Times About The Importance Of Purifying One’s Self

Purifying one's self is freeing one's self of his evil desires. No subject has been emphasized as much as this in the Holy Qurān. Allah, in Surah Shams, swears 14/ times that those who are pious will receive bliss. Allah swears by 14 grand objects that he created that only those who purify themselves will reach salvation. He would be successful in this world and the next. Woe be to the one who did not work on himself, who followed his carnal desires to such a point that it is now impossible to improve himself.

So, we must try and work on ourselves. We must give importance to becoming real human beings. We must loosen the shackles of slavery from our feet. The summary of this lecture is that we should think about the creation of our bodies so that we will become aware of Allah's knowledge and strength as well as become more humble.

Footnotes

1. A mujtahid is one who is able to derive religious rulings from their sources.

2. 62:2.

3. 62:5.

4. Imām ‛Alī, Nahj al-Balāgha, letter 45.

5. Refer to 86:5-7.

6. Refer to the supplication found in Mafātīh al-Jinān which is to be read after the afternoon prayer.

7. Refer to 35:15.

Story no. 40: Jawad playing with Naser

Jawad and Naser were neighbours and sometimes played in the streets also.

While playing, Jawad said“ I swear on my mother’s life.

Naser said “ It seems as if you love your mother very much!” .

Jawad replied“ Of course I do, because the Holy Prophet (saw) has said “Paradise lies under the feet of the mother” .

Story no. 41: Majid and an action against etiquettes.

Majid was a youngster of 11 years.

As he was passing by the corner of a wall he saw Hormuz, a boy from the next street, climbed up on the wall and plucking figs and eating them.

He called out to him“Hey, Hormuz, come down, otherwise I’ll report to the owner of the house” .

When Hormuz heard this, he at once came down. After he did, Majid advised him and said “You did two things that were against morals. First, you climbed the wall of somebody’s house, and secondly, you plucked and ate someone else’s fruit without their permission, this is theft. Do not repeat it again.

Bravo for Majid and his good training school that he talked about ‘actions against morals’ with others and advised them.

Story no. 42: Unhappiness of Miss Zahra

Farida went to her neighbour, Zahra’s house and greeted her.

Zahra answered and said“ I am very unhappy” .

Farida asked“why? You should not be sad!”

Zahra answered“I am sad because since two days my parents have gone on a trip and I am alone at home with my Grandmother and brother.

Farida said “ Excuse me, but this is not a thing to be sad about!”

Zahra said“Actually I love my mother and father very much so separation from them is very hard for me.”

Yes, blessed are the children who have such an attachment with their parents and respect their parents’ pleasure, because the pleasure of parents comes under the pleasure of God.

Story no. 43: Habib, the son of Mashhadi Abbas.

Habib, who was the son of Mashhadi Abbas, was once playing with children in the corner of the street.

Suddenly the loud voice of Maghribain namaz Azan reached their ears.

Habib said“Bye, friends.”

Everyone said“Why?”

Habib said“ It is the time of namaz now. I won’t play anymore, I must go the mosque to pray” .

After Habib departed, one of the children said“Blessed is Habib, really. He recites namaz even though he is a child. I do not know how to pray it” .

The others admitted too that they did not know how to perform namaz.

Another one of the children stood up and said “ Friends, I have a plan. From tomorrow, instead of playing, we will learn namaz from Habib and even go to the mosque with him.

Story no. 44: The chicks of the house.

Aziz, a boy of four years, said to his father“If it is possible, please bring some chicks to the house so that we can raise them” .Aqa Aqeel, the father of the children, bought a few chicks for the children. Everyday the children gathered round the chicks and enjoyed watching them.

But one day, Aqa Aqeel saw that each of the children had a stick in their hands and were pestering the chicks.

Their father said“ I am going to take these chicks this very day and sell them” .

The children inquired“Father, why?”

Their father replied“ I am doing this because you were pestering the chicks. Don’t you know that you should not pester any animal?”

Little Taqi, with watering eyes, said“Father, do not sell them, we will not pester them anymore” .

Story no. 45: The neighbours boy on a tricycle

Asad was a 5 year old boy.

Sometimes he went to the street and played with the children.

But one day when he came, he saw a boy of his own neighbourhood riding a beautiful and shining tricycle.

He ran indoors to his mother and said“Mother, a father has bought a tricycle for his son, I want one too” .

“When father comes home tonight, please ask him to buy a tricycle for me” .

His mother said“I will not do such a thing. His salary is too less to afford it” .“We must be content with whatever he buys us” .

Story no. 46: Sound of the Radio

Shakiba loved to sit beside the radio during her free time.

But she kept the volume very high.

One day her mother told her“Shakiba, decrease the volume” .

Shakiba answered“what is this ! decrease, decrease, decrease all the time” .

Her mother said“How any times should I tell you that you should keep the sound low!”

“But mother! Religious poems are being recited” . Shakiba protested.

Her mother said“It does not matter if they are religious or not, but you should not keep the volume so high. It is possible that the neighbours be disturbed. It is also possible that they have a sick person in the house.

My dear daughter, don’t you know, the leaders of Islam have insisted a lot of keeping the rights of neighbours.

This action of yours is against the morals and etiquettes of Islam” .

Story no. 47: The recess-time of the school.

Saeed was playing in the garden of his school with his friends.

Suddenly, he saw a boy who was picking up stones from the ground and throwing them on children.

Saeed, who was very angry, approached the boy and said“It is true that the recess is for playing but not for pestering people. Besides, you must know that pestering people is an un-favoured act and we, as children and youngsters, should learn how to refrain from it” .

The other children who were listening became aware of it and the boy also promised that he also would not pester others anymore.

Story no. 48: Saeeda and request for chadar

Saeeda, who went to school everyday, one day came home and said“Mother, today I saw our neighbour wearing a chadar and coming to school. The children exclaimed “This chadar is for big women, why did you wear it?” to which she replied“My parents said “You are close to being big. Why not start wearing chadar from now on so that as you grow, you have a practice for it” . Saeeda said“Mother, I too want a chadar” .

Her mother said“I will go to the market, buy some cloth and sew a chadar for you tomorrow.”

Bravo to those mothers who are aware of wearing Islamic Hijaab and make their daughters too aware of this divine obligation.

Story no. 49: Trees of the street

Fariedoon, whenever passed his street, would pull and break the branches of the trees or skin them.

One day, Shahid was watching this scene from far.

