CHILDREN’S CORNER
365 Days with the Sahaba
Goodword is an award-winning publishing company with a splendid range of Islamic Books in many languages. It offers innovative products for children, including Quran stories, moral stories, craft and activity books, gift packs, Islamic games, Arabic and Islamic readers for home and school. 365 Days with the Sahaba is a unique book that contains 365 anecdotes from the lives of the pious Companions of the Prophet Muhammad. These anecdotes provide lessons in morality and ethics. The following is a selection of two anecdotes from this book.
Upper Hand is Better than the Lower Hand
WHEN Hakim ibn Hizam embraced Islam, he vowed to himself
that he would atone for whatever he had done before Islam
and whatever amount he had spent in opposing the Prophet,
he would spend the same amount now for the cause of Islam. He sold
Dar al-Nadwah (Assembly House) for one hundred thousand dirhams
and gave the entire money for the cause of Allah.
While Hakim was generous in his spending for the sake of Allah, he still craved wealth. After the battle of Hunayn, he asked the Prophet for some of the booty. The Prophet gave him what he had asked. He then asked for more and the Prophet gave him more. Hakim was still a newcomer to Islam and the Prophet was more generous to newcomers to reconcile their hearts to Islam. So, Hakim ended up with a large share of the booty.
Then the Prophet told him: “O Hakim! This wealth is indeed sweet and attractive. Whoever takes it and is satisfied will be blessed by it and whoever takes it out of greed will not be blessed. He would be like someone who eats and is not satisfied. The upper hand is better than the lower hand (it is better to give than to receive).”
The kind words of advice had a deep and immediate effect on Hakim. He was mortified and said to the Prophet: “O Messenger of Allah! By Him who has sent you with the truth, I shall not ask anyone after you for anything.”
During the caliphate of Abu Bakr, Hakim was called several times to collect his stipend from the Bayt al-Mal (the treasury) but he refused. He did the same during the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab. He lived a long life and died at the age of 120 years.
Simple Living
Aisha was born into a highly respectable wealthy family, but she
patiently bore the hardships, simplicity and ascetic lifestyle of the
Prophet due to her loyalty to Allah and her devotion to the Prophet and
his cause. Aisha was the youngest of the Prophet’s wives at the time
of her marriage. Her room was about 10 feet long with mud walls and
floor. The roof was thatched with date leaves and the household items
consisted of one bed, a mat, a pillow stuffed with date fibres, a water
pitcher, a bowl and two earthen jars to store dates and flour.
She underwent many hardships. Yet, Aisha was content and did not complain. Aisha once told Urwah bin Zubair, her nephew, ‘Sometimes, for three long months, we never cooked anything in our house because we did not have anything during that period.’ He then asked, ‘How did you survive without anything?’ She replied, ‘We used to eat dates and drink water or sometimes some of our neighbours would send us some food and milk' After the death of the Prophet, Aisha continued to live an ascetic existence dedicated to fasting, prayers, charities, and the care of orphans and the destitute.