{"id":5035,"date":"2015-06-28T16:37:50","date_gmt":"2015-06-28T15:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=5035"},"modified":"2015-06-28T16:37:50","modified_gmt":"2015-06-28T15:37:50","slug":"strawberry-prayers-a-lesson-of-ramadan-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/strawberry-prayers-a-lesson-of-ramadan-love\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cStrawberry Prayers\u201d : A Lesson of Ramadan Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Strawberry<\/a>My little brother loved strawberries. Whenever my father would come home with a cardboard box full of fruit, the sweet scent would seep through the slots on the side, and my little brother would come running.
\nHis chubby legs moved him swiftly up the stairs and landed him first to the dining room table, where my father would be setting down the box.
\n\u201cDaddy, can I have some strawberries?\u201d my little brother would ask eagerly, eyeing the box with widening eyes as my father removed the lid.
\nMy father would smile and rub my brother\u2019s head, saying, \u201cAfter we pray.\u201d
\nThough only five years old, my brother would hurry to prepare for prayer and wait impatiently for the rest of the family to come to the living room to join him.
\nBut prayer was not so urgent when there were no strawberries in the house\u2026
\nThat Ramadan, my parents decided to encourage my little brother to pray Tarawih\u2014the night prayer\u2014with the family, but he always had an excuse\u2026or he was just too tired. Then one evening my father said to him, \u201cIf you pray with us, you can have strawberries when we finish.\u201d
\nThat did it. My little brother stood in line alongside his older brothers, and we heard not a single peep from him until we turned our heads to the left, signaling the end of prayer. But before we could even complete the movement, my little brother was already asking our father, \u201cDaddy, can I have strawberries now?\u201d
\nEach night of Ramadan passed like this until my little brother came early one night before the time for Tarawih and said, \u201cDaddy, will we be praying the strawberry prayers tonight?\u201d
\nHis reference to Tarawih as the \u201cstrawberry prayers\u201d drew light chuckles out of my mother and father and suppressed giggles from me and my siblings.
\nAs we entered the last days of Ramadan, my little brother was often the first one ready for Tarawih, and he\u2019d always eagerly ask, \u201cAre we going to pray the strawberry prayers tonight?\u201d
\nThough it was the cutest thing to see the eagerness on his face to get those strawberries after prayer, I was often left wondering what would happen when there were no strawberries to offer\u2026
\nThen one night there were no strawberries in the house, and my brother knew this. I worried that he wouldn\u2019t pray with us though of course our parents wouldn\u2019t compel him to. But shortly after the family prayed \u2018Ishaa, the last of the five obligatory prayers, my brother entered the living room. To our surprise, he asked with all sincerity and eagerness, \u201cDaddy, are we going to pray the strawberry prayers tonight?\u201d
\nMy father\u2019s expression was one of pleasant surprise as he realized that my brother had come to love the Tarawih prayer, with or without strawberries. My father smiled and said, \u201cYes, we will.\u201d
\nAfter we finished prayer, I stole a look at my little brother, and there was a look of satisfaction on his face. This warmed my heart\u2026
\nThe sweetness of prayer had become more pleasing to him than the sweetness of strawberries.
\nThe Sweetness of Prayer
\nIt has been more than twenty years since my little brother began praying Tarawih on his own, but till today I think of that Ramadan; and I can\u2019t help smiling as I think of the \u201cstrawberry prayers.\u201d
\nBut what stays with me is far deeper than the warmth I had in my heart for the memories.
\nToday, I am grateful that Allah allowed me to witness the love of prayer blossoms in a child\u2019s heart. And as a parent, I understand the deep lesson my parents were passing on to my brother\u2014and to all of us.
\nIn order to instill in children\u2019s hearts the love of what Allah loves, we ourselves must love what Allah loves\u2026and we should communicate this love with something \u201csweet\u201d that children will always associate with beloved acts like prayer and fasting.
\nNo, this love needs not to be communicated with strawberries after every prayer or with any tangible \u201csweet\u201d. But it must be communicated, even if only through a smile and a rub of the head when it\u2019s time for prayer. Allowing children to see us happy and content when we\u2019re about to worship Allah.
\nAs for me, till today, when I line up for Tarawih prayer, I can still hear my brother saying, \u201cDaddy, are we going to pray the strawberry prayers tonight?\u201d And I see my father smiling, rubbing my brother\u2019s head, and saying, \u201cYes, we will.\u201d
\nAnd when I raise my hands to start prayer, I remember the sweet taste of strawberries and think: I can\u2019t wait to taste the sweetest fruit of all in Paradise\u2026
\nWith this inspiration, I hope to eagerly pray the night prayers as long as I\u2019m alive\u2014in Ramadan and beyond. And when my soul is taken upon Islam, God-willing, then perhaps I myself, like my brother will eagerly ask, \u201cCan I have the fruits of Jannah now?\u201d
\nBy Umm Zakiyyah<\/strong><\/em>
\nFreelance Writer- USA<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\r\n