He said to Fariedoon“Do you know of what use these trees are for?”

He replied“No” .

Shahid said“We humans have a great need of oxygen which we should inhale. This oxygen is given out from plants and trees. We have a job of giving water to the trees so that they do not dry up. This water is taken in by their branches. We, humans take in food and then it reaches different parts of our body through blood vessels. The tree has some substance which does the same job as our blood vessels. These blood vessels are contained in it’s skin. And you are, instead of giving water to it, breaking it’s branches and skinning it” . Fariedoon said“Thank you very much for telling me, I did not know that” .

Story no. 50: The thirsty animal on the corner of the street.

The thirsty animal was lying on the corner of the street.

People did not pay much attention to it, some went past it without noticing while some just watched and passed by.

Sabir the son of Aqa Dilsouz was watching the dog with much interest.

He went indoors and called his mother“Mother, I want a bowl of water” .

His mother was surprised“For what?” she said.

He replied“ For giving it to a thirsty animal” .

His mother respected his request and gave him what he wanted.

Sabir ran and placed the bowl of water in front of the dog. The dog came slowly, unveiled his tongue and began drinking. After some time he wagged his tail and went away.

Yes, some children, instead of doing this, throw stones at animals and hurt them.

But good children must, whoever it is, avoid hurting them.

Story no. 51: A friendly gathering in the park.

Some youngsters had gathered in a park, they were talking and laughing.

Suddenly one of them put his hand in his pocket, took out a cigarette and began smoking.

His other friends looked at him, amazed and exclaimed“What is this?”

He replied“Doesn’t matter, I’m doing it for fun” .

A friend said“In the beginning, we call it fun, but it is very difficult to get rid of this habit later” .

Another friend said“Do you know the bad effects caused by smoking?

1- Bad Breath

2- Corruption of teeth

3- Cancer

4- Getting old faster

5-Waste of Money

6- Difficulty in breathing” .

The youngster, with help of advice from his friends, left smoking and promised never to smoke again.

Story no. 52: The fatherless girl.

A girl by the name of Pari had lost her father at a tender age of four years.

She had loved her father very much and was one day crying. Her mother came and took her out with the hope that she would forget her father if she played with the children. But she was not able to do so. Each of the children talked about the love of fathers with her. For example one said“My father bought this doll for me” .

Another said“My father bought these new shoes for me” .

Someone else would say“My father loves me so much that whenever I reach home, he picks me up and kisses me” .

This happened eveyday, till one day her neighbour friend said to her“I know how you feel.” The two of them sat together and shared the pain of being orphans.

From that day, the children of the street would never mention anything regarding ‘fathers’ to Pari and were more kind to her than ever.

Story no. 53: Why the friendship of Nusrat and Heshmat did not have durability.

Nusrat and Heshmat were class mates as well as play mates.

They were so attached to each other and played together so much that some people thought that they were brothers.

But their friendship did not continue it’s durability. It had a defect, and that defect was caused by an incident. One day Nusrat told Heshmat a good many secrets and told him not to leak them to others. But Heshmat was treacherous towards Nusrat. He told all his friend’s secrets to others.

When Nusrat came to know about this, he was very angry.

He gave him some advice and then told him “You don’t deserve my loyalty and friendship. One of the qualities of the morals of Islam is to keep secrets and we should keep others secrets.

Story no. 54: Unhappiness of Rasheed from the ridiculing of children.

When Rashid was 2 years old, he had gone to the roof and had fallen down. He suffered a great injury afterwards and limped, and that was the very cause that children at school laughed at him.

Mostly, children walked like him and made others laugh.

Rasheed was greatly hurt and ashamed, so he made up his mind not to go to school anymore.

When his parents came to know, they went and concluded it to the principal of the school.

The principal then went to Rasheed’s class and delivered a short speech on some actions that are not liked in Islam. He said that we must respect all people in the world because they are equal. He also said that God has prevented us from ridiculing and hurting others.

Bravo to those principals that make children aware of actions against Islamic etiquettes.

Story no. 55: Umid and his apology from his friend.

Umid’s nose began to bleed while coming back from school.

He stood by the wall of the school until the bleeding stopped.

After some time, he saw a place where he could wash hands and face.

He decided to go in and wash the blood off his, hands and nose, so he left his bag and his wrist watch over there.

But when he came back, his watch had been stolen!

Because he had seen his friend some time before in the school, he assumed that it was him who had his watch.

The next day at school, Umid claimed his watch from his friend.

He said that he did not have it.

At last, Umid found the thief of his watch.

But because he had accused his friend of stealing, he went to his friend and apologised.

Yes, accusation is one of the most ill- favoured act in Islam and also a big sin.

Story no. 56: Iqbal’s recommendation about brushing teeth to Fatih

In school, some students sat together.

Similarly, Iqbal and Fatih sat together. But Iqbal kept on looking at Fatih’s defected teeth. They were yellow in colour.

Iqbal, who was raised in a religious family and was aware of the recommendations of Islam, said to Fatih“Why don’t you brush your teeth? They have turned yellow!

Some days ago, I went to the mosque with my father.

There, the preacher said “I have heard that the prophet (saw) used to brush his teeth three times before going to bed” .

Is’nt it very good, Fatih, if we too follow in the footsteps of the great leaders of Islam.

Story no. 57: In front of the television.

Raihana was a girl of 7 years.

She was introduced to all children once she stepped in school.

But one thing that surprised her most was that why small children walked about with glasses!

When she asked one of the children, he answered“I could not read or write from close. My father took me to an eye specialist. He first diagnosed my problem and then said that my eyes were weak due to watching television from a close distance. He gave me glasses and then requested me not to watch television too closely.”

When Raihana heard this, she went home and requested the other children to watch T.V from a safe distance.

Yes, man should value the unique things given by God specially eyesight so that he can take advantage of it by reading and writing.

Story no. 58: On Mothers’ Day

It was mother’s day, and all the children were buying gifts for their mothers.

Some one was buying stockings, someone shoes, someone a frying pan, and so on.

But Sharif and Azadeh were from an Islamic family. Sharif said“Whatever I give my mother is less, because the Holy Prophet has said “Paradise lies under the feet of mothers” .

Azadeh said“Whatever we give, it wouldn’t be enough for Mama” .

After thinking for quite a while, Sharif said “Because Mama loves to pray, recite Quran and duas, we can give her a Quran and Mafatih (Book of Duas).

