Many years ago a boy called Ibrahim lived in Canaan.
He was very clever and was always
asking questions. Most of the people he knew worshipped idols but Ibrahim did not.The
people had forgotten the messages that Adam, Hud, Nuh and Salih had brought them.
Instead of praising Allah they worshipped statues.
Ibrahim told his father he didn't think people should worship objects they had made
themselves. His father was angry and told him not to say anything about the gods again.
Ibrahim decided he must show the people they were wrong so he thought of a plan.
One night he sneaked into the place where all the statues were kept. With an axe he
chopped off the heads from all but one of the statues. The biggest one he left. The next
morning the people were very angry and upset at what had happened. They were sure
Ibrahim had done it. They gathered in the public square and asked him if he had done it.
Ibrahim told them to ask their big idol if he knew who was responsible.
But, of course, the statue could not speak and the people knew it was only stone.
Ibrahim shouted at them and asked how they could worship lumps of stone. The bad
people were even more angry. They started to collect wood for a fire. They were going to
burn Ibrahim to death. They made a big bonfire and put Ibrahim on the top. Everyone
came to watch. They lit the wood. The fire burned, the flames grew higher and higher.
The people had to back away from the heat of the flames.
Ibrahim was a good person. He believed in Allah. Allah would protect him. Allah would
not let the fire harm him. When the flames dies down the people could not believe their
eyes.They saw that Ibrahim was alive and the flames had not harmed him at all. How
had this happened? They all knew this was a great miracle and they fell to their knees.
This wonderful thing had made them believe in Allah. Some people would still not
listen. They thought Ibrahim was just a magician Nimrod, the king of Canaan, heard all
about Ibrahim. He wanted to talk to him. He asked Ibrahim about Allah. Ibrahim told
him that Allah could do all things.
He could give life and death. Nimrod said that he too could do that. His soldiers brought
two men in. Nimrod ordered one to be killed and the other to be saved. Nimrod thought
that this made him like Allah. Ibrahim told him that Allah brings the sun every morning
from the East.
He asked Nimrod if he could bring the sun from the west next day, of course, Nimrod
was unable to do that.
Ibrahim married a girl called Sarah. They lived very happily in Palestine. They worked
and had plenty of everything. Ibrahim became very wealthy, but he was a good man. He
always helped other people too.
After many years Ibrahim and Sarah still had no children. This made them very sad.
They both wanted a child to share their life with. Sarah told Ibrahim that he should
marry her servant Hajar too, so that Ibrahim and Hajar could make a child together.
Nabi Adam
Allah made the mountains and the seas. He made all the animals. He made the heavens
and the stars. He made the sun and the moon and he made the angels. The angels were like
Allah's servants and did everything He ordered.
Then Allah decided to make a man. He called this first man Adam. He taught him many
things so that Adam had more knowledge than the angels. There was one Jinn, called Iblis and he
thought he was better than Adam so Allah would not let him stay with the other angels. He was
to be called 'Shaytan', the Devil.
Shaytan blamed Adam for what had happened to him and was very angry. Allah let
Adam live in a beautiful place because he was good. The place was called Paradise. It was a very
nice place but Adam was a little lonely, on his own all of the time. Allah decided to help Adam.
He made Hawa to be Adam's wife. They were happy and liked living in Paradise.
There was, however, one thing they were not allowed to do. There was a special tree and Allah
had told them they must not eat any fruit from that tree. At first Adam and Hawa were very good
and kept away from the tree. Shaytan decided to do something very naughty. He told them they
were silly to keep away from the tree. He said nothing would happen if they ate its fruit. He said
the fruit was delicious and they should try it.
After a while they began to listen to Shaytan and thought they would have just a little
taste of the fruit, just to see what it was like. Shaytan was very happy because he had made them
disobey Allah. As soon as they had eaten the fruit, Adam and Hawa realised that they had been
very naughty and they felt guilty for what they had done. Allah forgave them But He wouldn't let
them stay in Paradise any more So He sent them to live on earth.
