Every year my children would come home from their Muslim school with Eid cards. These cards are the usual colour in type. It always make me think, "Come on teachers let the children put a little creativity into their cards."
So I had a card making session and I wanted children to use their creativity. I found supplies and told them that they could each choose a boy or girl then decide on where they want their little person to be standing. Some wanted a garden, the desert, on a hill and even in a boat. From there, students cut their papers and chose their embellishments to fit into their design. And this was what they made for their family, relatives, friends or teachers....
After they made their cards, they made an Eid present. (OK so it's more mosaic but I just love mosaics. You've really got to give it a try!)
I also wanted to add what my son came home with this year (apart from the Eid card). I really love it so I thought I'd share.
It's "stained glass". What it is is 2 sheets of plastic which the teacher photocopied the "Allah" design (all the black lines) onto. The children glued cellophane onto one of the plastic sheets then glued the other plastic sheet on top (this sheet is photocopied in reverse). Nice, masha Allah.
If you are a mother then it is most likely that you will know the abundant love and mercy that you have towards your children. You will always want to protect and guide them.
When you keeps pets, you will see this as well. When the mother just gives birth to her young she will do all in her power to protect it. She becomes aggressive to all those who might harm them. We have chickens and when the hen is hatching her eggs and when the chicks are hatched she will peck us if we get too close. She will also attack other animals that she normally is afraid of, such as the neighbour's cat.
We also have fish and both the parents are very aggressive to the other fish in the tank. If you have ever wondered about how fish carry their young then just watch this video. Look at how the parents protect their young ones from other fish by picking them up into their mouths, transporting them to a safer area and then spitting them out. Truly amazing, subhanallah.
As you can see, animals have mercy towards their young as well. But we as humans have an even a greater love and mercy towards ours. How many of us would "climb mountains" or "take the bullet" for our youngsters? We hear amazing stories of mothers and fathers who do amazing feats to save their children. But did you know what? Allah has an even greater mercy towards us than any other creature towards their young.
Umar Ibn al-Khattab (ra) relates that some prisoners were brought before Allah’s Messenger (saw) and amongst them was a woman who was frantically searching for someone in the crowd. When she found a baby amongst the prisoners, she took it in her arms, cradled it next to her chest and suckled it. So Allah’s Messenger (saw) said: “Do you think that this woman would ever throw her child into the fire?” We said: ‘By Allah, Never!’ So he said: “Allah is more merciful to His believing servants than that mother could ever be to her child.” [Bukhari (10/426) & Muslim (18/80)]
Subhanallah, every time I see an animal with her babies it always reminds me of Allah's mercy towards us.
Imam Bukhari and Muslim reported that the prophet Shalallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said, “Allah has divided mercy into one hundred parts, and He kept ninety-nine parts with Him and sent down one part on the earth, and because of that, one single part. His creatures are merciful to each other, so that even the mare lifts up its hoof away from its baby animal, so that she would not trample on it.”
This is another good reason to keep pets, as a reminder to ourselves and our children (yes, use this as a teaching opportunity) of Allah's mercy.
