Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

On The Path of Religion

In a class at theJaffery Primary School of Mombasa, it was time for religious instruction. The subject was: The meaning and benefits of following a religion. This is how the lesson went.

Pupil: Please, Sir, tell us the meaning of religion.

Teacher: Religion is a collection of beliefs. It lays down the rules of character, how to deal with your family members as well as with other people,It also teaches us rules concerning money matters. They have been taught to us by the Prophets who were messengers of God, sent for the guidance of Mankind.

Pupil: May I know what benefit do we get from following a religion?

Teacher: By following the teachings of true religion, a person becomes happy in this world as well as in the next one.

Pupil: Please, Sir, tell us what religion teaches us.

Teacher: The teachings of religion mainly consist of:

1) Beliefs: To believe in One God, who created this world, the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, and other planets and everything inthem. Because of his kindness, he did not leave human beings without guidance. He sent Prophets to guide them to the right path so that they may fulfill the duties he has laid down. Those who follow the teachings of the Prophets would be successful and happy in this as well as the next world.

2) Character: Religion teaches us to be good and kind to everyone, to love everyone, to respect parents and teachers, to seek useful knowledge, to protect our rights and those of others and to live moderately.

3) Social and Economic Guidance: A perfect religion lays down rules about how to behave and deal with people when they do wrong. It also teaches us rules about money matters, how one should earn one's living, how one should take care of the poor and needy relatives, what type of business is allowed.

4) Worship: Religion teaches us that we pray to God and fast, so that by such actions we remember God and purify our Body and Mind.

We should obey God only and not follow people. God has created all of us. Therefore he knows better what is good for us. He has laid down a code of life for our benefit. Therefore, it is in our interest to follow it.

Pupil: May I know, Sir, how belief in a religion affects our lives?

Teacher: Belief in religion not only affects a person's spirit or soul but also his body and action.

Aperson who believes in one God, acts differently from a person who does not believe in God. He who believes in God cannot at any time become proud, because he knows that whatever he has acquired has been given to him by God and God can take it back whenever he wishes.

He does not look down upon other people as he knows that all of them have been created by God in the same way as he was created.

He does not bow down before anyone but God. He knows that everything has been created by God and he provides for all our needs. He alone is worthy of being worshipped.

He also believes in life in the next world and always tries to dogood and refrains from doing bad. The better his deeds, the better will be his life in the next world.

A person who believes in God does all the good work even if he is not paid for it or appreciated by others. He continues to dogood to others. He sacrifices his time, money and energy in serving people for the sake of God, as this pleases God. He does not become selfish.

Thus belief is connected with character and character with actions. They are all connected to each other.

Pupil: Now Sir can you tell us what would happen if a person did not believe in religion?

Teacher: A person who does not believe in God and life in the next world does not know who created him, why he was created and what is the purpose of his life. He is like atraveller who is lost and moves around aimlessly.

When such a person falls into trouble, he has no where to look for help. If he wants anything, he has no one from whom he can ask to fulfill his wishes.

A person who believes in religion asks for help from God when he is in difficulties. He asks God to fulfill his wishes. He is sure that God will help him and will grant him his desires if they are good for him. But a person who does not believe in God has no one.

A non-believer acts according to his whims. He is most of the time selfish. He is not prepared to help others for he does not expect to get God's reward for his sacrifices for the trouble he takes for others.

His only aim in life is to find happiness forhimself at all cost. He does not know whatis the purpose of his life . He does not hesitate to tell lies, steal, hurt others and do all sorts of bad things; if these actions will gain something for him. He does not know that God will punish him for his bad deeds in the next world.

A person who believes in religion is afraid of God and will not do bad things. He knows that any difficulty that comes to him in this world is meant to test his faith in God. He, therefore, faces it patiently and prays for God's help. He knows that this will please God and he will be rewarded for it by God in the next world.

The bell rang. It was time for another lesson. When the children went home, they fullyrealised the need for a religion. Since then, they respected their religious teachings more and more and made every effort to follow them. In so doing they became happier and successful in life.

