Umme Hamza – My Bit for Change

The Choice

Tears strolled down my cheeks and I turned my head to take one last look at Masjid-e-Nabwi as our bus pulled away onto the streets of the beloved city. The days I spent in the city of my Nabi were no doubt the best days of my life. The love I felt elsewhere for Muhammed S.A.W swung in full bloom in his Masjid. “The city” was all around me. I had begun living in that era. I could hear ‘azan-e-Bilali’ ringing in my ears during every azan. I could hear the sahabas working all night with my Nabi in Salman Farsi R.A’s date farm. I didn’t dare walk with my shoes on the soil that the Nabi and his sahabas walked. I could hear the sound of horses hooves in the ground of Uhud and see them fighting for one cause. As I stepped into the cave in which my Nabi took refuge during the battle, I could hear the shouts of sahabas fighting to save their Nabi from any harm. I saw Ayesha and Fatima R.A running around in the battle field to fetch water for the mujahideen. I could feel the tension in the air and heard Mount Uhud crying and weeping for the martyrs.

“This is Uhud, the mountain which loves us and we love it.” Sahih Bukhari Kitabul Hajj Hadith no. 3207.

As I entered Masjid Quba I could feel the enthusiasm my Nabi must have felt when starting a new life in a new city. The apprehension he must have felt leaving his beloved city behind and giving himself up to a new people on the will of Allah.

“A place of worship which was found upon duty (to Allah) from the first day is more worthy that thou shouldst stand (to pray) therein, wherein are men who love to purify themselves. Allah loveth the purifiers.” —Qur’an, 9:108

In Masjid Qiblatain, I felt the gratitude my Nabi and his sahabas must have felt as they turned themselves towards the Kaaba during their salah. I was able to see their faces during their ruku and sajood bright with anticipation to learn about the sudden change.

“We have seen the turning of your face from the sky, so we will direct your towards a qiblah that will please you, so turn your face towards the sacred mosque and wherever you are direct your faces towards it. Those who were given the book know that it is the truth from your lord, and Allah is not unaware of what they do.” —Qur’an,2:144

Needless to say, I was surrounded by “the city”. Everywhere I went I could feel ‘his’ presence. With every step I took, I felt ashamed of walking the same ground as that great man. The feeling was overwhelming. It overcame me. I felt I belonged here. I felt I can never ever be happy anywhere else. How can a person leave this city for anywhere else in the world? How can a person leave this city where showers of ‘rehmat’ can actually be felt for anything in the world? I knew if I was given a choice to live here or leave, I would never leave. But I had no choice. I had to leave. But…

I learnt there were people who had the choice. And they chose to leave.

Abu Ayub Ansari R.A. whose house Muhammed S.A.W preferred to live in over every house in the city chose to leave for Turkey. His grave is now in Istanbul. Bilal R.A whom Muhammed S.A.W called ‘sayyedna’ left for Syria and now rests there. Huzaifa and Jabir bin Abdullah R.A left for Iraq. Graves of 29 great sahabas are found in different parts of Turkey. Saad bin Abi Waqas left for China. He returned to Madina later but left his two companions behind who rest there. These great men’s love for Muhammed S.A.W could not be compared. Who did not let the water of their Nabi’s ablution fall to the ground. They loved him more than their own selves, their parents and their family. Abu Safyan said,

“By Allah I have never seen before such a people who are most sincere in their love than the companions of Muhammad.”

These great men chose to leave the city of their beloved because they knew they had a mission in their hands.

“Muhammad is no more than a Messenger: many were the Messengers that passed away before him. If he died or were slain, will ye then turn back on your heels? If any did turn back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah; but Allah (on the other hand) will swiftly reward those who (serve him) with gratitude.—Qur’an, 3:144

They made ‘his’ mission their mission. They took his message and spread all around the world. They had accepted that ‘the land’ and ‘the law’ belonged to Allah alone and they strived to let the world know they meant business. It was because of their life long struggle that during my hajj journey I saw people from those parts of the world, names of which, I never came across. As I saw groups of Hajjaj from China chanting ‘Labaik Allahumma Labaik’, I saw the struggle of Saad bin Abi Waqas behind them. I saw the hard work of Abu Ayub Ansari and other sahabas behind every Turkish man and woman. It was because of Zuhair bin Qais’s struggle that people from North African tribes were also there to pay their obligation.

