Ask our children:
1. What do you want to be when you grow up, and why?
2. What is the most important thing for every person to be?
Now tell them the story:
Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Ashraf. Ashraf had many friends, and whenever they would play together, the same thing would happen. His friends would take turns to pretend that they were policemen trying to catch robbers, or hunters searching for an animal, or firemen trying to put out a fire. But no matter what the other children pretended to be, Ashraf was always the same thing – a doctor.
Ashraf liked doctors and always pretended to be a doctor. He had a small doctor’s bag, with syringes, bandages, plasters and ointments inside, and he even had his own stethoscope! He would act as if he was giving injections, checking blood pressure, and he would even tie bandages on his friends’ arms and legs!
One day, when Ashraf was in madrasah, Moulana asked him, “Ashraf, what do you want to be when you grow up?” Ashraf did not even wait for one second, and immediately answered, “I want to be a doctor!” Moulana smiled and asked him, “Why do you want to be a doctor, Ashraf?” Now Ashraf was silent. He had never really thought about it before. He said to Moulana, “I just like doctors, with their white coats and stethoscopes, and that’s why I want to be a doctor.”
Moulana next asked Haaroon, “Haaroon, what do you want to be when you grow up?” Haaroon replied that he wanted to be an accountant, just like his uncle. Then, when Moulana asked him why he wanted to be an accountant he said, “Accountants make lots of money and are rich people! My uncle drives a Porsche, and he lives in a big, fancy house! I also want to have lots and lots of money, then I can buy all the things that I want!”
Finally, Moulana asked Hasan the same question, to which Hasan replied that he wanted to be a big businessman, like his father. When Moulana asked him why he wanted to be a big businessman, he replied, “Because my father is a big businessman, everybody respects him. He is a very important person. When he tells people things, they always listen to him. I want to be like that too!”
After listening to these boys and their different ideas, Moulana said to the class, “My dear children! Remember, whatever you want to be in life, you must always make the intention to serve Islam and to help people. If you are a doctor, then you can help people who are sick. If they are poor and don’t have money, you can still help them, because Allah Ta‘ala will pay you by giving you reward in Jannah. If you are an accountant and you make lots of money, then you must make the intention that you will use some of your money for Islam and to help people. So, if people are building a masjid or a madrasah, you can help them and give them some money, and if people are poor, you can buy food and clothes for them. In the same way, if you are a big businessman, and everybody respects you, then you must try to help people. If two people are fighting, you can help them to stop fighting, because they respect you and will listen to you. So, you must always try to serve Islam and help people.”
After Moulana said this, the students were quiet, thinking about what Moulana said. Then, Moulana said something else, “Whatever you want to become when you grow up, whether it’s a doctor or an accountant or a businessman, you must never forget what you already are.” Now the students were confused, so Ashraf asked, “What do you mean Moulana?”
Moulana explained, “Before anything else, you must remember that you are a Muslim, and this is the most important thing, because you have to be a Muslim to go to Jannah! So, whatever you become when you get big, you must always listen to Allah Ta‘ala, read all your salaah and do everything else to be a good Muslim.”
Now the students understood. That evening, when Ashraf went home, he said to his parents, “I don’t want to be a normal doctor – I want to be a Muslim doctor! I want to be a good Muslim who will always help people and serve Islam!”
Lessons:
1. Whatever a person becomes when they grow up, they must not only worry about making money and becoming rich. They must worry about helping people and serving Islam.
2. Before a person is a doctor, or businessman, or anything else, he must remember that he is first a Muslim. He must always listen to Allah Ta‘ala and be a good Muslim.
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