The Ant Prays For Rain

Once there was a big famine in Palestine. It was during the time of the Prophet, ProphetSulaiman (King Solomon). He came out with his people and proceeded to an open place in the desert to pray for the rains to come. Suddenly, he saw an ant standing on its two legs, raising its hands up towards the sky and saying, “Oh Allah! We are but very small among all Thy creatures. We cannot survive without Thy grace. Please bestow upon us Thy sustenance and do not punish us because of the sins of human beings. Please send down the rains so that trees can grow, farms become green and grains become available and we have our food to eat.”

ProphetSulaiman knew the language of all animals. He told his people, “Let us go home. The prayer of this ant is enough.” It then rained heavily and all the land became green and productive.

The ant is an intelligent creature. During warm days it collects and stores grain inside the holes. It knows that during wet and cold months, it would not be able to go out to search for food. For fear that grain may start growing because ofwetness, it splits it into two or more pieces. At times, during moonlit nights, it brings the split grains out of the stores for drying and preservation against decay.

The holes under the ground are made very carefully and covered with shelter to prevent the rain water from getting inside the holes. The ant, unlike the other animals, can lift a burden twice its own weight. It is not a selfish creature. When an ant finds some store of food grains, it runs up to its group and takes its fellow ants to that place. It showseveryone of them its own find of the store. They always behave in this manner. They work and live in co-operation with each other.

This shows how the ant works for the group and how each of them fulfils the needs and livelihood of its fellow-beings. How shameful it is for a man, who has no regard for another man; who has no concern for his fellow human beings who could be starving because of want of food.

Once, while ProphetSulaiman was travelling together with hosts of men, jinn and birds, they reached a valley of ants.

When the chief of these ants witnessed the pomp and the glory with which ProphetSulaiman and his companions were approaching toward it. He warned all the ants to get into their holes lest they got trampled and crushed unknowingly by the approaching men and Jinn. ProphetSulaiman smiled at this warning sounded by the ants' chief, and ordered his companions to wait till the ants went inside their holes. “None of us should hurt any ant while passing over their land”, he said.

It is said that ProphetSulaiman addressed the chief of the ants and said: “Howcould my people hurt you or your fellow ants when they are floating through air! Don't you know that I am a messenger of God and would never act unfairly?” The chief of the ants replied: “O Messenger of God! My cautioning theants was not for any hurt that they would suffer but to prevent them getting astray and forgetting the glory of God after seeing your pomp and show.”

There is a deep meaning in this event. It shows that even the most humble and smallest of creatures has been endowed with the necessary wisdom to live safely and avoid being hurt as far as possible. It alsoshows, how even a small ant does have the natural understanding of the true position of Allah. It imparts a lesson that one should not forget the true might and glory of Allah when one experiences a great power and dignity of any creature in this world.

Thus an Ant is one of the most wonderful small creatures in this world.Sura “Naml ” (the Ant) in the Holy Qur'an is a chapter named after this creature. Over 1300 years ago, Imam Ali (a) was giving a sermon inKufa , in which he was describing the beauties of creation in various forms of life. He was referring to small creatures and asking man to study how God made them so small yet so sturdy and strong. He described the ant in these words:

'Look at an ant. How tiny is its body and how delicate are its features! It is such a small creature that it often escapes the eye, and few people care to attach any importance to it among the living beings found on this earth. Look at it and study its ways of life; how it crawls, how it attacks its food; how it lifts a grain so many times heavier than its body, carries it to its hole; how it stores grains; and how in summer it gathers and stocks food for winter and rainy days.'

Care for Animals

A man once came to Prophet Muhammad (S) carrying with him his belongings and a box. He said, “O Prophet! While I was passing through a jungle, I heard the voice of some bird's babies. I took them and put them in this box. The moment I did that, their mother came fluttering round my head.”

And the Prophet said, “Put them down”. When the man put the box on the ground, the mother of the young birds joined them. Seeing this, the Prophet asked the man who now had a look of surprise on his face, “Are you surprised by the affection of the mother towards her young? I swear by Him (Almighty Allah) who has sent me, surely, God is more loving to his servants than the mother to these young birds. Return these baby birds to the place from where you took them, and let their mother be with them.”

