Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 353
! ! 353 womb. However, since this is not possible, he sa said to start right after birth by calling the Adh ā n in his ear. The words of Adh ā n are not said as a charm or spell, but the purpose of this command is to cause parents to understand that the time for their child’s moral training has begun. In addition to the Adh ā n , the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa has co mmanded that children be taught good manners right from childhood. He sa substantiated this command by teaching manners to his own relatives during their childhood. It is narrated in the Hadith , that when Ha z rat Imam Hassan ra was a small child and was eating, the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa said to him : َو « t ْﻞ ِﺑ 'َ ِﻤ ﻴ ِﻨ َﻚ ، َو « t ْﻞ ِﻣ ﻤ ﱠ ﺎ ]َ ِﻠ ' َﻚ E at wit h your right hand and eat from that which is in front of you. Haz rat Imam Hassan ra was only two and a half years old at the time. In our country, if a child moves his hand all over the plate, fills his mouth with too much food, and even soils the clothes of those sitting around him, his parents laugh and do not fret over this. O r they reprimand him very lightheartedly, the intention of which is not to t each their child, but simply to show off that they care. Another incident narrated in the Hadith is that once Haz rat Imam Hassan ra picked a date from among the dates allocated to chari ty and put it in his mouth. The Holy Prophet Muhammad sa inserted a finger in his mouth and removed it. The significance of this was to teach that he ought to eat of his own earning s and should n ever be a burden on others. In short, it is the child’s moral training which shapes a person into w hatever he become s in the future. Thus, the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa said: أ # ْو ، ُﻳ َﻨ + َﱢ ا ِﻧ ِﻪ أ # ْو ، ُﻳ َﻬ ﻮ ﱢ َد ا ِﻧ ِﻪ َﻓ ﺄ # َﺑ َﻮ ا ُە ، ا ﻟ 9 ِﻔ ْﻄ َﺮ ِة َﻋ ? # ُﻳ ﻮ ﻟ # ُﺪ ٍد َﻣ ْﻮ ﻟ B ﻮ C B ﻞ ﱡ Fُ َﻤ ﺠ ﱢ َﺴ ﺎ ِﻧ ِﻪ [ Every child is born true to nature. It is his parents who make of him a Jew or a Christian or a Magian ] This means, a child is born of pure nature. Beyond that, i t is his