Finally, Shareef bought his mother a Quran and Azadeh gifted her with a Mafatih.

Story no. 59: On teachers’ day.

Sharifa and Siddiqa were two neighbours, they went to school together and returned together.

After some days, Teacher’s day came. Each of the children either gifted their teachers with a trumpet or a bunch of flowers.

Sharifa said to Siddiqa“All the children are giving their teachers trumpets or flowers” .

Siddiqa said“What do we do now?” .

Sharifa said“How nice if we ask our parents to guide us” .

After taking a suggestion from their parents, they gifted their teacher a moral book each.

Story no. 60: Hoori in the wedding ceremony.

When the family was invited for the wedding ceremony, they only took their 5 year old daughter Hoori with them.

On the way, Hoori’s mother told her“Sit quietly with me and do not go and start eating the fruits or sweets unless other people do so and I tell you. Whatever you want quietly mention it to me” . But when they went there, Hoori did not obey her mother, and whilst other children were quietly sitting with their mothers watching the bride, Hoori went and started eating the sweets and fruits.

Her mother was very ashamed.

When they reached home her mother said “Hoori, why did you disobey me and went to eat the sweets and fruits? Didn’t you notice how the other children sat quietly with their mothers?

Story no. 61: Rau’fa and hygiene of hands and mouth.

Whenever Miss Saleema called her daughter, Rau’fa down for lunch, dinner or breakfast, Rau’fa first washed her hands with a soap and after finishing every meal, brushed her teeth.

One day, Miss Saleema said to her“Rau’fa, It makes me happy to see you washing your hands before meals and brushing your teeth after them. Where did you learn this from?”

Rau’fa replied “Our teacher requested us to wash hands before meals and to brush our teeth after meals.

She also said that this is one of the orders in Islam.

Bravo to those teachers who make children aware of the recommended schedule in Islam.

Story no. 62: Respecting aunt instead of mother.

Raazia and Asghar had lost their mother during childhood.

The bearing of the loss of mother was very hard for them.

The services of the house were performed by their father’s wife, but the kindness of a mother and love of father’s wife are completely different.

Though Asghar and Raazia were not negligent of honouring father’s wife, yet they showed more love towards their aunt (mother’s sister).

They bought stockings for her, sometimes toys for her children and sometimes would run errands for her.

Till one day their father said“Why do you respect your aunt so much?”

Asghar replied“I heard that the Prophet of Islam (pbuh) said respecting aunt is like respecting mother. We do not have a mother to serve, so why not be fortunate enough to serve and respect our aunt?”

Their father was happy and encouraged them more.

Story no. 63: Attachment of Aqa Abul Fazl

Aqa Abul Fazl showed much love towards his 12 year old son, Arif.

Arif’s mother asked her husband one day“Why do you love Arif so much?”

He replied“The other children always say one or two lies everyday. But I have never heard a lie from Arif, be it seriously or joking. This love of mine is for the truthfulness.”

His wife said“Yes, you are right because neither did I hear a lie from our son” .

Bravo to those children who speak the truth with everyone and their parents.

Truthfulness is one of the good qualities of Islam.

Story no. 64: Why we attend classes.

It was recess time and some youngsters were sitting together.

One of them said“Why do we attend classes?”

The first one said“I attend classes so that I become an engineer” .

The second one said“I attend classes so that I become a doctor” .

The third said“I attend classes so that I do not become illiterate.”

The fourth said“I attend classes to get a degree when I grow up.”

The fifth one said“Isn’t it better if we attend classes so we do not have to depend on others and can run our own business when we grow up, or if not that, we can do a job and don’t become a pauper?”

All the youngsters had good ambitions but the suggestion of the fifth one was on the highest place.

Story no. 65: Why Nadeema did not go to the Wedding ceremony.

The family was invited to the wedding ceremony. The card said for Mr. ___________ and family. But on the foot of the card was written “Your children are to be invited later. Which meant that children were not supposed to be coming with their parents. Still, some of the children insisted on coming with their parents.

But eight year old Nadeema told the children that we are not supposed to go with our parents because we are not invited. If we go, we will act against morality.

Bravo to those children who have good understanding and follow and obey the orders of morality.

Story no. 66: Contentment in stationary.

Amir had used only one bag ever since he started school. He was very careful while writing; he used to leave little space between words and sentences and used both sides of a page. He also showed contentment in writing materials like pen, pencil and papers.

Imran, who was a classmate, said“Amir, I recieve a new bag every year, leave much space between words, and use only one side of a page. I have stationary and writing materials in vast quantity.”

Amir replied “If I want, I can also be like you, but we should not waste money because in one way, we will then be dependant on others for our needs. So it is better if we avoid being dependant, and try to conserve it for our country.

Other than that, have you not heard that Imam Ali (as) has said “Contentment is a river that never dries.

Story no. 67: We saw European children.

Safir had gone to a country in Europe for further studies. To stay away from corruption over there, he married an Irani girl.

When he returned to Iran, they had two children, Ahmad and Zahra.

Ahmad was eight years old and Zahra six.

Safir first lived with his family in his parents’ house but then afterwards they shifted to their personal house.

Some of the other families were surprised on seeing this Europian family, and the main reason of their being surprised was the Islamic behaviours of the two children.

Ahmad said Salaam to anyone he met and thanked God if any one asked his welfare. Zahra started wearing a scarf from a very young age and they both prayed namaz regularly.

It wasn’t long before the two children were examples for the families, and they knew that although those children were raised in a foreign English land, due to the mindfulness of the parents their culture was still Islamic.

Story no. 68: Worker of the house.

The wife had lost her husband.

To avoid poverty, she had to work at people’s houses and provide food for her children.

Sometimes she took her two year old child with her so that while taking care of other children, she may take care of him too.

But most of the children said abusive words to the woman and sometimes hurt the two year orphan.

Till one day, Tal’at, the ten year old girl of the owner of the house, gathered the children and advised them.One of her words were“Children, it is against the morals of Islam that we pester to the woman who has no guardian and comes to serve us

How nice of us if we be kind to her and that orphan child so that God may keep our fathers safe” .

Have you not heard that Imam Ali (as) was always kind to orphans and widows.

Story no. 69: Hami at the table.

Whenever the family was called down to meals and the children sat at the table, Hami only ate from the centre of the bread and did not eat the corners.

As a result, much bread was wasted.

One day, one of Hami’s brothers said to him“Hami, do you know that wastage is an action that is against the morals of Islam?”