“Fear God with regard to animals”, said the Prophet of Islam, “ride them when they are fit to be ridden, and get off their backs when they are tired; surely, there are rewards for being kind and gentle to animals, and for giving them water to drink.”

Islam has taught that in the eyes of Allah, animals also have rights in the same way as man has. They should not be treated badly, tortured or left to starve without food or water.

Imam Ali (a) had some ducks under his care in his house. At the time of his death, he had given particular advice to his sons to take good care of those animals, or to set them free if it was not possible to look after them properly.

The Holy Qur'an has also guided us by telling us that, in the eyes of God there is no difference between the human world and the animal world.

“There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth,nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you. Nothing have we omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end.” (6:38)

The Prophet of Islam was once performing ablution (Wudhu ) for prayers from a pot of water. A cat passed there and turned its eyes at the pot of water with a thirsty look. The Prophetrealised at once that the cat was very thirsty, so he stopped the ablution (Wudhu ) and placed the pot before the cat. Only after the cat had fully quenched its thirst, did the Prophet resume the ablution (Wudhu ).

By this action, the Prophet has shown that quenching the thirst of even a small dumb animal is a noble act full of virtue and should be given first attention before one prepares for offering prayers to God.

ProphetSulaiman (Solomon) the King Prophet

For the guidance of mankind, Allahhonoured four famous Prophets by revealing to them four Holy Books as under:

1)Taurat to Prophet Musa (Moses):

2)Zaboor (Psalms) To ProphetDawood (David);

3)Injeel (Evangel) To Prophet Isa (Jesus);

4) Qur'anTo Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (S).

The commandments of Allah are contained in these books. The first three books were for the earlier times. The Holy Qur'an is the last book of God and is for the guidance of entire mankind till the Day ofJudgement .

ProphetDawood eventually became King of his people. He had 19 sons. Each of them hoped to inherit the father's throne. Allah revealed to ProphetDawood a few questions and their answers and commanded him to put the questions to each one of his sons. Whosoever answered those questions correctly, would inherit the throne of the father, ProphetDawood .

One day ProphetDawood called all his sons in the presence of the scholars and the chiefs of the tribes of his kingdom. He then put forward the following questions:

1) Which thing is closest (nearest) to man?

2) Which is the farthest thing?

3) Which two things are attached to each other?

4) Which is the most awe-creating thing?

5,Which two things remain unchanged?

6) Which two things are always different?

7) Which two things are opposed to each other?

8) What is the action the result of which is good?

9) What is that action the result of which is bad?

The sons of ProphetDawood felt helpless and could not answer any of these questions. Then the youngest of the sons, ProphetSulaiman (Solomon) stood up and gave the following answers:

1. The nearest things to a manis the hereafter (Life and Death - as one may die any moment);

2. The farthest thingsis the time which has passed away (which is not to come again);

3. The two things that are attached to each other is man's body with the soul;

4.The most awe-creating is the man's body (dead) without soul;

5. The two things which remain the same are the sky and the earth;

6. The two things which are different are the day and night;

7. The two things which are opposed to each other are life and death;

8. The action - the end of which is good - is patience and forbearance at the time of anger;

9. The action - the end of which is bad is haste at the time of anger.

ProphetDawood obviously, was very much impressed with these correct answers and appointed ProphetSulaiman as his successor.

Thus it will be seen that it was the supreme knowledge and understanding that made ProphetSulaiman succeed his father and become the Great King Prophet.

Here Comes Al-Amin - The Trustworthy

It had rained heavily and continuously for a long period, and the water poured down towards the HolyKa'aba inMasjid-ul-Haram , the big mosque in Mecca, TheKa'aba was in the lower section of Mecca. It had become old and collapsed.

So the rebuilding was started. The work progressed well enough until al-Hajar -ul -Aswad , the Black Stone, was to be put back in its place.

