Children’s Column – Aug 2015
The Qur’an for Young Hearts – 64
Important Notes
1:The translation of the Qur’an being presented here is interpretative. It is meant for children. Those who can understand other translations should better consult them.
2. Parents are advised to hold sessions at home and teach the verses and explanation as given here, and, if they can, add more from Qur’anic commentaries.
3. Answers to exercise below may be attempted. Parents may evaluate them and reward the children suitably.
4. Schools could also include this in their Islamic curriculum.
5. The underlined words have been explained in the Dictionary given below.
Verses fromSurah no. 2, Al-Baqarah
[219] They ask you about wine and gambling. Tell them: ‘There are seriou sins in both, although there are (some) benefits for mankind. But the sin in them is greater than their benefits.’ And they ask you about what it is that they should spend. Tell them, ‘That which is more than the need.’This is how Allah makes clear His messages so that you may think.
[220] (So that you may think) about the present world as well as the next.And they ask you about the orphans. Tell them: ‘The best thing is to improve their welfare.’ Therefore, if you mingle (your food) with theirs, then, after all, they are your brothers. And Allah knows the evils ones from the well‑meaning ones. Had Allah willed He could have made things difficult for you, surely, He is Mighty, Wise.
Understanding these verses:
Eimaan(true faith) is such a thing that as soon as it enters the heart of a man, he begins to hate those things do a lot of evil to mankind. This is what happened to those who believed in the Prophet. For hundreds of years their life was nothing but wine and gambling during their free time. But when they became Muslim they began to feel uneasy about wine and gambling. They thought that they must be banned and asked the Prophet whether they were still lawful.
But since wine and gambling were deep in their lives before Islam, Allah’s kindness willed that they should be removed gradually. After all, a drunkard will go mad if all wine is taken away from him suddenly. So, Allah said that both wine and gambling were serious sins. When the Muslims heard that, they started cutting down wine and gambling. They knew that if there was sin in them, they will soon be made unlawful. This actually happened after a few years.
There is another thing that eimaan (true faith) does to a man. He begins to believe that he is part of a big society of people. He feels that he should not enjoy advantages over others. He sees that there are a lot of people who are very poor, so that sometimes they don’t have enough to eat. He believes that he has no right to be rich when others are so poor.
Actually, Islam is a spiritual religion. So, as soon as a man becomes a Muslim, he gets connected to other souls. He begins to feel their pain as his pain; their joy as his soul’s enjoyment. This is the meaning of the words, “brotherhood in Islam.” It is automatic, and unbreakable, so long as a Muslim is a man of faith.
He feels he must give out. But, he doesnot know whom to give, how much to give. They asked the Prophet, and Allah informed them that they should give out everything that was more than their need.
Now, certainly, to give away more than what a man has over and above his need, is not easy. But, Muslims were new in faith. Their eimaan was bubbling. They accepted it. And, if the peoples of the world agreed that all are equal in worldly things, especially in food and clothing, then, you can see, there would be no wars between the people in the world.
Allah was kind on the Muslims. Later, after a few years, He asked the rich ones among them to spend only 2.5% as Zakah on the poor, and not all that they had over and above their needs. And study shows that if the population of the entire world gave away 2.5% of their wealth in charity, there would be no poor people left in the world.
Test of understanding:
Answer the following:
- Do you feel in your heart that wine and gambling are not good things?
- If your answer is yes, then say why.
- What will go wrong if a little drinking, once in a while is allowed?
- What was the reason that Allah only gradually made wine and gambling haram?
- Allah said in verse 219, “So that you may think.” But think what? Can you explain?
- What are the things in which all should be equal in having?
- How to remove poverty from the world?
- What is the secret behind Muslim brotherhood?
(To be continued)