And if we want we can be content with little and avoid wasting money.

This is also a law of our countries.

Story no. 70: Wajeeh at the table

Whenever Wajeeh sat at the table and started to eat food, he did not say Bismillah and did not thank God after meals.

One day his brother, Najeeb said“Don’t you see that before Mom and Dad begin to eat they say Bismillah and at the end of it they say Alhamdu lillah?

Wajeeh replied “Why do they do so?

His brother said “They say so because all these vegetables, fruits, bread, water and everything else is gifted to us by God. So it is very good if we start and end food with his name” .

And other tan that, the leaders of Islam have always requested us to say this and we must obey them.

Story no. 71: Generous help by the children.

Every Friday, the needy came at the doors of people, asking for money. Similarly, a beggar came to Aqa Abdullah’s house.

He asked for help.

Aqa Abdullah wanted to give him 2 tomans, but his daughter Ruqayya said“Father, I have 5 tomans from the weekly pocket money I get. If you allow I’ll give 2 tomans to him.

His other daughter, Rabab said “Father, I also have 4 tomans, would you allow me too?”

Their brother, Saqib said “Father I am also ready to give this needy person six tomans would you allow me to do so?

Their father allowed them to help the needy man and they helped him greatly.

Their parents thanked god for such generous and helping children and were pleased.

Story no. 72: Simin and Amin’s quarrel.

In families, children often quarrel with each other and sulk away for some time.

In one family of 8, Simin and Amin had had a great quarrel and sulked away from each other, no matter how much the others tried to re-unite them.

Till Mustafa, their brother, decided to make peace between them.

He went to Simin and said“Simin! If only you knew how much Amin loves you! He said he’d love to see you open a clinic for ladies” .

He then went to Amin and said“Simin said she would love to see you finish university and grow older, and one day become a professor at the university” .

At last they were re-united.

Their sister, Fatima said“Mustafa, you did a great job, but you told a number of lies” .

Mustafa said“When we want to make peace between two people, it doesn’t matter how many lies we say” .

Story no. 73: Teaching bad things.

The mother had an ill child.

She went to the doctor and got medicine from him.

But whenever she wanted to make him eat medicine,he used to shout and cry.

With great difficulty and promises of buying toys, she managed to get the medicine down his throat, but afterwards she did not fulfill her promises.

Her two year old daughter, Zeenat said“Mother, it is not right that you make promises to your son and not fulfill them. This is dangerous for the future of the child because when he grows up, he is going to learn bad things from you” .

The mother was pleased with her daughter’s guidance and encouraged her.

Yes O Parents! If you want your children to possess the morals of Islam, then fulfill the promises made by you to your children, for this is an order from the Holy Prophet (saw).

Story no. 74: Scaring of children.

In some houses, children enjoy scaring others.

One boy, called Fahim scared every child in the neighbourhood.

For example, he said to one“Be careful, the Genie might take you!”

To another he said“Be careful of the dead! He may take you also!”

There was a boy called Humayoon who solved problems for the children.

One day he gathered them and said “You know what is imagination, don’t you? Well, to avoid it, you should excercise so that you have strong nerves.And also, that when you grow up, only be scared of the sins you comitted because every sin has a punishment and a result and we do not have the strength to bear God’s punishment.

Story no. 75: Disagreement of the children.

Kiya was very unhappy, because he had lost his father and his mother had re-married. The man, too, had lost his wife and had brought along with him his two children, Sadiq and Qasim.

The man and woman were both choiceless in the matters of their marriage, but the only cause of disagreement was the children. Kiya used to think that if he wouldn’t have lost his father, he wouldn’t have been caught in this situation, and Qasim and Sadiq thought that if their mother would not be dead, they wouldn’t have to go in another house, and meet a step brother. Their disagreement made their father and mother unhappy.

Till one day, Qasim, who was the oldest of the three, gathered the other boys and said“Although we were strangers yesterday, today we are of the same family. Kiya’s mother is our mother, and our father the father of all of us.So how good if we be kind to each other” .he finished.

After that, he went out and bought some ice cream and divided it between them.

Kiya, whenever went out, would bring sweets and whenever Sadiq returned from school he bought a pen for each one of them.

Story no. 76: The children’s complain against their parents.

Mar’at, Ilham and Aram were brothers and sisters.

One day they were talking about the jobs of their household when Mar’at said“I dont think that there are any mothers and fathers like ours” .

Ilham said“I am pleased with both of them but I don’t know about them” .

Aram said“I dont think any of the children are as lucky as us. But I have noticed one thing about mother and father; whenever we talk to them they do not pay attention to what we are saying, it is also possible that we want something” .

They decided to discuss this important matter to their parents.

Yes, it is very good if parents pay attention to their children and grant their wishes when possible.

Story no. 77: Writing on the walls.

Azad, who was a regular student, sometimes saw that children wrote on the walls with pens, pencils and markers.

He made up his mind to stop this But he knew that he couldn’t go alone. So he gathered some students and went to the principal of the school. They said to him“It is not our job to take care of the school building. But if you allow, when the children are ready to enter the class, we will say that the school is like the house and to avoid from writing on walls” .

The next day, Azad with his friends , with the permission of the principal, got a microphone and said“the school is just like our home and we must not write on the walls of the school building and the classes” . After that, he said“writing on the walls is forbidden and we are not allowed to do so” . And this thing the children completely understood.

Story no. 78: Advice about cleanliness.

From the children who play in the streets or go to school, only some have the tidiness of their faces and clothes.

Hussam, who was a clean boy, said to an untidy boy “Don’t you know that the Holy Prophet (saw) has preached cleanliness with faith?

And besides, uncleanliness spreads a lot of illnesses and diseases. So try keep your clothes and body clean so that you don’t fall ill and people won’t avoid sitting with you.

Story no. 79: Atabak and running away from school.

Atabak was tired and fed-up of having to go to school and attend classes.

So he ran away from school.

His father and mother tried their best to persuade him to go back, but it was all in vain.

At last he left school and used to play in te streets and do nothing else.

After some days, some relatives of his came to his town and brought gifts for everyone.

They gave Atabak a frame on which was written ‘Seek education from the cradle till death’.

Because he was illiterate, he was greatly ashamed, and at the same time, decided to continue education.

He did so, and not only was he no longer illiterate, he reached high status

Story no. 80: Loss of over-eating.