Each quarter of theKa'aba was being built by one leading family ofQuraish - the big and prominent tribe of Mecca. Each family ofQuraish felt thehonour of placing the Black Stone belonging to it.

The disagreement became deeper, and led to a lot of argument, shouting and abuse. The members of each big family were thinking that a war was going to breakout, None of them was willing to change his position. They regarded it as a great insult if they didn't have that specialhonour of putting the Black Stone back in its place.

One member stood up and said, “I have a suggestion, let us wait till tomorrow and seewho enters theMasjid-ul-Haram first in the morning; then let him decide”. All agreed, since that sounded like a good suggestion.

They anxiouslywaited next morning to see whowas the first to come and enterKa'aba . Suddenly they heard footsteps heading towards them. It was Muhammad (S), the son of Abdulla. Everyone, of course, knew, loved, admired and respected Muhammad (S). So with a loud voice, everyone said, “Here comes Al-Amin ” and the voice echoed through the place over and over again.

He was surprised to hear of that title with which they called him. He was told about what the people ofQuraish were fighting for. It was all silent for a while. Everyone thought his family was going to befavoured . Their hearts were beating hard and they were getting anxious and impatient.

Muhammad (S) put his robe on the floor, took the sacred Black Stone and put it in the centre of the robe and said. “The chief of each family will take one corner of the robe and lift it together”. With that, each understood amarvellous example of justice in sharing thehonour . It showed how Muhammad's intelligence far exceeded those around him. It also showed his great capacity to solve difficult problems with such ease.

When the robe with the Black Stone was lifted to a reasonable height. Muhammad (S) took the Black Stone and put it in its proper place by his own hands. None felt insulted and each had his share of the privilege andhonour .

This is how Muhammad (S) the Prophet of Islam succeeded in uniting the ever-fighting and ignorant Arabs with his honesty, justice and noble character.

Hercules and Islam

Arabia, during the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S), was a country without any central authority. It was a country far from thecivilised nations of those days.

At the time Prophet Muhammad (S) was spreading Islam; asking people to turn away from worshipping idols to worshipping Allah, the Almighty, the All-Knower,the Master.

The Prophet sent letters of invitation to Kings and Rulers of various countries in the world, inviting them to embrace Islam. Many of the letters were met with afavourable response whilst others were rejected. In many cases, the messengers of the Prophet were badly treated and abused. But the Prophet was not worried by these setbacks. He was inviting people to the right path and a few setbacks could not deter him from propagating Islam.

AbuSufyan a leader of the tribe ofQuraish and the arch enemy of the Prophet was in Constantinople on a business trip, when the Prophet's letter of invitation reached Hercules, the Byzantine emperor of Eastern Roman Empire. Hercules, at the time was in his court at Constantinople celebrating his victory over the Persians.

Hercules read the letter through an interpreter and then asked the people in his court, to find out if there was someone in the city, who knew the Prophet. AbuSufyan with his companions was brought into the court.

The emperor asked AbuSufyan , “What kind of family does Muhammadbelong to?”

“Noble”, replied AbuSufyan

“Has there been a king in his family?” Hercules asked.

“No,” said AbuSufyan

“Are the people who have accepted his religion poor or rich?”, Hercules questioned again.

“They are poor”, replied AbuSufyan .

Hercules was now becoming more and more interested and he went on asking questions.

His next question was, “Are his followers on the increase or decrease?”

“Increasing”, AbuSufyan replied shortly.

“Have you known him to tell lies”?asked Hercules.

“No”, admitted AbuSufyan .

“Does he ever go against his convents?”, Hercules once again asked.

“Not so far. But we have to see whether he carries out the new agreement made between us and him”, AbuSufyan answered lengthily for a change.

“Have you ever fought him in wars?” Hercules questioned.

“Yes”, answered AbuSufyan

“What has been the result?” Hercules asked, getting more and more interested.

“Sometimes we have won, sometimes he”, replied AbuSufyan .

“What does he teach?” asked Hercules

“Worship One God, join no partners with Him, carry out your prayers, be chaste, speak the truth and keep union with your relatives”, answered AbuSufyan , even surprised at his own answer as it sounded like he was preaching Islam.