These great men had a choice. They had a choice to either live in the city of Muhammed S.A.W or live eternally with Muhammed S.A.W. These great men had a choice and they chose wisely.

Children – Flowers of Paradise

It was my first week of school as a 2^nd grade teacher, and the day was about to end. Students were packing up their bags. Suddenly, I remembered that I had to distribute notice flyers which were given to me by the administration. I said to the class in my firm bossy voice, “ok, calm down! No one is leaving the room until I say so. I have to distribute these.”

As I finished distributing these flyers, another teacher knocked at my door saying she needed my help with something in her room. Her desk drawer was stuck and by the time I helped her pull the drawer out, the bell had rung. I hurried back to my classroom imagining the worst as I had left 18 seven years olds on their own for 5 whole minutes. And as expected, all hell had broken loose. Chairs were turned upside down, children were throwing pieces of chalk at each other and some were even standing on the tables. But the funny part was that not a single child had left the room even though the afternoon bell had rung. Why, you ask? Because I had told them: ‘No one is going to leave the room until I say so’ and I had not said so.

These children were supposed to be the naughtiest and the snobbiest kids of the school. And yet, they remained in the room just because their teacher had told them to. This made me reflect. My own obedience towards Allah S.W.T was not even a fraction of obedience just displayed by my class. This class was supposed to be the most disobedient and hyperactive class of the school but I had a whole new perspective now. I was judging them in a whole new paradigm. It was all in the eyes of the beholder. This was the first lesson I learnt as I set my foot into the “profession of the prophets.”

Children, according to a Hadith, are flowers of Jannah.

But in schools, and at home, they are treated like anything but flowers. A scholar once said,

“These children do not need loving parents. They need trained parents.”

When getting married, zero attention is given to this matter although upbringing of a new human being is the most important and difficult task to be faced by the newlyweds. Awareness to get trained to raise children as an asset for the Muslim Ummah in this world and as asset for the parents in the hereafter should be our foremost concern.

Although many institutions have taken up this task in our country to train parents and teachers and assist them in the carrying out of this enormous responsibility, a lot more still needs to be done. In all the parenting workshops and seminars I have attended, the percentage of male participants is never more than 10%. It’s as if we have concluded that parent means the mother. Fathers are ATM booths—only needed for money.

The religion which we follow and the Prophet (SAW) for whom we vow to die give us a very different idea of parenting. And who better to train us than the best teacher of the world.

When I look into Muhammad (SAW)’s life and his interactions with the child, I sit in complete awe. A man with a responsibility which has no match to any responsibility in the world and yet I see him racing along with the children, laughing and clapping. His Seerah tells us that the children waited for him outside the Masjid and when he (S.A.W) came out, he used to stretch both his hands and the children would come running to him, falling on him from all sides. And mind you, these children were not his relatives. They were mere acquaintances he would see every day on the streets. For a self analysis, I stood with my arms stretched in a family gathering and asked the group of kids which included my two sons along with their cousins to come running to me. I told them it was a game. I hung my head in shame as even my own sons shied away. It told me a lot about my parenting.

I looked deep into the Seerah of Rasulallah SAW and saw him commencing the Jummah Khutbah with a child on his lap. I saw him kissing and hugging the children of Medina at random. I saw him playing games on the streets of Medina with the children he barely knew. They loved him and he loved them. According to him, “Children are flowers of jannah.” Which brings me back to my first lesson – it’s all in the perspective. We see them as flowers so we treat them as flowers. We see them as valued assets, so we treat them as valued assets.

We have to come to this realization that the responsibility for which we will be held most accountable for is the little creations around us. We are leaving an impact on each and every one of them consciously or unconsciously. We need to educate ourselves to be able to educate little ones. No number of degrees would make us qualified for this job if we ignore the Sunnah of the greatest teacher in the world. And the most important lesson that he SAW gave us is of love and love only.

Parents and to-be parents need to realize that dealing with children is an art; a skill, which needs to be developed and groomed like any other skill. Once this realization hits home, it will be an easier task to make way for the education.