Children’s Column
The Qur’an for Young Hearts – 80
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. This translation may not be used elsewhere.
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].
Verses from Surah No. 2, Al-Baqarah
[283] And, if you are on a journey and do not find a writer then a pledge (taken) in possession. Now, if one of you trusts another, then let him who was trusted, deliver the trust and fear Allah his Lord. And do not conceal evidence. Whoever conceals it, lo, his heart is sinful. Allah is aware of all that you do.
[284] To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth. And, whether you reveal what is in your hearts or hide it, Allah shall bring you to account for it. He may then forgive whom He wishes or punish whom He wishes. Allah has power over all things.
Understanding these Verses:
This verse continues with the topic of the previous verse; that is, what are the rules for loaning out. What if one is in journey and wishes to borrow? There is no writer around; nor witnesses. What shall be done? The answer is, in such a case hand over something in pledge to the lender. For example, if you are borrowing money, then give anything valuable of yours to the lender. After you return the loan taken, you can take back the thing you pledged. Actually, this can happen within the town also, especially, if the lender does not want it written down, for whatever reason. He feels secure if he has something from the borrower which is of equal value or more. So that, if the borrowed money is not returned, he can sell off the thing that was pledged.
The Prophet himself had in Madinah pledged his shield to a Jew, and borrowed thirty measures of barley in order to provide for his wives.
But, if there are trustworthy, honest people, then, perhaps they may borrow from each other merely on trust. That is, they neither put it in writing, nor have witnesses, nor anything pledged. They simply lend and borrow on trust. In this situation, the trust must be honored. If anyone does not honor his trust, life will become difficult and lose its charm, apart from the sin. Moreover, one who tries to outsmart another, may be able to do so, but he cannot outsmart Allah. He must fear Him.
Also, if you are a witness, then do not conceal the truth when asked. If someone did it, then, he has a sinful heart. And, to sin with your heart is worse than sinning with your hands or feet. He too must fear Allah who is aware of all that people do.
In the next verse (No. 284) Allah is warning. To Allah it is the same whether you hide something in your heart (such as a Trust) or reveal it. On the Day of Judgment He will bring out all of it, the hidden as well as the open. Then He will decide according to the nature of the sin, and the nature of the sinner, whether to forgive, or to punish. He has the power to do as He wills.
(To be continued)
Don’t be Shocked: The Following are About You!
The human body is an incredible thing. Some of these facts may be hard to believe, but they are happening, inside of you, right now!
- Human fingers are so sensitive, that if your fingers were the size of Earth, you could feel the difference between a house and a car.
- With the 60,000 miles of blood vessels inside the average human body, you could circumnavigate Earth two and a half times.
- The human eye is so sensitive that if the Earth were flat, you could spot a candle flickering at night from up to 30 miles away.
- Nerve impulses travel to and from the brain at speeds of up to 250 miles per hour, faster than a Formula 1 race-car.
- When you blush, the lining of your stomach blushes too.
- The human brain can read up to 1,000 words per minute.
- Inside your belly button are thousands of bacteria that form an ecosystem the size of an entire rainforest.
- An adult is made up of 7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (7 octillion) atoms. For perspective, there’s a ‘measly’ 300,000,000,000 (300 billion) stars in our galaxy.
- A full head of human hair is strong enough to support 12 tonnes.
- In 30 minutes, the human body gives off enough heat to bring a gallon of water to the boil.
The Tree that was Happy to be Cut
Once upon a time, there lived a big mango tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the tree top, ate the mangoes, took a nap under the shadow… He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by.The little boy grew, and he no longer played around the tree.
One day, the boy came back to the tree with a sad look on his face. “Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy. “I am no longer a kid, I don’t play around trees anymore.” The boy replied, “I want toys. I need money to buy them.”
“Sorry, I don’t have money…,” said the tree,“but you can pick all my mangoes and sell them so you will have money.”
The boy was so excited. He picked all the mangoes on the tree and left happily. The boy didn’t come back. The tree was sad.
One day, the boy, now grown into a man, returned. The tree was so excited. “Come and play with me,” the tree said. “I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?”
“Sorry, I don’t have a house,” said the tree,“but you can chop off my branches to build your house.”
So the man cut all the branches off the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy didn’t come back afterward. The tree was again lonely and sad.
One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted. “Come and play with me!” The tree said.
“I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?”
“Use my trunk to build your boat,” said the tree.“You can sail far away and be happy.”
So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and didn’t come back for a long time.
Finally, the man returned after he had been gone for so many years. “Sorry, my boy, but I don’t have anything for you anymore. No more mangoes to give you.” The tree said.
“I don’t have teeth to bite,” the man replied.
“No more trunk for you to climb on,” said the tree.
“I am too old for that now,” the man said.
“I really can’t give you anything, the only thing left is my dying roots,” the tree said with sadness.
“I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years,” the man replied.
“Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest,” said the tree.“Come, sit down with me and rest.”
The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled.
Moral: The tree in the story represents our parents. When we are young, we love to play with them. When we grow up, we leave them and only come back when we need help. Parents sacrifice their lives for us. Never forget their sacrifices. Give them love and care before it’s too late.