Hercules stood up and said, “If all you said is true, then I am sure that this Prophet's Kingdom will reach here where I am standing. I was certain that a Prophet was coming, but I didn't know that he would be born in Arabia. If I were to go there, I would embrace Islam and wash the Prophet's feet with my own hands.”

This was the way in which the Prophet spread Islam. He impressed them by his truthfulness, honesty, noble character and dedication in the service of Allah. He did not compel people to accept Islam under threat of waging wars, nor did he compel people to accept Islam by the force of the sword. He fought only indefence , and only when the enemies waged war on him.

Ja'far Al-Tayyar ,The Refugee Who Brought Islam to Africa

When the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) began to preach religion of Islam in Mecca, those who did not believe in him and his message, opposed and troubled him. They called him a lunatic and a sorcerer. They offered bribes to persuade him to stop preaching the religion. When all these ways failed, they used harsh threats against the Prophet and the new Muslim converts.

During all these years, the Holy Prophet enjoyed the protection of his uncle AbuTalib . He always stood by his nephew and did not let anyone harm him. The sons of AbuTalib , one by one, accepted Islam. Imam Ali (a) was right, from his childhood, under the care of the Prophet and was the first one to declare his true faith, Islam, when the Prophet proclaimed hisProphethood . He always stood by the Prophet firmly and faithfully both in good and difficult times. Among the other sons of AbuTalib (a),Ja'far also accepted Islam and so didAqeel , the other son of AbuTalib .

The torture and oppression which the Holy Prophet and the small group of his followers had been subjectedto, had increased so much that life became unbearable. The Holy Prophet decided on an action which not only saved the lives of his followers but also spread the message of Islam to other countries. He therefore, decided to send some of his followers to Abyssinia, which was just across the Red Sea, to the south of Mecca.

The Holy Prophet had great faith inJa'far the son of AbuTalib (a) and brother of Imam Ali (a). A handful of Muslim refugees including men and women under the leadership ofJa'far crossed the Red Sea. This is known to be the first migration in the history of Islam, which occurred in the fifth year after theProphet had proclaimed Islam in 615 A.D. They were joined by more immigrants who had become the victims of the enemies of Islam. The number of the refugees rose to eighty-two men and eighteen women.

On arrival at the capital of Abyssinia,Ja'far and his companions paid a visit to the Emperor Negus. The Emperor was very much impressed with the knowledge,behaviour and the politeness ofJa'far and he received him with muchhonour and entertained him as a respected guest.

When the non-believers ofQuraish in Mecca came to know of this, Abdulla BinRabih andAmr Bin 'Aas together with some other people took some expensive gifts and arrived at the court of the Emperor Negus. On entering the court, they prostrated (bowed insajda before the Emperor and presented him with the gifts. Then they said, “Someone in our country has invented a new religion and some people have joined him. We tried to stop this, but some of his followers have taken refuge in your country. Now, we appeal to you to throw them out and hand them over to us.” The Emperor replied that he had already given protection to them and would not throw them out of the country, but he would ask them to come there before them. So saying, the Emperor called in the Muslim refugees.

Hazrat Ja'far took with him some close companions and arrived at the court. But he did not prostrate (bow insajda ) before Negus. People in the courtcriticised him for this and asked him why he had not bowed down before the Emperor as was customary.Hazrat Ja'far promptly retorted, “We do not bow down before anybody except God. The Emperor knew that this was the true and basic teaching of divine religions. He calledJa'far and gave a respectful place near him. He then informedJa'far that some people from his country of origin had come there with a complaint that he had deserted his old religion and started a new one which rejected the original idol-worship.Hazrat Ja'far in very impressivelanguage, replied:

“O King! We were in deep ignorance and barbarism: we adored idols, we lived inunchastity ; we ate dead animals, we disregarded the duties of hospitality andneighbourhood ;At that time, God raised among us a man, who is pure, truthful and honest. He called us to believe in One God and taught us not to associate anything with Him. He forbade us to worship idols, enjoined us to speak the truth, to be faithful to our trusts, to be merciful and to regard the rights ofneighbours . He forbade us to speak evil of women. He ordered us to keep away from vices, to offer prayers, to pay alms and to observe the fast.”

