Introduction
In the name of Allah and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah.
All praise be to Allah, we praise Him, and seek His Help and Forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah against the evils of ourselves and the evils of our actions. Whomever Allah guides no one can mislead and whoever has been misled no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah and that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger.
Since I have understood the issue of motherhood and rearing, I know the value of using stories in rearing children as this method is the most successful among all means of rearing, the most effective, and the most attractive. Stories leave their effective impact on the children’s soul which inclines to listening stories attentively in order to reach the conclusion.
Thus, it is not a new matter but it is one of the most ancient methods of rearing, therefore Islam paid great attention to stories. Allah (Glory be to Him) revealed the best stories in His Book and narrated to us the biography of His Prophets in an attractive style. Likewise, the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to narrate stories to his Companions using his saying “It happened to the nations before you” in advance then narrates the story and its conclusion including eloquent sermons which contributed directly in instilling high moral, religious, and human values; and I am not exaggerating if I say and also scientific, political, and economic values that cannot be found in any other stories.
Bad experiment:
In the beginning, I was selecting stories no matter how different are they and did not limit myself to a certain type of stories. I used to buy and narrate any suitable story, however by the passage of years and increase of experience, I found out that some stories, which are supposed to inculcate good behavior and values in children’s minds, carry a call for submission and other values that are not in harmony with the values I want to instill in them. I felt that people deliberately put poison in honey as they say, so the decision I took is to resort to Qur’anic and Prophetic stories. So, I thought of making the stories of Prophets easier to children to deliver the information simply and purposively.
Here the question arises: Are the Prophetic and Qur’anic stories enough to inculcate values and high morals in the soul of children?
The answer is: Absolutely yes and enough.
Allah (may He be Exalted) says: “Alif, Lam, Mim * This is the Book (the Qur’ân), whereof there is no doubt, a guidance to those who are Al Muttaqûn [the pious believers of Islâmic Monotheism who fear Allâh much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden) and love Allâh much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)].” [Surat Al Baqarah: 1 – 2].
Allah (Exalted be He) says: “We relate unto you (Muhammad peace be upon him) the best of stories through Our Revelations unto you, of this Quran. And before this (i.e. before the coming of Divine Inspiration to you), you were among those who knew nothing about it (the Quran).” [Surat Yusuf: 3].
Allah (Glory be to Him) says: “So relate the stories, perhaps they may reflect.” [Surat Al A`raf: 176].
The Qur’anic and Prophetic stories are distinguished from others with reality, truthfulness, its miraculous and simple style. We give children realistic human models to be effective in their souls, easier in following them, and following the track of their Prophets. Allah (may He be Exalted) says: “They are those whom Allâh had guided. So follow their guidance.” [Surat Al An`am: 90].
Allah (Glory be to Him) says: “Indeed, in the Messenger of Allâh (Muhammad peace be upon him) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes for (the Meeting with) Allâh and the Last Day.” [Surat Al Ahzab: 21].
Allah (Glory be to Him) says: “Indeed, there has been an excellent example for you in Ibrâhîm (Abraham) and those with him” [Surat Al Mumtahanah: 4].
So, we should rear them in the same way the Prophets were and the same way the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them) were, creating a peculiar generation to restore the glories of dignity, serve the nation, and lift the banner of Islam high among other nations. A generation that does not admit any manners but those of Islam and do not imitate any model example but that of Prophets and Companions.
How do you make the Qur’anic and Prophetic stories effective?
1- There is no doubt that well-managed stories that have coherence attract children’s attentions and make them follow attentively. Add to this a good rearer and a good narrator and you shall find an attentive child with high concentration who follow the story and its events with joy and interaction, and involve himself with its characters. So, you find children sympathize with the characters in their ordeals, become happy for their safety, and remain interested to the end. Moreover, the impact of the story remains inside children’s emotions and actions throughout years.
2- A rearer should prepare virtues, high values, and good behavior which he wants to instill in children’s minds before narration, so they should remain amusing stories and not only for passing time, but we should take from each story some lessons and an educational benefit.
3- The spectacular style of a narrator by using body language and correct voice tone in suitable time draws the attention of the child, adds excitement to the story, and makes him a good listener without feeling boredom until the end of the story.
4- Choosing the proper story to the child’s age and taking into consideration individual differences among children. The stories of a two-years-old child differ from a seven-years-old child stories, so a rearer should pay attention to this matter and choose the story suitable for the children ages.
5- Asking the children at the end of the story about their benefits and gained lessons to instill information and give a good impression to a rearer about the benefits of children and whether information reached the child properly or not. Moreover, a child gets used to participation, and not only a receiving.
And the last of our call is praise be to Allah the Lord of all the Worlds.