Getting things cosy…
Getting things cosy…
Mikail was at the beach in Scarborough. The sand was soft and the sea went whoosh. The seagulls went squawk!
Mikail had a bucket and spade. Dig, dig, dig. Fill, fill, fill. Pat, pat, pat!
Up went a tower. Up went another tower! Round went a wall. It was a big, BIG sandcastle!
"Nani, look!" said Mikail.
Nani clapped. "Masha Allah! What a castle!"
Along came his little cousin Laiba with a shiny shell. Run, run, run!
"For you, Mikail!" she called.
But her feet were too fast. Whoops! Right onto the castle. Squish, squish, SQUISH!
The towers went flat. The wall went flat.
Mikail's cheeks went hot and red. His feet went stomp, stomp, stomp. He wanted to shout a big, loud shout.
Laiba's eyes went big and sad. "Oh no," she whispered.
Mikail looked at the sea. In came a wave. Whoosh. Out went the wave. Shhh.
Mikail breathed in, slow like the wave. Whoosh. He breathed out, slow like the wave. Shhh.
His cheeks felt cool again. Laiba didn't mean to squash his castle. She was bringing him a present.
"It's okay, Laiba. I forgive you," said Mikail.
Laiba smiled a sandy smile. "Build again?"
"Yes! Together!" said Mikail.
Dig, dig, dig. Pat, pat, pat! Laiba patted too.
Up went a tower. Up went another tower! And right on the very top, Laiba put her shiny shell. It sparkled in the sun.
Nani gave Mikail a big hug. "You held in your cross feeling, and you forgave," she said. "In the Quran, Allah tells us about people who hold in their anger and forgive. And Allah loves people who do good."
That night, Mikail snuggled into bed. In his dreamy head, he could still hear the sea. Whoosh… shhh. Whoosh… shhh.
Goodnight, Mikail.
When something precious is spoiled by accident, a slow breath gives the hot feeling time to cool before it becomes a shout, and a kind 'I forgive you' lets everyone start again. Holding back anger and pardoning people are qualities Allah praises in the Quran, in an ayah that ends 'and Allah loves the doers of good' (Quran 3:134).
Because every little heart deserves a real answer.
When you forgive, you let the hot, cross feeling go and you are kind again, just like Mikail was when Laiba squashed his sandcastle by mistake.
In the Quran, Allah tells us about people who hold in their anger and forgive others, and Allah loves people who do good. Forgiving also helps your heart feel happy again, like Mikail building a brand-new castle with Laiba.
When you feel hot and cross, breathe like the waves: in slowly… whoosh… and out slowly… shhh. If it was an accident, you can say 'It's okay, I forgive you', and maybe build something new together, with a shiny shell on top!
وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
“…who restrain anger and who pardon the people - and Allāh loves the doers of good”
Quran — Surah Ali 'Imran 3:134
Translation: Saheeh InternationalRead it on quran.com ↗
Snuggle up and wonder together. There are no wrong answers.