*MUHAMMAD OVERCOMES HATRED WITH KINDNESS

Key Ideas: Islam, caring for others, kindness

A Muslim likes to pray to God. He may pray to God anywhere and will do so five times a day. A Mosque is a special place where Muslims go to pray. The Prophet Muhammad often went to the Mosque to pray. He found it a cool and peaceful place to worship the one God. The quiet of the Mosque reminded him of the pleasant evenings in the desert, so different from the bustling noisy town.

In the beginning a lot of people disliked Muhammad because he did not worship idols. He told people it was wrong to be unkind, cheats and liars. Many people found it easier to be unkind than to be good and generous.

One woman, who did not like Muhammad, used to sweep her dust and rubbish over him as he passed her house on the way to the Mosque. The Prophet always turned his head, and smiling would say to her in a way he would greet a friend, “Assalam-O-Alaikum”. This lady never replied. She just swept more dust over him.

One day, as Muhammad came near the woman’s house, she was nowhere to be seen. He immediately asked the neighbours where the lady was. The neighbours were very surprised because they knew that she did not like Muhammad and swept the dust and rubbish over him whenever his passed. However, they told him that she was living alone and was very ill. At once Muhammad went to her house. There he set to work, cooking a meal, fetching water from the well, and sweeping away the dust and rubbish. The lady was amazed to see someone helping her and even more so when she realised who it was. She was very sorry for her bad deeds and became a good Muslim following his example of kindness and truthfulness.

From Religion in the Multi-faith School. W. Owen Cole