Negus toldJa'far to recite some words from the Holy Qur'an.Ja’far commenced withBismillah and proceeded to recite a few lines fromSurah Maryam with such sincerity and sweet voice that the Emperor and his people were very much moved and began to weep. When the Emperor heard the verse concerning Prophet Isa (Jesus), he was very touched and said that the words resembled those which were bestowed upon Prophet Musa (Moses) and Prophet Isa (Jesus).

The Emperor rejected the appeal of theQuraish and orderedAmr bin 'Aas to take away the gifts he had brought.Amr bin 'Aas went away but having thought of something, he returned to the court the next day. He made a cunning move by suggesting to the Emperor to ask the Muslims as to what their belief was concerning Prophet Isa?Hazrat Ja’far was called to the court again and was given a very respectful welcome. The Emperor then asked: “What does your Prophet (Muhammad) say about Prophet Isa (Jesus)?'

The Muslims became worried butHazrat Ja'far , with great peace of mind, replied: “O King! Our Prophet is guided by God in what he says.” Saying this, he proceeded to show anAyat from the Holy Qur'an and requested Negus to read it: “The messiah (Isa), son ofMaryam is only a messenger of Allah and His word and His spirit which He sent toMaryam .”

Negus was extremely pleased to learn this and said: “This actually is also there in our book ofInjil .” He then expelledAmr bin 'Aas and the infidels ofQuraish from Abyssinia. From then onwards, Negus had high regard for and faith in Islam.

ThusJa'far had done a great service to Islam. He preached the true message of Islam in Abyssinia and stayed there for fifteen years before returning toMadina .

Prophet Ibrahim and the Idol Worship

During the olden times, people everywhere used to carve stones and make idols for worship. These statues were considered as gods, and people bowed and prayed before them.Namrud , the King of Babylonia, was once informed by his astrologers that someone was going to be born who would destroy his kingdom. He would teach people another religious concept: that of worshipping none but only one God.

On hearing that,Namrud gave orders that no woman would conceive, hence no child would be born in his kingdom. If any child was born, it would be killed immediately. The mother of Prophet Ibrahim became pregnant. But by the will of Allah, no sign of pregnancy was to be seen. When the time of birth of the child came nearer, she went out of the town and hid in a cave. There, Prophet Ibrahim was born. She then covered the child with a cloth, closed the mouth of the cave with stones and returned home without the child. She told nobody of what had happened.

The child was alone in the cave with no one to care for him. He was sucking the milk which flowed of his fingers - by the grace of Almighty God. The child grew up under Allah's protection. From time to time, his mother would come secretly to the cave to watch him. This went on for thirteen years. On one occasion when the mother visited the son, he beseeched her to take him out of the cave. The mother warned that he would be killed by the King it he came to know about him. But the child insisted that he be brought out of the cave as 13 years had been a long time.

Thus Prophet Ibrahim came out of the cave for the first time. It was late in the evening when the sun was setting. When the night grew dark, he saw a star and he said, “Is this my Lord?” But when it set, he said, “I love not the setting ones.” Then, when he saw the moonrising he said: “Is this my Lord?” But when it set, he said, “If my Lord had not guided me I would have certainly been among the mistaken ones. Then he saw the sun rising and said, “Is this my Lord?” Is this the greatest?”. But when it also set, he said, “O, my people!Surely. I am clear of what you set up with Allah. Surely, I have turned myself wholly to the One Who created the heavens and the earth. I am not of the ones who believe and worship anything else other than Allah - the one God.

The people, at that time were not only idol-worshippers but they were also worshipping the stars, the sun, the moon etc. All the time, he was making themrealise their error in their choice of 'gods'. He was showing his people what they called a god, did not deserve to be called god and worshipped if it disappeared at times. So Prophet Ibrahim started preaching the belief of One God and persuading his people not to worship anything else but Allah, the one and only God.