Adeeb, wehenever sat at the table, used to eat more than the other children, and after meals, did not avoid eating different types of fruits, chocolates and ice creams.

One day Mujtaba said to him“Brother, don’t you know that over-eating is ill-favoures in islam?”

But Adeeb never lent an ear.

Till he fell ill.

When he went to the doctor, he said that the loss that you are suffering is just because of over-eating.

Another brother of his called Sharif said“We have heard that the Holy Prophet has said “Do not eat till you are hungry and leave food before you are full” .

And if we avoid over-eating we won’t fall ill.

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Story no. 40: Jawad playing with Naser

Jawad and Naser were neighbours and sometimes played in the streets also.

While playing, Jawad said“ I swear on my mother’s life.

Naser said “ It seems as if you love your mother very much!” .

Jawad replied“ Of course I do, because the Holy Prophet (saw) has said “Paradise lies under the feet of the mother” .

Story no. 41: Majid and an action against etiquettes.

Majid was a youngster of 11 years.

As he was passing by the corner of a wall he saw Hormuz, a boy from the next street, climbed up on the wall and plucking figs and eating them.

He called out to him“Hey, Hormuz, come down, otherwise I’ll report to the owner of the house” .

When Hormuz heard this, he at once came down. After he did, Majid advised him and said “You did two things that were against morals. First, you climbed the wall of somebody’s house, and secondly, you plucked and ate someone else’s fruit without their permission, this is theft. Do not repeat it again.

Bravo for Majid and his good training school that he talked about ‘actions against morals’ with others and advised them.

Story no. 42: Unhappiness of Miss Zahra

Farida went to her neighbour, Zahra’s house and greeted her.

Zahra answered and said“ I am very unhappy” .

Farida asked“why? You should not be sad!”

Zahra answered“I am sad because since two days my parents have gone on a trip and I am alone at home with my Grandmother and brother.

Farida said “ Excuse me, but this is not a thing to be sad about!”

Zahra said“Actually I love my mother and father very much so separation from them is very hard for me.”

Yes, blessed are the children who have such an attachment with their parents and respect their parents’ pleasure, because the pleasure of parents comes under the pleasure of God.

Story no. 43: Habib, the son of Mashhadi Abbas.

Habib, who was the son of Mashhadi Abbas, was once playing with children in the corner of the street.

Suddenly the loud voice of Maghribain namaz Azan reached their ears.

Habib said“Bye, friends.”

Everyone said“Why?”

Habib said“ It is the time of namaz now. I won’t play anymore, I must go the mosque to pray” .

After Habib departed, one of the children said“Blessed is Habib, really. He recites namaz even though he is a child. I do not know how to pray it” .

The others admitted too that they did not know how to perform namaz.

Another one of the children stood up and said “ Friends, I have a plan. From tomorrow, instead of playing, we will learn namaz from Habib and even go to the mosque with him.

Story no. 44: The chicks of the house.

Aziz, a boy of four years, said to his father“If it is possible, please bring some chicks to the house so that we can raise them” .Aqa Aqeel, the father of the children, bought a few chicks for the children. Everyday the children gathered round the chicks and enjoyed watching them.

But one day, Aqa Aqeel saw that each of the children had a stick in their hands and were pestering the chicks.

Their father said“ I am going to take these chicks this very day and sell them” .

The children inquired“Father, why?”

Their father replied“ I am doing this because you were pestering the chicks. Don’t you know that you should not pester any animal?”

Little Taqi, with watering eyes, said“Father, do not sell them, we will not pester them anymore” .

Story no. 45: The neighbours boy on a tricycle

Asad was a 5 year old boy.

Sometimes he went to the street and played with the children.

But one day when he came, he saw a boy of his own neighbourhood riding a beautiful and shining tricycle.

He ran indoors to his mother and said“Mother, a father has bought a tricycle for his son, I want one too” .

“When father comes home tonight, please ask him to buy a tricycle for me” .

His mother said“I will not do such a thing. His salary is too less to afford it” .“We must be content with whatever he buys us” .

Story no. 46: Sound of the Radio

Shakiba loved to sit beside the radio during her free time.

But she kept the volume very high.

One day her mother told her“Shakiba, decrease the volume” .

Shakiba answered“what is this ! decrease, decrease, decrease all the time” .

Her mother said“How any times should I tell you that you should keep the sound low!”

“But mother! Religious poems are being recited” . Shakiba protested.

Her mother said“It does not matter if they are religious or not, but you should not keep the volume so high. It is possible that the neighbours be disturbed. It is also possible that they have a sick person in the house.

My dear daughter, don’t you know, the leaders of Islam have insisted a lot of keeping the rights of neighbours.

This action of yours is against the morals and etiquettes of Islam” .

Story no. 47: The recess-time of the school.

Saeed was playing in the garden of his school with his friends.

Suddenly, he saw a boy who was picking up stones from the ground and throwing them on children.

Saeed, who was very angry, approached the boy and said“It is true that the recess is for playing but not for pestering people. Besides, you must know that pestering people is an un-favoured act and we, as children and youngsters, should learn how to refrain from it” .

The other children who were listening became aware of it and the boy also promised that he also would not pester others anymore.

Story no. 48: Saeeda and request for chadar

Saeeda, who went to school everyday, one day came home and said“Mother, today I saw our neighbour wearing a chadar and coming to school. The children exclaimed “This chadar is for big women, why did you wear it?” to which she replied“My parents said “You are close to being big. Why not start wearing chadar from now on so that as you grow, you have a practice for it” . Saeeda said“Mother, I too want a chadar” .

Her mother said“I will go to the market, buy some cloth and sew a chadar for you tomorrow.”

Bravo to those mothers who are aware of wearing Islamic Hijaab and make their daughters too aware of this divine obligation.

Story no. 49: Trees of the street

Fariedoon, whenever passed his street, would pull and break the branches of the trees or skin them.

One day, Shahid was watching this scene from far.

He said to Fariedoon“Do you know of what use these trees are for?”

He replied“No” .

Shahid said“We humans have a great need of oxygen which we should inhale. This oxygen is given out from plants and trees. We have a job of giving water to the trees so that they do not dry up. This water is taken in by their branches. We, humans take in food and then it reaches different parts of our body through blood vessels. The tree has some substance which does the same job as our blood vessels. These blood vessels are contained in it’s skin. And you are, instead of giving water to it, breaking it’s branches and skinning it” . Fariedoon said“Thank you very much for telling me, I did not know that” .

