Grandma tells a story

بسم الله الرحمان الرحيم
In the Name of Allah,
the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Everyone loves a good story. Samirah and her

sister Ruqayyah loved stories too. They especially

loved stories told by their grandma. She made them

sound so interesting. They could almost picture what

she was saying, she made it sound so real. And after

she finished, she asked them questions to make sure

they had listened well. Join Samirah and Ruqayyah

for a story telling session at Grandma's home. Then

answer the questions.

Today, said Grandma, I am going to a story about the

Ka'bah and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم . Listen well,

for you will learn many things from it.

One day, a long long time ago, when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was only thirty years old, the Quraysh decided to

repair the Ka'bah. Because of floods and storms,

the Ka'bah was damaged. All the tribes were eager

to have the honor of repairing the Ka'bah, and so

each of them took on the task of repairing one 

part of the Ka'bah.

First, they took down the damaged parts, until

the pillars that Prophet Ibrahim عليه السلام had

built were left. Then they started rebuilding it.

Each tribe worked hard to make sure they built

firm and strong walls for the Ka'bah. The weather

was hot and dry, but the tribes worked on. When

it was finished they gazed at their work proudly.

They had done a good job. It was now time to put

on the Hajar al-Aswad in its place. But they could

not all put it together. One of them would have

to do it. Each tribe wanted the honor of doing that.

Confusion arose as no-one could decide who would

have the special task of placing the Hajar al-Aswad.

The confusion turned into a harsh argument. The

people were ready to do battle to win the special

honor. Nobody wanted to allow another to do the

task. The Quraysh were known to fight long battles

over small arguments, and many were afraid that 

the fight over the Hajar al-aswad could become

just that; a long unnecessary battle.

Finally one wise man came up with a solution.

''I have a suggestion'' he said. ''Lets us wait to

see who will be the first to enter the Masjid

today. We shall tell him to decide, and what-

ever he says will be accepted by all of us .''

Everyone agreed as it seemed a reasonable

suggestion. Now they all turned towards the

entrance to see who it would be who came

first to the Masjid.

Who would come along, but the Prophet

Muhammadصلى الله عليه وسلم himself. This event

took place before the Prophet announced his

Prophethood, but the people respected him

for his honesty and trustworthiness. ''Here

comes al-Amin'' shouted one of the Quraysh

excitedly. ''Yes ! Let Muhammad decide'' said

another ''we can trust him as we always have ''.

They explained their problem to the Prophet

صلى الله عليه وسلم . He told them not to worry as

he would help them solve it. 

''Get me a piece of cloth'' he said. They were

surprised, but did as they were told. The Prophet

صلى الله عليه وسلم spread out the cloth, and placed

the Hajar al-Aswad on it. Then he asked each of

the leaders of the tribes to take a corner of the

cloth and lift it up. When this was done, and the 

cloth was raised to the point where the Hajar

al-Aswad was to be placed, the Prophet 

صلى الله عليه وسلم himself took the stone and

put it in its place.

The Quraysh smiled at one another. Everyone

was satisfied and a bitter fight had been avoided.

Thank You, they said. You have indeed solved

the problem well.

Grandma's Questions

So, said Grandma, I think you have enjoyed the story.

Let me see if you were listening.  

( Try to answer these questions without reading the story again )

1. How old was the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم when he

solved the problem of re-building the Ka'bah?  ------------------------------

2. What special task did each of the tribe want to do ?

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3. What title had the Quraysh given the Prophet  صلى الله عليه وسلم before he announced his Prophethood ? -----------------------------

4. What was the Prophet  صلى الله عليه وسلم 's suggestion to 

solve the problem of the Quraysh? ----------------------------

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