Ask your children:

1. Can a Muslim watch movies and cartoons?

2. Is it good to play video games, computer games and cell phone games?

3. Must we listen to our Moulana?

Now tell them the story:

‘Abdullah, Ebrahim and Mahmood were three boys who were the best of friends. One day, when they were in madrasah, and there was only one day left for the holidays, their ustaaz, Moulana Ahmad, asked them, “What are you boys going to do in the holidays?”

Ebrahim answered first and said, “I am going to spend my holiday watching super hero movies! Super heroes are strong and can fly! It’s their job to save the world!”

‘Abdullah answered second and said, “I am going to play car racing games on my PlayStation! I will drag race, drift, buy all the best cars, and customise and tune them how I want!”

Finally, Mahmood answered and said, “I am going to play shooting games on my computer! I will shoot everyone, and then I will be the winner!”

When Moulana Ahmad heard these responses, he got such a shock that he almost fell down! He exclaimed, “Innaa lillaah! Astaghfirullah! How can you boys play these games and watch these movies? These movies and video games are not good for you! Why don’t you children go and play outside instead?” But Ebrahim, Mahmood and ‘Abdullah were naughty boys so they didn’t listen to their Moulana.

The next day, Ebrahim sat and watched super hero movies the whole day, and ‘Abdullah played on his PlayStation the whole day, and Mahmood played on his computer the whole day. By the time it was night, they had played so much and watched so much that they couldn’t get the movies and games out of their heads! When they went to sleep, they were even seeing the games and movies in their dreams!

The following day, after he ate breakfast, Ebrahim sat and began to think, “I want to be a super hero! I want to fly!” Since he could not stop thinking about super heroes, he wanted to act like one! So he went onto the balcony, climbed onto the railing, spread his arms out and jumped, trying to fly. But, instead of lifting into the air, he came falling down and landed on the gardener’s head! “Hai wena!” shouted the gardener. “I will tell your father!” he complained, rubbing his head in pain. Oh no! What would Ebrahim do?

As for ‘Abdullah, after playing so many racing games, he wanted to try and race his father’s car. As quiet as he could, while his mother was busy in the kitchen, he took the car keys and went out into the driveway. He opened the car, climbed into the driver’s seat and put the key into the ignition. Then, he started the car and lowered the handbrake. “Help me!” he shouted, as the car started to roll down the driveway. He tried to press the brakes, but he was too short and couldn’t reach the pedal. Suddenly, he heard a huge “SPLASH” as the car rolled into the pool! Oh no! What would ‘Abdullah do?

In the meantime, Mahmood was looking for his brother’s pellet gun because he wanted to go out and shoot. After he found his brother’s gun, he took it quietly, without telling anyone, and went outside. There, he began to creep through the bushes, pretending that he was playing a shooting game. Suddenly, he heard a sound through the bushes and thought, “Quickly! Let me shoot! It’s the enemy!” He aimed the gun and fired, and then he heard, “OOOOOOOOW! WHO SHOT ME?” He had shot the neighbour by mistake! Oh no! What would Mahmood do?

That evening, Ebrahim, ‘Abdullah and Mahmood were all in BIG TROUBLE. Ebrahim was in trouble for jumping on the gardener’s head, ‘Abdullah was in trouble for rolling the car into the pool, and Mahmood was in trouble for shooting the neighbour with the pellet gun. Their parents were MAD and SUPER ANGRY with them. All their fathers got together and wondered, “What should we do to punish them?” So, they phoned Moulana Ahmad, told him what had happened and asked him what to do. Moulana Ahmad replied, “The reason why they did these naughty things is because they are watching haraam movies and playing video games! You need to take these things out of your house, and to punish these naughty boys, you need to ground them. Don’t let them go anywhere besides the masjid for salaah!”

Ebrahim, ‘Abdullah and Mahmood were all grounded and had to stay at home for the rest of the holiday. They were all very sorry for what they had done, and they wished that they had listened to their Moulana. They realised that what Moulana said was right – video games and movies are VERY BAD for you.

Lessons:

1. Watching movies and playing video games are bad for us. They teach us wrong things and can make us do naughty things.

2. We must not copy everything that we see others doing. For example, if we see someone driving, we must not try to drive, because we are still small and will crash and get hurt.

3. We must always listen to our Moulana and parents.

Click here for the audio version of this story.

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