‘What’s the news from Madina?’

Amr ibn Salama (ra) said;

We lived off a route that led to Madina. Whenever a caravan from Madina passed our village, we asked the people about the Prophet ﷺ . They told us that he claimed to receive revelation from Allah (swt) and recited some of the verses by way of example. I would immediately memorise these verses until I had memorised a significant part of Qur’an, and this was even before I had embraced Islam. When the Prophet ﷺ overtook Makkah, the delegations began to arrive in Madina to accept Islam. My father was leader of the delegation from our tribe who came to pledge allegiance. The Prophet ﷺ  taught them about prayer and other Islamic practices, and explained that the one who knows the most Qur’an has greatest right to lead the prayer. They kept on searching, but found no one more knowledgeable of Qur’an than me in our tribe, so I was appointed imam when I was only seven years old. I led the congregational prayer. [Nasai]

This story is such a lovely reminder of how capable and receptive a young child’s mind can be and how much it can be influenced by a parent’s example.

-Every child has a natural disposition to worship Allah. Because of Amr ibn Salama’s (ra) pure heart that was ready to accept the truth, he was inclined towards Islam even before becoming Muslim. But the story also tells how when his parents showed eager interest in the news from Madina, he too naturally followed their example. As enthusiasm blossomed in his heart, being young and more sharp (as you might expect from young’uns) he surpassed his parents, leading him to learn more than them and even his whole community in the end.  

When parents provide the ideal environment in which to strengthen and maintain a child’s natural disposition to believe in Allah and live by the moral compass and guidance Islam provides, they’ll remain strong and protected, helping a child to remain steadfast in faith and practice - even to excel inshAllah.

𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 of 𝗦.𝗡.𝗝𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗹𝗶 ✍🏼 (𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗯𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, Islamic chapter books for kids📚)