Story no. 50: The thirsty animal on the corner of the street.

The thirsty animal was lying on the corner of the street.

People did not pay much attention to it, some went past it without noticing while some just watched and passed by.

Sabir the son of Aqa Dilsouz was watching the dog with much interest.

He went indoors and called his mother“Mother, I want a bowl of water” .

His mother was surprised“For what?” she said.

He replied“ For giving it to a thirsty animal” .

His mother respected his request and gave him what he wanted.

Sabir ran and placed the bowl of water in front of the dog. The dog came slowly, unveiled his tongue and began drinking. After some time he wagged his tail and went away.

Yes, some children, instead of doing this, throw stones at animals and hurt them.

But good children must, whoever it is, avoid hurting them.

Story no. 51: A friendly gathering in the park.

Some youngsters had gathered in a park, they were talking and laughing.

Suddenly one of them put his hand in his pocket, took out a cigarette and began smoking.

His other friends looked at him, amazed and exclaimed“What is this?”

He replied“Doesn’t matter, I’m doing it for fun” .

A friend said“In the beginning, we call it fun, but it is very difficult to get rid of this habit later” .

Another friend said“Do you know the bad effects caused by smoking?

1- Bad Breath

2- Corruption of teeth

3- Cancer

4- Getting old faster

5-Waste of Money

6- Difficulty in breathing” .

The youngster, with help of advice from his friends, left smoking and promised never to smoke again.

Story no. 52: The fatherless girl.

A girl by the name of Pari had lost her father at a tender age of four years.

She had loved her father very much and was one day crying. Her mother came and took her out with the hope that she would forget her father if she played with the children. But she was not able to do so. Each of the children talked about the love of fathers with her. For example one said“My father bought this doll for me” .

Another said“My father bought these new shoes for me” .

Someone else would say“My father loves me so much that whenever I reach home, he picks me up and kisses me” .

This happened eveyday, till one day her neighbour friend said to her“I know how you feel.” The two of them sat together and shared the pain of being orphans.

From that day, the children of the street would never mention anything regarding ‘fathers’ to Pari and were more kind to her than ever.

Story no. 53: Why the friendship of Nusrat and Heshmat did not have durability.

Nusrat and Heshmat were class mates as well as play mates.

They were so attached to each other and played together so much that some people thought that they were brothers.

But their friendship did not continue it’s durability. It had a defect, and that defect was caused by an incident. One day Nusrat told Heshmat a good many secrets and told him not to leak them to others. But Heshmat was treacherous towards Nusrat. He told all his friend’s secrets to others.

When Nusrat came to know about this, he was very angry.

He gave him some advice and then told him “You don’t deserve my loyalty and friendship. One of the qualities of the morals of Islam is to keep secrets and we should keep others secrets.

Story no. 54: Unhappiness of Rasheed from the ridiculing of children.

When Rashid was 2 years old, he had gone to the roof and had fallen down. He suffered a great injury afterwards and limped, and that was the very cause that children at school laughed at him.

Mostly, children walked like him and made others laugh.

Rasheed was greatly hurt and ashamed, so he made up his mind not to go to school anymore.

When his parents came to know, they went and concluded it to the principal of the school.

The principal then went to Rasheed’s class and delivered a short speech on some actions that are not liked in Islam. He said that we must respect all people in the world because they are equal. He also said that God has prevented us from ridiculing and hurting others.

Bravo to those principals that make children aware of actions against Islamic etiquettes.

Story no. 55: Umid and his apology from his friend.

Umid’s nose began to bleed while coming back from school.

He stood by the wall of the school until the bleeding stopped.

After some time, he saw a place where he could wash hands and face.

He decided to go in and wash the blood off his, hands and nose, so he left his bag and his wrist watch over there.

But when he came back, his watch had been stolen!

Because he had seen his friend some time before in the school, he assumed that it was him who had his watch.

The next day at school, Umid claimed his watch from his friend.

He said that he did not have it.

At last, Umid found the thief of his watch.

But because he had accused his friend of stealing, he went to his friend and apologised.

Yes, accusation is one of the most ill- favoured act in Islam and also a big sin.

Story no. 56: Iqbal’s recommendation about brushing teeth to Fatih

In school, some students sat together.

Similarly, Iqbal and Fatih sat together. But Iqbal kept on looking at Fatih’s defected teeth. They were yellow in colour.

Iqbal, who was raised in a religious family and was aware of the recommendations of Islam, said to Fatih“Why don’t you brush your teeth? They have turned yellow!

Some days ago, I went to the mosque with my father.

There, the preacher said “I have heard that the prophet (saw) used to brush his teeth three times before going to bed” .

Is’nt it very good, Fatih, if we too follow in the footsteps of the great leaders of Islam.

Story no. 57: In front of the television.

Raihana was a girl of 7 years.

She was introduced to all children once she stepped in school.

But one thing that surprised her most was that why small children walked about with glasses!

When she asked one of the children, he answered“I could not read or write from close. My father took me to an eye specialist. He first diagnosed my problem and then said that my eyes were weak due to watching television from a close distance. He gave me glasses and then requested me not to watch television too closely.”

When Raihana heard this, she went home and requested the other children to watch T.V from a safe distance.

Yes, man should value the unique things given by God specially eyesight so that he can take advantage of it by reading and writing.

Story no. 58: On Mothers’ Day

It was mother’s day, and all the children were buying gifts for their mothers.

Some one was buying stockings, someone shoes, someone a frying pan, and so on.

But Sharif and Azadeh were from an Islamic family. Sharif said“Whatever I give my mother is less, because the Holy Prophet has said “Paradise lies under the feet of mothers” .

Azadeh said“Whatever we give, it wouldn’t be enough for Mama” .

After thinking for quite a while, Sharif said “Because Mama loves to pray, recite Quran and duas, we can give her a Quran and Mafatih (Book of Duas).

Finally, Shareef bought his mother a Quran and Azadeh gifted her with a Mafatih.

Story no. 59: On teachers’ day.

Sharifa and Siddiqa were two neighbours, they went to school together and returned together.

After some days, Teacher’s day came. Each of the children either gifted their teachers with a trumpet or a bunch of flowers.

Sharifa said to Siddiqa“All the children are giving their teachers trumpets or flowers” .

Siddiqa said“What do we do now?” .

Sharifa said“How nice if we ask our parents to guide us” .