Once, it was the time of annual festival in the town and according to their custom,Namrud , the King, went out of town with all his people to celebrate the day. Prophet Ibrahim did not accompany them but stayed behind. He went to the temple where all the idols were kept, and broke all of them one by one. He left the biggest idol untouched, but put the axe on its shoulder.

When the King and his people returned they were very angry to see their idols destroyed. He said that he would kill the person who had caused that damage. The people told him that it must be a young man, named Ibrahim who always preached against the worship of idols. He must have destroyed them.

When Prophet Ibrahim was asked if it was he who broke the idols. He replied, “Why do you not ask the chief (of the idols) who is standing safe. Perhaps he has doneit, that is if your idol gods can speak, ask them as to who broke them.” Thus Prophet Ibrahim did not utter a lie denying what he had done. He only wanted the people to first ask their own idols as to who had done it?

Namrud got very angry and asked his people their opinion. Every one suggested that Prophet Ibrahim be punished by burning him alive in a big fire.

So, Prophet Ibrahim was jailed, whileNamrud ordered that all available firewood in the forest be collected and be heaped up in one open place. When this was done, it was set alight. The fire burnt fiercely and widely for days and days. It had generated so much heat that no bird dared to fly nearby. At the appointed day on which Prophet Ibrahim was to be put in the fire and burnt,Namrud with his large army and followers came out to that place to watch.

On seeing the huge fire and the intense heat, he began to ponder as to how it would be possible to convey Prophet Ibrahim into the fire. Suddenly Satan, the devil, came and suggested that a type of a crane be prepared which could be used to hurl Prophet Ibrahim into the fire. This would cut out the need of any assistance of human hands to do the risky job of delivering the Prophet into the raging fire.

The crane was constructed and Prophet Ibrahim was lifted and readied to be dumped into the fire.On seeing this tragic happening. the angels in the heaven and all the creatures in the sky became deeply upset. Taking permission from Almighty Allah, one by one, they all came to Prophet Ibrahim to inquire if they could be of any help to him. The Prophet said that he was seeking help and protection from none of them. The one from whom he expected help (that is Almighty Allah), was fully aware of the dangerous situation in which he was and would help him if need be.

Just then, the angel,Jibrail came to the Prophet and gave him a ring on which the following was inscribed (written):

“There is no God but Allah”

“Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah”

“I depend and rely upon Allah”

“I submit my affair to the will of Allah.”

Prophet Ibrahim put the holy ring on his finger and the grace and blessing of Allah began to be showered upon him. Thencame the command from Allah, “O fire! Be nothing but coolness and peace for Ibrahim.”

Thus the burning fire instantly lost its heat and no harm came to the Prophet.

It is related that when Prophet Ibrahim was being thrown into the fire, the angels in the heaven and the birds in the air cried in protest. One of them, a small weak bird decided to burn itself along with the Prophet. As it was flying towards the fire, the angelJibrail was sent by Allah to inquire the reason why it was going to commit suicide! The angel stopped the bird on the ground and asked it to explain its strange action - that of trying to burn itself along with Prophet Ibrahim. The bird said: “Don't you know that the friend of God is to be burnt in the fire? As it is not within my strength to save him, I am showing my sorrow and sympathy by accompanying him into the fire!”

The angel conveyed this incident to Allah. Thencame a command from Allah to tell the bird that it would be rewarded for its sincere feeling shown for the Prophet. It was asked what it wished to have so that the wishbe fulfilled. The bird in reply said: “I do not wish to have anything from this world. All I wish is to constantly remember Allah in prayer. There are a thousand and one names of Allah. I know hardly a hundred names. I wish to be taught the remaining names. Almighty Allah fulfilled its desire. As it flew from tree to tree, it went on singing the names of Allah, thus remembering Him day and night.

To respect andsympathise with the friends of Allah; to remember Allah constantly in prayer is better than fulfilling worldly desires. This is what the little weak bird has shown to us. These are the acts of virtue which would one day undoubtedly earn great rewards from Allah.