All My Days are Good (2/2)

Osama closed his lunch box and wiped his table clean. He put his lunch box away and went to line up. Osama's class was going outside for playtime. It was Osama's turn to ride the tricycle today and he loved riding the tricycle. "Bismillah," he said as he climbed up onto the tricycle, and he began pedaling.

First, Osama pedaled slowly past the tree. Then he turned and pedaled past his friends who were playing in the sandbox.

"Hi!" they waved to him. "Hi Osama."

"Hi," Osama called back.

Then he turned and pedaled away from them. He started pedaling faster and faster. Now, Osama felt like he was flying - it was the best feeling in the world. He loved biking! Then he turned again and pedaled faster and suddenly - CRASH!!

Osama lay on the floor, the tricycle on top of his leg. Osama grabbed his knee. "Owwww!" he cried. "My knee, my knee. Ow ow ow ow. My knee!" Tears rolled down Osama's face. The teacher ran over to him.

"Are you okay, Osama?" she asked pulling the tricycle off of his leg.

"What hurts?"

"My knee," Osama cried. "My knee hurts so much!"

"Oh, you got a little scratch," his teacher said. "Come on in and I'll get you a band-aid."

Osama looked down at his knee - he was bleeding! "Owwwwww,"

Osama cried as he hobbled inside with his teacher. "It hurts! It hurt when she cleaned it. It hurt when she put the band-aid on. And it hurt when he walked back outside to sit on the bench. "Now, I can't even play," he said to himself as he sat on the bench. "My knee hurts!" Osama sat on the bench and watched the other children play. It wasn't fair.

Osama was happy when it was time to go back inside, because he couldn't play anyway. Inside, Osama sat on the carpet with the rest of the children as the teacher read them all a story. Then they sang their goodbye song and got ready to go home.

That night at home, as Osama's mother tucked him into bed, she gave him a kiss on his forehead. "Well Osama," she said, hugging him close to her, "you've eaten your snack and brushed your teeth and put on your pajamas. You've said 'Good night' and 'assalaamu alaikum' to your dad and your brother and your sister. We've read your story. It's time to say your prayers and go to sleep."

Osama read his Qur'an. "Masha'a Allah!" his mother smiled. "What a wonderful little Qur'an reciter you are! Now thank Allah for giving you a good day."

"But Mom," Osama said, "I didn't have a good day. I had a terrible day!"

"What do you mean Osama? Why do you think you had a terrible day?"

 "I told you about when I fell and hurt my knee. That's not good,"

Osama said. "That's true," his mother said. "But you only got a little hurt" "No, it hurt a lot."

"Well Osama, I know that it feels like it hurt a lot, but it was just a little scratch. Allah made sure that you didn't get really hurt and break your leg! That's a good thing."

"That's true," Osama said. "But when we were playing Duck-Duck­Goose, nobody picked me. That's not good."

"I know that doesn't feel good," his mother said. "But you were a good boy. You were patient and you waited nicely, even though you were sad. You didn't yell and scream or hit the other children. Right?"

"Right."

"Well," his mother said smiling, "then Allah gave you lots and lots of good deeds for being such a good and patient boy. That way, you can go to Jannah and there you can have anything you want!"

"That's a good thing," Osama smiled.

"Were there any other things that happened today that you weren't happy about?" his mother asked.

Osama thought about it for a minute. "No."

"Well then, let me remind you of something that happened that you were happy about. Remember when the teacher picked you to paint a picture about the animals?"

"Yeah," Osama grinned, "and when she said my painting was wonderful! And when I brought it home, you said it was terrific!"

"Well Osama, it sounds to me like you had a good day after all," his mother said. "Looks like you have a lot to thank Allah for."

"You're right," Osama said and he put his hands up and began saying his dua. "Oh Allah, thank you for giving me a good day. Thank you for making sure that I didn't break my leg when I fell from my bike. And thank you for helping me be good and patient so I could earn good deeds when my friends didn't pick me for Duck-Duck-Goose. And thank you for making my teacher pick me to paint and making everybody like my painting. Thank you, Allah."

Osama's mother gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Oh Allah," she said, "thank you for giving me such a wonderful son like Osama." She gave him a hug and kissed him goodnight. "Assalaamu alaikum, Osama," his mother said. "Have a good night."

Behaviors Modeled: For Children

• To say the different duas throughout their day

• Morning routine and Bedtime routine

• To use Islamic phrases regularly, e.g., Assalaamu alaikum, Masha'a Allah, Jazaakum Allahu khairan, etc.

For Parents

• Start the day off by showing love and affection to your children and projecting a positive attitude for the day.

• Train your children for critical thinking by giving them choices and allowing them to make decisions E.g. when Osama's mother has him choose his outfit for the day.

• Use the incidents that happen in the children's day to teach them Islamic concepts and belief.