Allah is One !

Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was the first man to believe in the Prophet’s message. He was “A Siddik” who believed all that Muhammad (peace be upon him) said.

In those days there were many slaves in Arabia. These slaves were poor men or women who had to were for their masters, just to get food and clothes. But the food and clothes given were neither good nor enough, and often the slaves were treated cruel. Slaves could be sold, like horses, camels to new masters.

In Islam all people are equal. Rich and poor, strong and weak, old and young, white and black, men and women, slaves and masters are all equal in Islam. No one is better than the other except by piety. Thus many slaves became Muslim, and this made Quraish very angry. They disliked this new religion.

So the men of Quraish beat the slaves and made them work without any food or water. Abu Bakr bought many of these slaves from their cruel masters, and set them free.

One poor slave who was bought and freed by Abu Bakr was called Bilal. When Bilal became Muslim, his master was very angry. He punished poor Bilal by making him lie on the hot sand under the burning sun with heavy stones on his body, but Bilal would not give up Islam. He said loudly, “Allah is one! Allah is one!” over and over again.

Questions:

1. Who was the first man to believe in Muhammad’s message?

2. Why was he called “ Al Siddik”?

3. Who served the people in that time?

4. Were they rich men and women?

5. How were they often treated by their masters?

6. Could they leave their masters if they did not like them?

7. Why did Quraish dislike Islam?

8. What did the men of Quraish do with Muslim slaves?

9. How did Abu Bakr save many of those slaves?

10. Did Bilal obey his masters and gave up Islam?

Choose the correct answers:

1. Abu Bakr was called “Al Saddik” because_____________.

a) he believed all that Muhammad (peace be upon him ) said.

b) he was the Prophet’s friend.

c) he become Muslim.

2. Slaves were _________________.

a) free men or women.

b) sold, like horses and camels.

c) people who worked freely to earn money.

3. The food and clothes given _________no very good.

a) was.

b) were.

c) is.

4. The men of Quraish were very angry because____________.

a) they beat slaves.

b) many slaves became Muslims.

c) the slaves worked without food or water.

5. Bilal’s master punished him because _________________.

a) Abu Bakr bought him.

b) Abu Bakr freed him.

c) he became Muslim.

The Honest Bride

Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was a very good ruler. He liked to see himself how his people lived, so he often walked in the streets of Medina at night without telling anyone that he was the Caliph.

One evening, the Caliph passed by a small house where a milkmaid lived with her daughter. He heard the woman saying. “Daughter, you should add water to the milk before you sell it. Then we shall have more money for it.”

The girl replied, “Mother, that is wrong! The Caliph has said that water must not be added to milk which is for sale.”

“I know, I know,” said the woman, “but the Caliph is not here to see what we are doing.”

The girl said, “Even if the Caliph cannot see us, his orders must be obeyed. Allah sees us and everything we do. We should sell good milk. We shouldn’t cheat people. People, who cheat others, are not good Muslims and will go to Hell.”

Caliph Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) walked away from the house. He thought, “She is an honest girl. I should like her to be a bride to one of my sons. She will be a good and honest wife.”

The Caliph went home. He told Asim, his son, about the girl. Asim was very happy to marry this honest⁵ girl. After a nice wedding feast, the milkmaid’s daughter became the honest bride of the Caliph’s son and later she became the grandmother of Caliph Umar Ibn Abdel Aziz.

Questions:

1.What was Umar Ibn Al-Khattab?

2. What did he like to see himself?

3. When did he often walk in the streets of Medina? 4. Where did the milkmaid live?

5. With whom did she live?

6. What did the woman ask her daughter to do?

7. Did the girl agree to cheat people?

8. Why didn’t the girl agree to cheat people?

9. Why was Asim very happy?

10. What did the milkmaid’s daughter become?

Choose the correct answers:

1. Umar Ibn Al-Khattab walked in the streets of Medina at night

to ____________.

1. be a good ruler.

2. tell people that he was the Caliph.

3. see how his people lived.

1. The milkmaid wanted to add water to the milk_______________.

   1. to sell the milk.

   2. to get more money.

   3. because the milk was for sale.

2. Those, who cheat others, are ___________.

   1. good people.

   2. Honest people.

   3. bad people.

3. The Caliph cannot see us but Allah.

   1. sees us.

   2. seen us.

   3. see us.

4. The milkmaid’s daughter was an honest girl because____________.

   1. she added water to the milk.

   2. She did not want to cheat people.

   3. she wanted to sell milk.