Ask our children:

1. Would you like to have a neat and clean friend or a friend who is dirty and smelly?

2. How often should we clip our nails?

3. Should we go to madrasah in the afternoon?

Now tell them the story:

Arshad was a lazy boy, especially when it came to being clean and tidy. Before he ate, he would not let anyone wash his hands, even though they were black and dirty from playing the whole day! He would not allow anyone to cut his nails, even though they were full of dirt! It was only when he was fast asleep that his mother would be able to quietly clip his nails.

Arshad never had any friends because his body and clothes were so smelly and so dirty. Sometimes he wouldn’t bath for days because he was too lazy! Eventually, his mother would grab him and force him to bath and change his clothes. His mother always hoped that he would become clean, so she would keep reminding him to be clean and making du‘aa for him.

At last, the day came when Arshad started Grade R at the madrasah. Everyone was worried because the Moulana would not allow dirty boys into the madrasah, but alhamdulillah, when the Moulana saw Arshad, he knew that he wasn’t really a bad boy, and that he could teach him to be clean.

It was absolutely amazing how Arshad had spent only one day in the madrasah, and a complete change took place in his life! When he returned home that day, he washed his hands before eating, had a bath, cleaned his teeth with a miswaak before sleeping, changed into clean clothes the next morning and clipped his nails by the end of the week all on his own! Everyone was so happy to see the ‘new’ Arshad who was clean and tidy.

After a few days, they asked him, “Arshad! What happened? What made you become clean and tidy?” Arshad replied, “My Moulana taught me the hadeeth of Nabi Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), that cleanliness is half of imaan. Now that I know how important it is to be clean, insha-Allah for the rest of my life, I will always try to be clean.”

Arshad’s parents realised how much Arshad was learning in the madrasah and how it was making him a better Muslim. As the days passed, Arshad learnt more and more. Every day, he would come back home and teach his family what he had learnt in madrasah. In this way, because of Arshad, everyone in the home was becoming a better Muslim.

Lessons:

1. A Muslim is always clean and tidy. He is never dirty and smelly.

2. The Maktab Madrasah is very important for a person to learn Deen and become a true Muslim. We should never leave the Maktab, even if we go to a Muslim School.

3. We should try to teach others the lessons that we learn in madrasah.

4. We must always listen to our parents and the Moulana in the madrasah.

Click here for the audio version of this story.