After taking a suggestion from their parents, they gifted their teacher a moral book each.

Story no. 60: Hoori in the wedding ceremony.

When the family was invited for the wedding ceremony, they only took their 5 year old daughter Hoori with them.

On the way, Hoori’s mother told her“Sit quietly with me and do not go and start eating the fruits or sweets unless other people do so and I tell you. Whatever you want quietly mention it to me” . But when they went there, Hoori did not obey her mother, and whilst other children were quietly sitting with their mothers watching the bride, Hoori went and started eating the sweets and fruits.

Her mother was very ashamed.

When they reached home her mother said “Hoori, why did you disobey me and went to eat the sweets and fruits? Didn’t you notice how the other children sat quietly with their mothers?

Story no. 61: Rau’fa and hygiene of hands and mouth.

Whenever Miss Saleema called her daughter, Rau’fa down for lunch, dinner or breakfast, Rau’fa first washed her hands with a soap and after finishing every meal, brushed her teeth.

One day, Miss Saleema said to her“Rau’fa, It makes me happy to see you washing your hands before meals and brushing your teeth after them. Where did you learn this from?”

Rau’fa replied “Our teacher requested us to wash hands before meals and to brush our teeth after meals.

She also said that this is one of the orders in Islam.

Bravo to those teachers who make children aware of the recommended schedule in Islam.

Story no. 62: Respecting aunt instead of mother.

Raazia and Asghar had lost their mother during childhood.

The bearing of the loss of mother was very hard for them.

The services of the house were performed by their father’s wife, but the kindness of a mother and love of father’s wife are completely different.

Though Asghar and Raazia were not negligent of honouring father’s wife, yet they showed more love towards their aunt (mother’s sister).

They bought stockings for her, sometimes toys for her children and sometimes would run errands for her.

Till one day their father said“Why do you respect your aunt so much?”

Asghar replied“I heard that the Prophet of Islam (pbuh) said respecting aunt is like respecting mother. We do not have a mother to serve, so why not be fortunate enough to serve and respect our aunt?”

Their father was happy and encouraged them more.

Story no. 63: Attachment of Aqa Abul Fazl

Aqa Abul Fazl showed much love towards his 12 year old son, Arif.

Arif’s mother asked her husband one day“Why do you love Arif so much?”

He replied“The other children always say one or two lies everyday. But I have never heard a lie from Arif, be it seriously or joking. This love of mine is for the truthfulness.”

His wife said“Yes, you are right because neither did I hear a lie from our son” .

Bravo to those children who speak the truth with everyone and their parents.

Truthfulness is one of the good qualities of Islam.

Story no. 64: Why we attend classes.

It was recess time and some youngsters were sitting together.

One of them said“Why do we attend classes?”

The first one said“I attend classes so that I become an engineer” .

The second one said“I attend classes so that I become a doctor” .

The third said“I attend classes so that I do not become illiterate.”

The fourth said“I attend classes to get a degree when I grow up.”

The fifth one said“Isn’t it better if we attend classes so we do not have to depend on others and can run our own business when we grow up, or if not that, we can do a job and don’t become a pauper?”

All the youngsters had good ambitions but the suggestion of the fifth one was on the highest place.

Story no. 65: Why Nadeema did not go to the Wedding ceremony.

The family was invited to the wedding ceremony. The card said for Mr. ___________ and family. But on the foot of the card was written “Your children are to be invited later. Which meant that children were not supposed to be coming with their parents. Still, some of the children insisted on coming with their parents.

But eight year old Nadeema told the children that we are not supposed to go with our parents because we are not invited. If we go, we will act against morality.

Bravo to those children who have good understanding and follow and obey the orders of morality.

Story no. 66: Contentment in stationary.

Amir had used only one bag ever since he started school. He was very careful while writing; he used to leave little space between words and sentences and used both sides of a page. He also showed contentment in writing materials like pen, pencil and papers.

Imran, who was a classmate, said“Amir, I recieve a new bag every year, leave much space between words, and use only one side of a page. I have stationary and writing materials in vast quantity.”

Amir replied “If I want, I can also be like you, but we should not waste money because in one way, we will then be dependant on others for our needs. So it is better if we avoid being dependant, and try to conserve it for our country.

Other than that, have you not heard that Imam Ali (as) has said “Contentment is a river that never dries.

Story no. 67: We saw European children.

Safir had gone to a country in Europe for further studies. To stay away from corruption over there, he married an Irani girl.

When he returned to Iran, they had two children, Ahmad and Zahra.

Ahmad was eight years old and Zahra six.

Safir first lived with his family in his parents’ house but then afterwards they shifted to their personal house.

Some of the other families were surprised on seeing this Europian family, and the main reason of their being surprised was the Islamic behaviours of the two children.

Ahmad said Salaam to anyone he met and thanked God if any one asked his welfare. Zahra started wearing a scarf from a very young age and they both prayed namaz regularly.

It wasn’t long before the two children were examples for the families, and they knew that although those children were raised in a foreign English land, due to the mindfulness of the parents their culture was still Islamic.

Story no. 68: Worker of the house.

The wife had lost her husband.

To avoid poverty, she had to work at people’s houses and provide food for her children.

Sometimes she took her two year old child with her so that while taking care of other children, she may take care of him too.

But most of the children said abusive words to the woman and sometimes hurt the two year orphan.

Till one day, Tal’at, the ten year old girl of the owner of the house, gathered the children and advised them.One of her words were“Children, it is against the morals of Islam that we pester to the woman who has no guardian and comes to serve us

How nice of us if we be kind to her and that orphan child so that God may keep our fathers safe” .

Have you not heard that Imam Ali (as) was always kind to orphans and widows.

Story no. 69: Hami at the table.

Whenever the family was called down to meals and the children sat at the table, Hami only ate from the centre of the bread and did not eat the corners.

As a result, much bread was wasted.

One day, one of Hami’s brothers said to him“Hami, do you know that wastage is an action that is against the morals of Islam?”

And if we want we can be content with little and avoid wasting money.

This is also a law of our countries.

Story no. 70: Wajeeh at the table

Whenever Wajeeh sat at the table and started to eat food, he did not say Bismillah and did not thank God after meals.

One day his brother, Najeeb said“Don’t you see that before Mom and Dad begin to eat they say Bismillah and at the end of it they say Alhamdu lillah?

Wajeeh replied “Why do they do so?

