Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 159
! ! 159 water is clean. I remember when I was young, I would look at others swimming , and I would feel bad because I could not swim. The Promised Messiah as handed me over to experienced swimmers , so that I could learn. Therefore, it is necessary to teach children how to swim. Raise Children a s Sportsmen My wish is that if God blesses us with the means , horses should be bred and our children should be trained to ride them, enabling them to be good horsemen. However, until we can afford to do so, we should teach them other sports and make them sportsmen. A good sportsman has good character, compared to those children who in their childhood adopt grownup routines and when they are older prove to be simply lazy. There was a man , who practiced l aw and has lost contact with the Jama'at. When he was a student, he would spend a substantial portion of time saying Salāt and crying profusely throughout. Maulvi Abdul Karim ra ( i t was revealed to the Promised Messiah as that Maulvi Abdul Karim ra w ould be a leader of the Muslims) relates, “ I wish to throw him out of the mosque. Why does he cry? What sins has he committed?” Likewise, when Mian Abdus Salam, the son of our Haz rat Khalifa t - ul - Masih I ra , began to pray, he would start to cry. Maulv i Sahib would stop them , saying , “ This shows emotional weakness. ” It is acceptable for an old man to cry , upon realizing that the majority of his life has gone to waste, during which he has made a number of mistakes. It is also acceptable for a child to cry wh en praying for a bright er and better future. However, if he cr i es, asking fo r God’s forgiveness , then he is merely imitating others. What sins has he committed that required him to beg for God’s forgiveness ? Indeed , if a person cries in his desire to become a servant of God , then that is wholly acceptable. Teaching Good Conduct i n Sports It is very important for children to play and be active and you must teach them good conduct while playing sport s. For example, if someone utters foul language , you should not do the same. Check up on the children’s behavior and who ever exchanged obscenities should vow to refrain from doing so again. Si milarly, advise them to help the