The children gather around, waiting for the story to unravel. A story about a man running away – an escape plan – he is being hunted down – but there is a resolve – a new place – a peaceful place – called Madinah.
Their Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was accompanied by his best friend started their journey in the depths of the night. They managed to leave Makkah, despite being hunted down. They hid in a cave. It was late at night and they were in danger. Alhamdulillah, Allah is the Most Merciful.
Even while in the cave, they were nearly caught by the Quraysh…their assassins who were hot on their heels. Then there was a spider. It spun a web to protect Prophet Muhammad and Abu Bakr Al Siddique (the righteous).
The Quraysh people came and they saw a spider’s web worth days and days of work. So there was no doubt that the two men could have hidden in the cave without such a large spider web in front of it.
What? A spider saved the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?
Yes, a spider saved Prophet Muhammad and Abu Bakr because Allah asked it to do so. That’s nice of the spider, they chime. Allah asked the spider to protect Prophet and Abu Bakr!
I was in the middle of the story, when the excitement of the spider ensued, then all of a sudden, a tiny spider scaled down from the ceiling and landed on our book. It was right smack in the middle of the story of the spider web covering the cave opening where Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and Abu Bakr (RA) remained silent in hiding.
“A spider! A spider! The spider heard us talking about her!”
My kids were giggling in excitement while the creature scaled down just above our hands, and I have to admit I was quite amazed at how Allah intended to land a spider on our Seerah book just as we were reading about the Hijrah.
This was some time last year. My children were younger, louder. But since then, every time they spot a spider, they start talking about the spider that protected Prophet Muhammad while he was hiding in the cave.
The Story of the Spider
The story of the Spider is the ultimate ear candy for little ones, especially younger children. Children are completely besotted with animals, and the story of the spider is probably one of the most fascinating “animal stories” in the history of the Islamic timeline.
Knowing that Allah has such a power to command animals to behave at His Will is also an amazing realization in itself.
Humans have always co-existed with animals since the beginning of time, but interaction between the two has not always been positive. Telling children about the spider and how it wove a web to protect Prophet Muhammad from persecution, is one way to remind them to respect animals no matter what.
Of course, it would be wise to remind of the dangers of getting close to some species of spider, but besides that, the Arachnid is a fascinating study on its own.
Feeling Afraid and Trusting Allah
Fear is a normal feeling for humans, especially when faced with danger or something that is generally scary. Children have all sorts of fears growing up, so it’s normal if from time to time feel afraid or scared of something.
The best way to deal with (as per the lessons from Hijrah) is to always speak to Allah first. Learn to say plenty of Dhikr and teach children important verses from the Qur’an like Ayat-ulQursy and Suratul-Iklhas that will bring them closer to Allah and give them a sense of calm and security.
This applies to parents too. When children see and feel positive vibes of their parents, no matter what the adversities are, they will also learn to trust Allah unconditionally, and unnecessary fears will slowly dissipate as they figure out their emotions and ways to process and deal with them.
The post The Prophet & the Spider –The Story of Hijrah appeared first on About Islam.
source https://aboutislam.net/family-life/moms-dads/prophet-spider-story-hijrah/
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