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Friday, 23 March 2012

Turning the Tide - Chapter 2


My little boy toddled around the living room singing his own little version of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and grinning at me each time he passed me. Laughing, I continued to read Chapter 2 of Turning the Tide; Childhood, Snow Flake Crystals. I smiled reading the description of Childhood and the innocence it brought to us. The description of the individuality and uniqueness of a snowflake lead me to reminiscing about my brothers and sisters.

Being the oldest of 6, I am blessed with many beautiful memories of my younger siblings – my little tribe as I like to call them (Although I didn’t appreciate them at the time!). But the brightest and sweetest snowflake is my little sister Ruqaiyah. Her still very young childhood was plagued with an illness that impacted us all as a family and I saw each of us rally together to keep her company in hospital, entertain her when she was sick and cheer her up when it all became too much. One vivid memory is of her tiny little hands cupped against her face as she whispered her own personal dua to Allah to make her better. The memory brings tears to my eyes, even now when it has been over a year since she has been given the All-Clear. But that image of her tiny little frame hunched over desperately making dua is a shining, beautiful example of the purity that exists in a child’s heart.

The Myriad Voices were all so beautiful it was impossible for me to single out just one to mention here – they all made me smile and reflect on my own “tribe”. One common thought struck me as I read each Voice. A child’s life is very much a blank slate with no impurities. Therefore, we must make it our priority to keep that slate clean and polished until they are ready to pick up the responsibility themselves. As one of the Eternal Voices stated;

“A father gives a child nothing better than a good education.” [Tirmidhi]

Now, that is not to say a father must send his child to the fanciest, most expensive school. Because, we aren’t talking about the National Curriculum here. Educations in life are the most valuable lessons ANY person can receive. To learn about why we are here, where we are going, and how to make the best of our journey – they are crucial.

The beautiful story of Fatima. May Allah bless her and grant her eternal peace. Her life is such an admirable example of the love and respect which should exist between a parent and child. One would expect that at the tender age of 10, Fatima would be ever protected by her father. But, her strength of character, bravery and determination shone through from a young age as she fearfully defended her father against the Quraysh.
That, my readers, is a good education.

2 comments:

  1. As-Salam Alaikum. I've tagged you here :)

    http://xahu-writes.blogspot.com/2012/03/eleven-tagged-questions-times-two.html

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    1. JazakAllah :) I will answer on my personal blog: http://www.whalesandbluebirds.blogspot.com

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