His brother said “They say so because all these vegetables, fruits, bread, water and everything else is gifted to us by God. So it is very good if we start and end food with his name” .

And other tan that, the leaders of Islam have always requested us to say this and we must obey them.

Story no. 71: Generous help by the children.

Every Friday, the needy came at the doors of people, asking for money. Similarly, a beggar came to Aqa Abdullah’s house.

He asked for help.

Aqa Abdullah wanted to give him 2 tomans, but his daughter Ruqayya said“Father, I have 5 tomans from the weekly pocket money I get. If you allow I’ll give 2 tomans to him.

His other daughter, Rabab said “Father, I also have 4 tomans, would you allow me too?”

Their brother, Saqib said “Father I am also ready to give this needy person six tomans would you allow me to do so?

Their father allowed them to help the needy man and they helped him greatly.

Their parents thanked god for such generous and helping children and were pleased.

Story no. 72: Simin and Amin’s quarrel.

In families, children often quarrel with each other and sulk away for some time.

In one family of 8, Simin and Amin had had a great quarrel and sulked away from each other, no matter how much the others tried to re-unite them.

Till Mustafa, their brother, decided to make peace between them.

He went to Simin and said“Simin! If only you knew how much Amin loves you! He said he’d love to see you open a clinic for ladies” .

He then went to Amin and said“Simin said she would love to see you finish university and grow older, and one day become a professor at the university” .

At last they were re-united.

Their sister, Fatima said“Mustafa, you did a great job, but you told a number of lies” .

Mustafa said“When we want to make peace between two people, it doesn’t matter how many lies we say” .

Story no. 73: Teaching bad things.

The mother had an ill child.

She went to the doctor and got medicine from him.

But whenever she wanted to make him eat medicine,he used to shout and cry.

With great difficulty and promises of buying toys, she managed to get the medicine down his throat, but afterwards she did not fulfill her promises.

Her two year old daughter, Zeenat said“Mother, it is not right that you make promises to your son and not fulfill them. This is dangerous for the future of the child because when he grows up, he is going to learn bad things from you” .

The mother was pleased with her daughter’s guidance and encouraged her.

Yes O Parents! If you want your children to possess the morals of Islam, then fulfill the promises made by you to your children, for this is an order from the Holy Prophet (saw).

Story no. 74: Scaring of children.

In some houses, children enjoy scaring others.

One boy, called Fahim scared every child in the neighbourhood.

For example, he said to one“Be careful, the Genie might take you!”

To another he said“Be careful of the dead! He may take you also!”

There was a boy called Humayoon who solved problems for the children.

One day he gathered them and said “You know what is imagination, don’t you? Well, to avoid it, you should excercise so that you have strong nerves.And also, that when you grow up, only be scared of the sins you comitted because every sin has a punishment and a result and we do not have the strength to bear God’s punishment.

Story no. 75: Disagreement of the children.

Kiya was very unhappy, because he had lost his father and his mother had re-married. The man, too, had lost his wife and had brought along with him his two children, Sadiq and Qasim.

The man and woman were both choiceless in the matters of their marriage, but the only cause of disagreement was the children. Kiya used to think that if he wouldn’t have lost his father, he wouldn’t have been caught in this situation, and Qasim and Sadiq thought that if their mother would not be dead, they wouldn’t have to go in another house, and meet a step brother. Their disagreement made their father and mother unhappy.

Till one day, Qasim, who was the oldest of the three, gathered the other boys and said“Although we were strangers yesterday, today we are of the same family. Kiya’s mother is our mother, and our father the father of all of us.So how good if we be kind to each other” .he finished.

After that, he went out and bought some ice cream and divided it between them.

Kiya, whenever went out, would bring sweets and whenever Sadiq returned from school he bought a pen for each one of them.

Story no. 76: The children’s complain against their parents.

Mar’at, Ilham and Aram were brothers and sisters.

One day they were talking about the jobs of their household when Mar’at said“I dont think that there are any mothers and fathers like ours” .

Ilham said“I am pleased with both of them but I don’t know about them” .

Aram said“I dont think any of the children are as lucky as us. But I have noticed one thing about mother and father; whenever we talk to them they do not pay attention to what we are saying, it is also possible that we want something” .

They decided to discuss this important matter to their parents.

Yes, it is very good if parents pay attention to their children and grant their wishes when possible.

Story no. 77: Writing on the walls.

Azad, who was a regular student, sometimes saw that children wrote on the walls with pens, pencils and markers.

He made up his mind to stop this But he knew that he couldn’t go alone. So he gathered some students and went to the principal of the school. They said to him“It is not our job to take care of the school building. But if you allow, when the children are ready to enter the class, we will say that the school is like the house and to avoid from writing on walls” .

The next day, Azad with his friends , with the permission of the principal, got a microphone and said“the school is just like our home and we must not write on the walls of the school building and the classes” . After that, he said“writing on the walls is forbidden and we are not allowed to do so” . And this thing the children completely understood.

Story no. 78: Advice about cleanliness.

From the children who play in the streets or go to school, only some have the tidiness of their faces and clothes.

Hussam, who was a clean boy, said to an untidy boy “Don’t you know that the Holy Prophet (saw) has preached cleanliness with faith?

And besides, uncleanliness spreads a lot of illnesses and diseases. So try keep your clothes and body clean so that you don’t fall ill and people won’t avoid sitting with you.

Story no. 79: Atabak and running away from school.

Atabak was tired and fed-up of having to go to school and attend classes.

So he ran away from school.

His father and mother tried their best to persuade him to go back, but it was all in vain.

At last he left school and used to play in te streets and do nothing else.

After some days, some relatives of his came to his town and brought gifts for everyone.

They gave Atabak a frame on which was written ‘Seek education from the cradle till death’.

Because he was illiterate, he was greatly ashamed, and at the same time, decided to continue education.

He did so, and not only was he no longer illiterate, he reached high status

Story no. 80: Loss of over-eating.

Adeeb, wehenever sat at the table, used to eat more than the other children, and after meals, did not avoid eating different types of fruits, chocolates and ice creams.

One day Mujtaba said to him“Brother, don’t you know that over-eating is ill-favoures in islam?”

But Adeeb never lent an ear.

Till he fell ill.

When he went to the doctor, he said that the loss that you are suffering is just because of over-eating.

Another brother of his called Sharif said“We have heard that the Holy Prophet has said “Do not eat till you are hungry and leave food before you are full” .

And if we avoid over-eating we won’t fall ill.

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