Well today I was home in the evening and so was my nephew and I told him if he wanted to stay at home with me then he definitely wasn’t gonna watch telly and he’d have to read (this was my way of making him go with his mum). So yeah, he decided he wanted to stay at home with me and read! By the way, he’s only 8 years old.
So I got him reading Qur’an out loud whilst I just messed on the computer and sorted my emails. Then I remembered something I heard from Shaykh Riyad ul Haq last week.
During Ramadhan, the one who brought the Qur’an used to read it in its entirety to the one it was brought to. Thereafter, the one who received it, would recite it back in its entirety to the one who brought it. So one would read and the other would listen attentively and vice versa. Because the blessing of the Qur’an is not only in its reading but also in listening to it attentively. If you hadn’t realised already, these two were the Angel Jibra’il (alayhissalaam) who brought the Qur’an and the Prophet (Peace be upon him), the one whom it was brought to.
Continuing on with this evening, I decided that I would sit and read with my nephew. So I got him to read a page and I listened, then I read and he listened and we carried on.
The reasons I tell you this are many. First of all, consider how often you get to hear someone read Qur’an to you and how often you get to read to them. Secondly, we had two different versions of the Qur’an, that is the page sizes and lengths were different. This meant that he had to listen and follow very carefully to see when it would be his turn to read; I had to do the same.
The last reason and most important is the fact that we have to lead by example. It’s very easy for me to send him to another room and tell him to read whilst I just do whatever elsewhere. Now I’ve been considering the effect of this. Do I ever really expect him to feel motivated if I just tell him and I don’t set myself as an example?
I’ve not been a good example to my nephews and I’ve realised this. Yes, I tell them to do this and that but I’m not there with them doing it and showing them how.
We must remember that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) didn’t tell us what to do, he showed us in every aspect of his life.
May Allah help me, you and the entire ummah act as proper role models for our children.
Ameen.
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2 comments:
Assalamu alaykum,
SubhanaAllah, thats very nice. Yes, we should all set a good example, especially to the young, impressionable child. Very touching to hear that a child of this age isn't messing about playing video games or watching the tele... That just bought a smile on my face
Truly, this is a reminder for me, too. I have a young nephew of the age of 3. And well, mum said that he should watch tv so that he wouldnt cry when his father would leave (my brother). And so, we let him watch the tele and he was just entranced. I would call his name and he wouldn't dare take his eyes off the tele! Quite amusing at first, but at second glance, I got sad. The day after, my professor was talking about the harmful effects the tele has on children. And my nephew came to mind.
So subhanaAllah, I keep seeing these reminders that not just remind me of the special people around me, but myself too.
may Allah bless you two and let his good deeds be copied over to your book and let this be a sadaqa jaareya inshaAllah
Wasalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah
Cordial Regards,
~Scarlet Cloak
Good post.
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